More Butterflies

I wandered a ways up the West Fork of Mink Creek today. Not as warm as Tuesday, but it was nice enough. If you didn't mind the ice, snow, and mud, anyway. :^) There were some dry parts, but the early portion of the trail was all on north-facing slopes. Most of this part was pure ice, especially at the center of the trail. The slightly dry mud in some other parts didn't bother me. I turned around when I got to a section that looked to be several hundred feet of slogging, squishy mud. At a guess, I was maybe a mile up the trail. Possibly less, as it was slow going. It's a bit hard to appreciate scenery when you're staring down at the ice/snow/mud, looking for a safe place to put your feet, but in the dryer (drier?) sections, I got some good pictures. No flowers out yet, but I keep finding butterflies. Pictures below the fold.

First up, the Mourning Cloak. This one I recognized immediately, as it showed up in my garden one year and I managed to identify it then. Gorgeous butterflies. That "cloak" is irridescent in the sunlight, reflecting deep blues and violets as the light hits it. And...this seems to be another one that survives the winter and comes out to mate in the spring.


Next up, this looks like another Milbert's Tortoiseshell. The example picture is much darker, but I figure it's at least a close relative.


This one was tiny. Maybe an inch, inch and a quarter, wing-span. Let's see if I can find any match to it... Not really. I'm pretty sure it's a "skipper," but none of the ones I'm finding quite match it. *shrugs* The underside of the wings was a nice, bright orange, but it never presented them to me for long enough to get a picture.