Firey Skipper Butterflies Hylephila phyleus
Firey Skipper Butterfly, Hylephila phyleus
Thanks to Tim, I'm getting my Skippers sorted. He's identified this cute little critter as a Firey Skipper Butterfly.

Firey Skippers are tiny butterflies that zip around my lawn, pausing here and there to sip from Phyla nodiflora flowers.

Lots of people spend a great deal of time, effort, and money getting rid of weeds. They pull them, or help pollute our environment by spraying application after application of herbicide on them.

Since I've discovered these cute little butterflies, I save the time and effort, and even a little bit of gas, because when I mow my lawn I go around small patches of Phyla nodiflora so I always have a little preserve for my butterflies.

As long as I swap the areas, it really doesn't look so bad. One time I leave a bit here, the next time I mow that down and leave a bit somewhere else. I particularly like to leave patches behind the mailbox, because there's a small area there mostly hidden from view by taller plants, so you can't tell from the road, but I get to enjoy the butterflies every time I get the mail or take the trash out.  I get all sorts of skippers and White Peacock Butterflies there.

I got this one photo of this little skipper before it flew away too fast for me to find it again. It might be a Firey Skipper. I didn't get a good look at it from the side, so I'm not sure. It's the right size, but so are lots of other little skippers. After I get all caught up again, I'll check on it.

Firey Skipper Butterfly, Hylephila phyleus
Firey Skipper Butterfly, Hylephila phyleus
My Email: Steph@mail.heuristron.net
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