Some Sonoran Leps

Sonora must be a leper’s paradise, and even we hardbitten birders found it difficult at times to look away from the beauty and diversity of butterflies and moths we saw in the Sierra Madre this past weekend. I even took pictures of a few, which will have to keep appetites whetted until I finish the trip report.

An honest-to-goodness Monarch, a species I don’t see that often in southeast Arizona.

And his consort, a raggedy Queen, feeding on the abundant and aromatic sunflowers of the Sierra.

One of my all-time favorites, Dusky Emperors were abundant on the gravel of the Rio Morro, most of them, though, dead or on the way there. This one was still gasping.

An absolutely stunning moth, nomen nominandum.

And a Chiricahua White, a butterfly even I take notice of!

The more I use Jeff Glassberg’s Swift Guide, the more I like it. I still do plenty o’page flippin’, but it’s amazing how often we succeeded in identifying the animals with it.