Monday, October 4, 2010

A Common Buckeye Butterfly (Junonia coenia) nectaring on goldenrod

Common Buckeyes were abundant in the high meadow at VOA Park last weekend. I've never seen so many in one place. They spent most of their time nectaring on the bright yellow flower clusters on plumes of goldenrod.

A Common Buckeye Butterfly (Junonia coenia) nectaring on autumn-blooming goldenrod.

...the nectar from the goldenrod must have been especially sweet because the buckeyes were incredibly obliging, keeping their wings open for photographing.


...a little bee gets in on the nectar action...
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25 comments:

  1. Betsy Banks AdamsOctober 4, 2010 at 11:30 PM

    Beautiful, Kelly... The Buckeyes are some of my favorite butterflies. You captured some marvelous pictures of them. I love the one where the little bee is getting in on the action also. ha...

    Hope you enjoy your trip to Cumberland Falls. We are headed to the Maggie Valley area of North Carolina for a couple of days that week.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  2. Randy EmmittOctober 4, 2010 at 11:37 PM

    Kelly,
    Same here buckeyes everywhere! Enjoyed the photos!

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  3. grammie gOctober 4, 2010 at 11:47 PM

    Hi Kelley...What a beauty, the Buckeye,and beautiful photos of it!!!
    I would bet he is as big in your photos as he is in real life! : }

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  4. RoyOctober 4, 2010 at 11:56 PM

    Great shots! Mostly what I see sipping on the Goldenrod around here are Bumblebees.

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  5. UnknownOctober 5, 2010 at 2:21 AM

    Kelly, great shots. I've never seen one but I think the Buckeye is one of the prettier butterflies around!
    You photos depict it just right!

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  6. AnonymousOctober 5, 2010 at 5:48 AM

    Yes really beautiful macro shots Kelly of this very colourful species.

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  7. ChrisOctober 5, 2010 at 6:15 AM

    What a beauty. We have one type which is very similar in France... I love the second photo a lot but all of them are really cool. Do you still have butterfly so late in the year?

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  8. Laure FerlitaOctober 5, 2010 at 7:28 AM

    So clear! Gorgeous! Don't think we have buckeyes, but I'm not up on my Florida butterflies.

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  9. MontanagirlOctober 5, 2010 at 8:32 AM

    Just amazing shots, Kelly! Very beautiful. They are such a colorful butterfly. Love the Bee shot as well.

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  10. laurent DebordesOctober 5, 2010 at 9:14 AM

    c'est vraiment un magnifique papillon

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  11. Out on the prairieOctober 5, 2010 at 9:21 AM

    With the cold coming in I am seeing less, but this was a good year for them. I always had a dozen in my garden.Gorgeous shots.

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  12. MarieOctober 5, 2010 at 9:38 AM

    Nothin' "common" about these buckeyes--they are gorgeous! (And this coming from a Wolverine!)

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  13. Kathy A. JohnsonOctober 5, 2010 at 3:16 PM

    What gorgeous photos! I'm always amazed at the details you manage to get.

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  14. JennyOctober 5, 2010 at 3:32 PM

    Stunning photos Kelly! I love that second one particularly. Taken from such a great angle I think. That is a stunning looking butterfly!

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  15. Chris PetrakOctober 5, 2010 at 3:58 PM

    Everybody seems to be getting great pictures of butterflies while I scarcely even see one. But that last photo, with the bee and all - that one is really something!!

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  16. Janice KOctober 5, 2010 at 4:55 PM

    The colors seem to shout "Fall." Neat pictures!

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  17. Wanda.....October 5, 2010 at 9:12 PM

    Perfectly Beautiful, Kelly. That Buckeye even glowed for you!

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  18. ElaineOctober 6, 2010 at 2:09 AM

    Incredible shots, Kelly!

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  19. Midmarsh JohnOctober 6, 2010 at 4:32 AM

    The first photo is absolutely stunning Kelly.

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  20. Atanasio Fernández GarcíaOctober 6, 2010 at 6:52 PM

    Espectacular!!! Congratulations!

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  21. DebOctober 7, 2010 at 10:15 AM

    Your photos of this gorgeous butterfly are fabulous Kelly!

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  22. AnonymousOctober 10, 2010 at 5:47 AM

    Loving your photographs Kelly

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  23. FABOctober 13, 2010 at 3:45 PM

    Whow what stunning butterflies.

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  24. KellyOctober 13, 2010 at 7:53 PM

    ...thanks, everyone! What a crazy day! The Buckeyes were everywhere....so beautiful. Usually they are harder to photograph, but they didn't care at all and let me get fairly close!

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  25. ☥March 22, 2015 at 10:16 AM

    yo adoro a las mariposas
    estoy feliz de encontrar estas preciosidades aquí
    me encantan :)
    miles de abrazos

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