Many-banded daggerwing butterfly - Photographed in Yelapa, Mexico.

A many-banded daggerwing butterfly taking salts and water from a damp spot on concrete.

I photographed this butterfly while visiting the tiny town of Yelapa along Mexico's western coast.  What struck me right away was the butterfly's size and the pair of swallowtail-like extensions on the hind wings.  It was also very unusual in that it had distinct stripes on both the dorsal and ventral sides of the wings, and a hexad of dots at the front wings' vertex.  It was unlike any butterfly I had seen before.

The many-banded daggerwing caterpillar feeds on plants related to figs, which partly explains why they don't occur very far north.  The odd adults show up in mid-US latitudes, but are more accidental than born and bred there.  They are mostly found in tropical areas around Mexico, southern Texas, and Central America.

It was very hot out, and the butterfly was extending its proboscis and taking moisture and salts from the damp concrete.  We were walking up to the Yelapa waterfalls when I saw it.  I only had my 180-600 mm zoom on my full-frame sensor camera, and so I had to settle for whatever shots I could manage.  The greatest challenge was getting it to settle, as pedestrians kept disturbing it, but it seemed determined to get that drink.  Much to my satisfaction, I got a few good shots of it.

It's funny how people were ooohing and awwwwing over the waterfalls while I was photographing this butterfly.  After the butterfly had gone, the waterfalls were still there.  I guess those others had their priorities mixed up.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com