Limenitis archippus obsoleta
I was standing on the deck near the pond in Tonaquint Nature Park in St. George, Utah, deciding where to go next to find insects
when this beautiful butterfly came wafting in and landed flat as a pancake in a bush about five feet from me. I turned my camera
back on and tried to focus in and it wasn't easy. I needed to be closer but if I got down off the deck, I would be too low to photograph
it so I had to get the best photos I could from where I was. After a minute passed it stretched out its wings and dropped them
down as you see them in the photos. What a break! I had no idea what this butterfly was and when I got home it took me about
an hour to find out what butterfly had white spots on all four parts of the wings. Butterflies through Binoculars had the answer --
a Southwestern subspecies of the Viceroy. It took me a while longer to find out the scientific name of this subspecies. I was
very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to photograph this gorgeous insect. © Carol Davis 10-5-2009
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