Some Butterflies of Algonquin (trip post 2)

Atlantis Fritillary

Green Comma on board at Spruce Bog Boardwalk

One of the goals of my trip was to look at butterflies. Although many of them were already done for the season, I saw some nice species. A lifer included the Common Branded Skipper.

One of the best looking ones in my opinion was the Green Comma. I saw a few of these along the Spruce Bog Boardwalk trail. The green on the underwing probably has something to do with its name!

Upperside of the Green Comma

Another species seen at Algonquin is the Pink-Edged Sulphur. It is common on the Old Airfield where there are abundant patches of Blueberry plants on which it feeds. One could look at butterflies while eating blueberries! They (blueberries, that is) were ripe at the time of my visit.

Pink-Edged Sulphur

I visited an old mill site west of Rock Lake access along the bike trail (old railway bed). This site was unkown to me until I read about it in the butterfly technical bulletin. It is a large open area full of weeds where a large lumber mill once operated. The mill strangely started just after the railway was torn up in the 1950's and operated only about twenty years. It was a huge complex that occupied many acres. The site has abundant stands of Common Milkweed, which obviously would attract butterflies.

The weather was crappy when I was there though and the milkweed was past its prime, but I did see a couple of good butterflies. One was a Milbert's Tortoiseshell, which was not surprising with the abundance of Stinging Nettle plants. The other species was Leonard's Skipper (several).

Whitefish Lake Mill site (still some debris left!)

Milbert's Tortoiseshell at mill site

On my last full day at Algonquin, I came across several American Copper butterflies at the Old Airfield. As well, several Leonard's Skippers showed. I had not seen them previously there despite extensive searching!

American Copper


Leonard's Skipper

There were several fritillaries flying about the airfield, some were Aphrodite, but I think some were Atlantis as well. These types get confusing as they can vary somewhat and each field guide shows something different. Late in the afternoon of my last full day, I did come across a different one which I think is just a bright Aphrodite (photo below). It has a small dot at the base of the upper forewing.

Common Branded Skippers were plentiful in the Old Airfield. I had never seen this species before! At Algonquin, they are sometimes called Laurentian Skippers, a subspecies of the Branded. They look something like a Leonard's, but the white spots are different and the base colour is more greenish. I found that these butterflies were hard to approach and very quick fliers.

Common Branded Skipper at the Airfield

As mentioned before there lots of fritillaries. They varied in appearance. There were both Aphrodite and Atlantis. This one (photo below) appears to be Atlantis.

Other butterflies included a Least Skipper (very worn) along the bike trail at a bridge near the airfield. The Least is uncommon and very local in Algonquin. I did get a photo, but it is not included here.

another view of the Branded Skipper (underside of wing)

Below is an upperside view of the Branded Skipper male which is rather striking.