The warm weather is sure to bring sightings of Butterflies.

Bob Rutemoeller spotted this lovely butterfly which had landed on one his wife's native plants. The butterfly posed for Bob, showing top and bottom views. It is a Lorquin's Admiral Butterfly.

The host plant for these butterflies is willow. I purchased a wonderful waterproof booklet for butterfly identifications. It's titled Butterflies of Central and Northern California by Jim Brock. It shows the caterpillars of each butterfly too. I got mine at the Four-Eyed Frog Bookstore in Gualala. My favorite independent bookstore has a sale starting today...hint, hint! Here's a link to the Frog: http://www.foureyedfrog.com/

Thanks to Bob for allowing me to share his photos with you here.