Plain Brown Butterfly With Sparkle

A little brown butterfly with a wingspan of about 1.5 inches. Not a moth, I did say butterfly. A Gemmed Satyr (Cyllopsis gemma), which can be found in the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico.

On the ventral, or underside, of this butterfly’s wings, on the outer edges, there are lines of four round “gems” looking much like highly polished jet that reflect light. Those “gems” are set against a silvery patch that creates an image that looks to me like images of cute little Jumping Spiders (Salticidae) looking back at me. Using your imagination, see if you can see the Jumping Spider too.

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.