August 10, 2025

Another butterfly in a popular spot, at the Apple Mint (Mentha suaveolens). Yesterday’s was a medium sized butterfly, a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta). This one is on the small side, a Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta), measuring in at about 1 inch.

It’s ventral or underside, as you see in this picture, is a pale gray with small dark markings. The dorsal or upper side is powdery blue, the female being paler or sometimes the same pale gray as the ventral side. The female also has a dark gray or black band around the outer edges of its dorsal side.

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