Two Ladies

The American Lady and Painted Lady butterflies are both found in Caddo Parish. It seems they are usually found at different times - American Lady in the spring and summer - Painted Lady in the fall. We still have to be able to tell them apart, and here's how:

"American Ladies have big eyes!"

Looking at the ventral sides, you can see that American Lady butterflies have two large eye spots, whereas Painted Lady butterflies have four smaller eye spots.
If you miss the botttom view somehow and only get a glimpse of the dorsal side, American Lady butterflies have two blue spots flanking two dark spots on each hindwing. Painted Lady butterflies have four dark spots with no blue.
There are eleven more days until the Ninth Annual Shreveport Butterfly Count. I will try to distinguish between as many of the tricky ones as I can between now and then...