Corralitas Drive: Marine Blue

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  It is so hard to catch a clear shot of Marine Blue Butterflies when their wings are open and miraculously showing off their blue.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Marine Blues are the most common tiny blue butterfly in Los Angeles.  This one was either spectacularly blue, or the light was perfect, reflecting brilliantly off its wings.  I'd never seen one quite so blue.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  They are so tiny, you can't see the detail easily in person.  (Shoot photos first; ID species later.)  In these photos, the butterfly is standing on a 1/4" diameter peppercorn from a Peruvian Pepper Tree.  This is the far more typical shot of the Marine Blue I have taken, time and time again.

Corralitas Drive: Marine Blue Butterfly

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 17, 2015.  You might not notice the Marine Blue is a blue butterfly if you only see the underside of its wings.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)  

The Marine Blue is one of the more common butterflies and is maybe the size of my fingernail.  

Corralitas Drive: Blue Butterfly Drowns *Updated

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 7, 2014.  For weeks, I'd been trying to catch a photo of one of these tiny butterflies that flash brilliant blue in the bright sun.  They never stand still long enough, until I found this one, dead, in the dog's water bowl.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Wingtip to wingtip, the butterfly might measure an entire inch across.  In the sun they look more gray than brown and their blue is iridescent. They particularly like the Plumbago (blue flowers) growing all over the hill.

I am not even going to try to ID this little butterfly.  There are a number of blues with brownish wings.  

Butterfly resources:

What's That Bug?
Bug Guide
Butterflies and Moths of North America
Butterflies of Orange County (I know Orange County is not LA County, but it has a simple, easy to use photo index.)

*7-10-14, UPDATE: After perusing the blue butterflies found in Los Angeles on What's That Bug?, I submitted the photo and story.  The Bugman of Mt Washington thinks it might be a Marine Blue (Leptotes marina).  Thanks Daniel!

Corralitas Drive: Marine Blue

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 14, 2014.  Despite the fact this tiny butterfly with an inch wide wingspan is mostly brownish, it is a Marine Blue.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The blue is positively iridescent in the sun & is barely visible on the backside of the wings, near the body in this photo.  Thanks again to The Bugman of Mt Washington for identifying this Plumbago loving species.

Corralitas Drive: Marine Blue Butterfly

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 2, 2015. For a "blue" butterfly, Marine Blues do not like to show off their blue parts.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Property Neighborhood: Sometimes, You Just Make Art

*Stuff you missed this year...

Photo: Diane Edwardson.  July 6, 2015.  When you shoot a lot of butterflies, you invariably make a lot of art.  They simply move too fast, like Gulf Fritillaries. (Click on photos to enlarge.) 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 7, 2015.  The most common butterflies, Cabbage Whites, actually have variations of white and cream in their wings.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 3, 2015.  Cabbage Whites are usually in constant motion so capturing their wing movement is pretty cool.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 18, 2015.  Another common butterfly, a Marine Blue only showed up blue when the light was right.  I'd actually never seen one look as blue as this one right after the July rainstorm that dumped an inch of rain on the neighborhood.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 15, 2015.  Monarchs became common this year.  Credit native milkweed restoration efforts.  Note: The Monarch here is on non-native, invasive wild radish.

The warmest March on record had butterflies on overdrive.  Butterflies are cold blooded and warm up with the sun. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 7, 2015.  Myths of faeries in gardens gain credibility when the light cast a shadow from the eye of the Cabbage White.  I couldn't have created this shot if I tried, it just happened.  Magic can happen if you just shoot.

*Stuff You Missed This Year is our annual wrap up of interesting photos and things we just didn't have a chance to run, because everything seems to always happen at the same time.

In Memoriam: Karin Flores, LA River Advocate

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 25, 2009.  Blue Heron on the LA River.  

Karin Flores, LA River advocate, environmentalist, community activist and friend, died earlier this month.  A memorial will take place, today, October 28, 2017, 10:30 A.M. at The Frog Spot, 2825 Benedict Street, Elysian Valley). 

Karin was a tireless activist for the river and surrounding neighborhoods in the Glendale Narrows, including Elysian Valley and Atwater.  Through her work with Friends of the LA River, she got to know and genuinely care about the people who make the neighborhoods unique.  

Most of all, Karin was a good person.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 16, 2016. Air pollution hanging above Elysian Valley and Cypress Park, trapped by the inversion layer.

I got to know Karin while we volunteered with the Northeast Residents for Clean Air working to get Metrolink to respect the neighborhoods they pollute surrounding the maintenance yard in Cypress Park.  Her positive energy helped keep several of us going on the project since 2011.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 19, 2012.  Mushrooms in Red Car Canyon.

Karin had the gift of seeing not only the big picture, but how the minutiae fit into the big picture.  She loved the beauty and endless variety of mushrooms, not just locally, but worldwide as seen alongside environmental causes she supported on her Twitter feed, @PurpleSageLA

Karin was always supportive of the effort to acquire the Red Car Property as a park.  She understood its potential as a link between parks and neighborhoods.  She often suggested creative outreach and always knew who to contact in city/county/state departments to help solve problems.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 18, 2012.  Marine Blue Butterfly on Corralitas Drive.

Karin appreciated the art of the imperfect bird or butterfly photograph, where the animal's movement at the shutter snap turned the photo into art.

Karin was an asset to the community.  Her positive outlook and genuine concern for the neighborhoods made her easy to work with.  Her loss will be felt for years to come.

Lot C: Tiny Butterfly In Shadow Of Tiny Oak Tree

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 18, 2015.  A Marine Blue Butterfly kept landing on the cut branches of the Coast Live Oak sapling while I was taking photos of the 3' tall tree.  The butterfly is smaller than my thumbnail.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Marine Blues are one of the most common butterflies in the area.

Corralitas Drive: It's Been A Big Butterfly Week

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 31, 2014.  One of the tiniest butterflies, a Marine Blue, at only about a 1/2" long, was barely visible against the rocks.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

It's been too hot & humid to leave the yard much, so luckily the butterflies have been putting on a show this week.  Click here for all the butterflies we've documented in the Red Car Property neighborhood.