Clouded Skipper Butterflies – Things With Wings

Two days ago, when I shared Huron Sachem skipper butterfly images I said I needed to identify another butterfly. That butterfly was a Clouded Skipper butterfly. Today, I am sharing images of them.

Clouded Skipper butterfly nectaring on sedum blooms – Canon R7, handheld, f10, 1/80, ISO 500, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light

The Clouded Skipper butterflies, like the Huron Sachem skipper butterflies, were nectaring on the blooming sedum. These skippers were a little harder to photograph and expose properly because of their dark color, but the Canon R7 handled the exposure issues well.

Clouded Skipper butterfly close up – Canon R7, handheld, f10, 1/125, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light

I was able to take close-up, intimate images of the Clouded Skippers because they weren’t very flighty and stuck around to feed on the flowers.

Although these skippers are dark-colored, and some might even call them drab, I found them to be beautiful in their own unique way.

When properly exposed, there are subtle differences in their colors, hues, and patterns.

Clouded Skipper butterfly at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge – Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1/320, ISO 1600, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light

Now comes the embarrassing part.

These Clouded Skipper butterflies aren’t new to me. I actually photographed this species in July at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.

I had just forgotten that I had already edited the image above and hadn’t shared it yet. At that time, I used iNaturalist to identify the species, and that ID had slipped my mind. Oh well, I’m only human after all.

I know quite a bit about butterflies, but I don’t claim to be an expert on identifying them. To be clear, I never will make that claim when it comes to butterflies.

I simply enjoy photographing other winged creatures, and these butterflies happened to find their way into my viewfinder.

Life is good.

Mia

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