When it comes to fast flyers with a flair for flowers, the skipper butterfly makes quite the landing. These pint-sized pollinators are easy to miss—until you spot one zipping through your garden as if it"s late for an appointment. Catch one pausing on an Echinacea flower—like the one photographed at the Rockefeller State Park in New York, United States—and you"ve hit the jackpot. Skippers aren"t your average butterflies. Technically part of the superfamily Papilionoidea, they"re often mistaken for moths thanks to their stout bodies and erratic flight patterns. But unlike moths, they"re active by day, have clubbed antennae with a hook at the end and wings they usually hold at quirky angles. Their name? It comes from their quick, darting flight.
Skipper butterfly on an Echinacea flower
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Let the Great Backyard Bird Count begin!
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Roques de Benet, Els Ports Natural Park, Catalonia, Spain
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Eastbourne Pier, East Sussex, England
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Collared aracari
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National Pumpkin Day
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European fallow deer in England
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Happy Panda Day!
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An iridescent view
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Anshun Bridge, Chengdu, China
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The healing powers of wastewater
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In the tropics, land greets sea warmly
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An endless stretch of sky
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Blue as far as the eye can see
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Stripes in sight
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Porto Flavia, Sulcis-Iglesiente, Sardinia, Italy
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Out of this world
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World Migratory Bird Day
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81st anniversary of D-Day
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Dinosaur Provincial Park
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An old bridge in a new light
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New Years Eve
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Annas hummingbird
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Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, Italy
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World Art Day
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Unbe-leaf-able
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Dad on duty
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World Maritime Day
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A remote oasis in the Chihuahuan Desert
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The Blue City of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
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Discovery Day in Canada
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

