Taking nectar on Tall Coneflower,
Rudbeckia lacinata. I had stopped to photograph the flowers and the butterfly showed up. It was a hot, hazy day, with perfect light for photography. One of my better photos taken with my Coolpix 4500 digicam. Technically, the eyespot-like marks on the wing are called
ocelli, not to be confused with simple eyes.
This patch of roadside wildflowers was on an area of basic soil associated with a serpentine ridge, and was recently lost to excavation for utility work and road widening.
Note on ID. See discussion under this composite image:
The photo on this page is indeed of an American Lady,
Vanessa virginiensis, and not the Painted Lady (Cosmopolitan),
Vanessa cardui.
Compare recently-posted images of another individual, coincidentally also from 2003, but taken several months earlier and about 20 miles away: