Butterflies from Arizona

Ashley and I visited Arizona back in August, 2009 for birding and butterflying.  Here is a collection of photos of butterflies we stumbled on.  As always, please let me know if you think I have identified something incorrectly; I'm always eager to learn more.

Our trip started out at Catalina State Park.  This park is located north of Tucson and is one of my favorite birding destinations near the city.  It was here that I found my first EMPRESS LEILIA:

... and a CERAUNUS BLUE:

Our next stop was at Madera Canyon which sits in the Santa Rita mountains.  It was here that I saw my first QUEEN:

Another easy-to-identify species I found there was this GOLDEN BANDED-SKIPPER:

A species with a fairly limited range in the United States is this RED SATYR which we also found at Madera Canyon:

This butterfly was striking enough for me to identify as a GOLDEN-HEADED SCALLOPWING:

Our next stop was Florida Canyon (still in the Santa Ritas and near Madera Canyon).  I was able to find a couple more new bflies including this PALMER'S METALMARK:

... and this BRONZE ROADSIDE-SKIPPER:

We also found this CLOUDLESS SULPHUR flying by.  It's a good thing we did because it blended in rather well in the shade:

The next location on this trip was the infamous Sycamore Canyon over in the Pajarito Mountains (this is west of I-19 and very near the Mexico border).  I was happy to find some really neat species here despite getting stuck in an afternoon downpour.  The first was this TINY CHECKERSPOT:

I found a metalmark in the canyon that I later identified as an ARIZONA METALMARK:

Another lifer in Sycamore Canyon was this MOURNFUL DUSKYWING:

... and this very cool looking COMMON STREAKY-SKIPPER:

It wasn't a lifer at the time but I couldn't help but photographing this AMERICAN SNOUT:

Here is a PIPEVINE SWALLOWTAIL and a BORDERED PATCH also in the canyon:

I'm pretty sure this is a TAILED ORANGE:

Our next destination was Miller Canyon which sits in the Huachuca Mountains.  Unfortunately the only new bfly here was this probable ARES METALMARK (which didn't stay put long enough!):

However, our next stop in the Huachucas provided a lot of variety; Garden Canyon.

It was here that I saw this BORDERED PATCH:

... this REAKIRT'S BLUE:

... my lifer TEXAN CRESCENT:

... and one of my favorites of the trip, this DULL FIRETIP:

I didn't manage very many pictures of this guy but I think it's a TAXILES SKIPPER:

I didn't see very many rare or uncommon butterflies (just mostly the common things) but one skipper I felt pretty good about was this ARIZONA SKIPPER:

An overdue butterfly for me was this TWO-TAILED SWALLOWTAIL:

Lastly, here is a DOTTED ROADSIDE-SKIPPER:

Stay tuned for more butterfly pictures... maybe the next batch will be from the Pacific northwest.