Jeff Belth
June 22, 2018
Butterflies
“If you need to stop,
stop! You’re not forty anymore you know…” With this advice Sandy sent me off to Huron National Forest in Michigan to look for Tawny Crescents. Crescents in the eastern United States are a confusing bunch, with possibly several species hidden…
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Jeff Belth
June 26, 2017
Butterflies
I recently spent a week watching the Goat’s Beard growing by our front door. Goat’s Beard (
Aruncus dioicus) is member of the Rose Family (Rosaceae). I first became aware of the plant when searching for Dusky Azures in the early 2000s. Goat’s Beard…
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Jeff Belth
June 19, 2017
Butterflies, In The Field
As I mentioned in my previous post about searching for the Chryxus Arctic (May 28, 2017), I’ve always wanted to see some of North America’s “northern” butterflies. A quintessential habitat of the “north country” is the bog. A bog is a water-filled depression with a…
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Jeff Belth
May 28, 2017
Butterflies, In The Field
I’ve always been interested in wildlife of the “far north.” Whether Musk Ox, Narwhal, or the butterflies of the tundra, I have always hoped to pay them a visit someday. However, getting to the far north is expensive, and while working on my book I…
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Jeff Belth
April 3, 2017
Butterflies
“It’s a White M!” is a phrase I dream of crying out every year. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen very often, and my wife Sandy had never heard me say it—until yesterday. The White M Hairstreak (
Parrhassius m-album) is one of the holy grails…
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Jeff Belth
September 22, 2016
Butterflies
As I mentioned in my post about Skunk Cabbage, I am attracted to odd or strange plants. So it has never been a surprise—to me at least—that Hercules Club is one of my favorite plants. Hercules Club (
Aralia spinosa) is a 10 to…
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Jeff Belth
August 21, 2016
Butterflies
As I mentioned in my previous post about Zebra Swallowtails, gravel roads can be great places to look for butterflies. After rain, when the gravel is damp and mud forms in bare spots, many opportunities arise for close observation of butterflies. Last week I finally…
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Jeff Belth
June 17, 2016
Butterflies
Last Wednesday I had a few spare hours before a routine eye exam. My plan was to drive down Tower Ridge Road, one of Monroe County’s better gravel roads, to a spot where I have seen hairstreaks in the past. I have found Banded Hairstreaks…
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Jeff Belth
May 12, 2016
Butterflies
On Sunday, May 8, Sandy and I led a butterfly walk at Miller Woods and Miller Beach in Lake County as part of the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival. We met the outing participants at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center, gave a brief PowerPoint show to…
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Jeff Belth
March 31, 2016
Butterflies
Spring officially arrived here in southern Indiana on March 14. We were just returning from a short trip and I parked the car in our driveway. Sandy stepped out of the car and suddenly said, “Azure!” She had flushed a beautiful male azure from the…
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