Jeffrey Belth

Azures!

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… Read more

Skunk Cabbage

Jeff Belth February 22, 2016 Flora

I am most interested in plants which play a role in the life cycle of butterflies, either as larval hosts or nectar sources, but there are some plants which fascinate me in their own right. Skunk Cabbage is one of those plants. I enjoy seeking… Read more

2015 Highlights, Part 3

Jeff Belth February 4, 2016 Butterflies

In mid-May I was leading a hike at the Stone Head Nature Preserve in Brown County, Indiana. I found a larva on a dock (Rumex) plant. I had no idea what it was, other than it was a moth (and the quick photos… Read more

2015 Highlights, Part 2

Jeff Belth February 3, 2016 Butterflies

In late February Sandy and I had the immense pleasure of visiting two of the Monarch overwintering sites in Mexico. Although we had visited a few of the overwintering sites of the western Monarch population in California in the late 1990s, this was our first… Read more

2015 Highlights, Part 1

Jeff Belth February 3, 2016 Book Tales, Skippers

One of the most vivid memories I have of the final preparation of the manuscript of my book, Butterflies of Indiana: A Field Guide involved the Hayhurst’s Scallopwing (Staphylus hayhurstii). The Hayhurst’s Scallopwing is a small, dark brownish-black spread-wing skipper in the subfamily Pyrginae.… Read more