Observation date: December 19, 2012
Submitted by: Plasmo
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: Temperature at 10:35 on the morning of the 19th was about 60 degrees F. From a distance, I thought it to be a small Monarch (though I've not seen a real Monarch around Phoenix in a couple of decades).I suspect it to be a butterfly because its flight was exactly like a butterfly, in that its wing strokes were full, and of a lower frequency than even the largest moths I've seen. However, the fuzzy body and blue wing spots may indicate otherwise. I was eminently pleased it held still in the patch of weeds (unidentified desert ground-hugging weeds... circular radial clusters ranging from 9" to 2 feet with individual fan-shaped leaves ranging from 1" to 3 1/2"... the leaf the butterfly is on was about 2 1/2" wide) long enough for me to get a decent picture. The butterfly pictured was on the outer edge of one of those circular clusters. There were no visible conventional flowers nearby, save for a fee newly-blooming chrysanthemums about 30 feet to the north (you can tell from the shadows I took the picture from the south, facing almost due north).
Status: Resident
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: December 26, 2012
Coordinator notes: None.
