Day 209: Silver-spotted Skipper Butterfly - July 31. Thanks for all of the comments on my buttefly post from yesterday.

Day 208: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly - July 30. Thanks for all of the comments on my cherry tomato post yesterday,

Day 207: Cherry Tomatoes - July 29. I still had the 'C' challenge day on my mind when I stopped at a Farmer's Market early yesterdaly morning and could resist a shot of these beautiful cherry tomatoes.

Day 206: Carpenter Bee on Coneflower - July 28. Coneflower for 'C' alphabet challenge day with a Carpenter Bee on top.

Day 205: Marsh Mallow Plant Flower - July 27. The pink, red and white versions of this plant are blooming around the NJ Meadowlands. Growing wild hundreds of years ago, they were valued for medicinal and health purposes. Doctors in the 1800s harvested the sap from the roots and cooked it with egg whites and sugar then whipped the concoction to make the first marshmallows which were used to treat sore throats.

Day 204: Butterfly Garden - July 26. A very brief patch of blue sky in an otherwise cloudy and chilly day yesterday. No butterflies to be found so this is a photo of the little butterfly garden where I've taken many of the butterfly and insect shost in the past week or so. Thanks to all who commented on my butterfly post yesterday.

Day 203: Pearl Crescent Butterfly - July 25. A pretty little Pearl Crescent butterfly sitting on a Black-Eyed Susan for today. Still not seeing the numbers of butterflies that would be expected for this time of year. Still primarily the Skippers and Cabbage Whites and a few Swallowtails. Thanks for all of the wonderful commetnts on my Ladybug shot yesterday. It truly was a lucky shot since it flew off almost immediately.

Day 202: Lady Bug - July 24. Thanks for all of the comments on my butterfly post yesterday.

Day 201: Sulphur Butterfly on Coreopsis - July 23. Got rained out within minutes of arriving at the park yesterday but did get a quick two photos of this little butterfly. I believe that it is a Pink-edged Sulphur.

Day 200: Skipper Butterfly on Coreopsis - July 22. Had fun watching this cute little skipper enjoying breakfast yesterday.

Day 199: Black-eyed Susans - July 21. My post for the 'B' day of the alphabet.

Day 198: Viceroy Butterfly - July 20. Yesterday's photo 'catch' was this beautiful Viceroy butterfly that finally stayed still long enough to get a shot against the blue sky. This was before 10:00 in the moring and the temp reading on my car display was already edging beyond 96 degrees. Thanks for alll of the nice comments on my Clear-winged Spinx Moth post yesterday.

Day 197: Clear-winged Spinx Moth - July 19. Another clear-winged moth photo for today. For those who have not seen one, they are about an inch long more or less. Colors differ slightly with some looking similar to bees and othesr having a reddish hue like the image that I posted yesterday. They are often referred to as hummingbird moths beause they hover over the flower to get thier nectar with wings constantly beating. The wing beats are so fast that they (the wings) appear nearly invisible. They flit very quickly from flower to flower and with the fast moving wings, it takes a very fast shutter speed to capture a photo.

Day 196: Clear-winged Spinx Moth - July 18. There were quite a few of these hummingbird moths hanging out yesterday but this one was very pretty with the russet coloring. Thanks for the great commets on my swalllowtail photo.

Day 195: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly - July 17. Another steamy super hot and humid day yesteray. Went out just before noontime not expecting to find much in the way of butterflies or moths but was rewarded with sightings of monarchs, swallowtails and a viceroy. Only lasted about an hour before I gave in to the heat and came home. I think this will be one of my favorite butterfly shots of the season - I like the way the light shows the structure of the wings. ,

Day 194: Cabbage White Butterfly - July 16. Very high heat and humidity made it tough to be outside for long yesterday. At 10:30 AM, my car thermostat was reading 95F degrees. Managed to get a shot of this butterfly in the short time that I stayed out. Thanks for all of the comments on my black and white abstract post.

Day 193: Fun in the Sun - July 15. Looks like this little sparrow is calling his friends to join him in the 'pool' and I surely wished that I could have joined them. Spent more than two hours in very hot, humid weather yesterday morning at a local park looking for butterflies to no avail, Finally took out my tripod and long lens to get a few shots at the park birdbath so I would have my photo for the day. Just as I finished up and was packing my gear to return home, a beautiful swallowtail flew onto a butterfly bush and I did wind up with a butterfly photo.

Day 193: A for Abstract - July 15. This is a free floating post - not meant to be my daily for today - it is a a few hours late for the Sunday alphabet challenge.

Day 192: Skipper Butterfly on Butterfly Bush - July 14. Butterflies are beginning to arrive this week. Saw a Question Mark and a few Skippers yesterday. Thanks fr all of the comments yesterday on my Indian Blanket post.

Day 191: Indian Blanket Flower - July 13. Shot from above, looking down on the flower, grass background.

Day 190: Bee on Coneflower- July 12. DeKorte Park NJ Meadowlands.

Day 189: American Lady Butterfly - July 11. DeKorte Park NJ Meadowlands,

Day 188: Black Swallowtail Butterfly on Butterfly Bush - July 10. The butterfly bushes are beginning to bloom and I'm seeing the first butterflies this season. So far, only this swallowtail and a few skippers but hopefully more will appear soon. Thanks to Judy and to Dalystock for letting me know the correct info for my Black-eyed Susan post yesterday.

Day 187: Flower Fly on Black-eyed Susan - July 9. Went to my 'go to' Meadowlands park yesterday hoping to find butterflies. I did see two but decided to post this for my daily. The insect is a Syrphid or Flower fly. At first I thought it was a bee - thanks Judy and Dalystock for providing the correct information.