Does anyone know what the white fuzz (silk?) and black spots (frass?) on the leaf are?
Series of photos of Mourning Cloak eggs being laid and growing into 5th instar caterpillars. Here is a link to the full photo series: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?order_by=observed_on&place_id=any&verifiable=any&field:Observation%20group=80000161
May 23/Day 0 (eggs laid) – https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/80000161
June 2/Day 10 (eggs turned red-purple) – https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/81365643
June 14/Day 22 (eggs turned darker purple)– https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/83074678
June 15/Day 23 (eggs turned black) – https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/83202055
June 16/Day 24 (eggs hatched!) – https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/83323709
June 16/Day 0 (caterpillars hatched!) – https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/83323708
June 25/Day 9 (molting to second instar) – https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/84493032
June 30/Day 14 (molting to third instar) – https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/85154833
July 4/Day 18 (molting to forth instar) – https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/85666834
July 11/Day 25 (molting to fifth instar) – https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/86640893
July 20/Day 34 (last photo in series) – https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/87921505
Sighted in Point Pleasant Park near the Halifax container pier. Speculate that this butterfly came across the Atlantic on a container ship.
Unique design/pattern on this individual. Interacting with another Common Buckeye.
The first photo is the Milbert's Tortoiseshell butterfly on what I think is blooming raspberry, the second shows the habitat it was in, at the time an old growth Engelmann Spruce forest with some Corkbark Fir, with regeneration of the spruce in the cut over areas along the then jeep trail just below High Peak. Elevation was around 10,500 ft.
I wanted to document that this species was there before the telescope construction and catastrophic fires, and also hopefully generate some comments as to whether the species is still present there. I believe this area has been off limits to the public since the late 1980s for the endangered Red squirrel which I also used to see in the same area. I saw the Milbert's Tortoiseshell on most summer trips to High Peak, though it was not common, but never on any other sky island peak in se AZ.