Maybe I just wasn't paying attention?

I have been spending nearly all my time recently out working in the beds rather than blogging about them.   I say that not by way of apology, I'll never say "sorry" for working to improve my own surroundings.

Today however I was shuttling a couple of Netflix envelopes back out to the mailbox and as I was walking past the reworked church pew currently serving as our front porch bench, I spotted this guy hard at work:

Asterocampa celtis, aka the Hackberry Emperor

No, this photo IS different - see how the probiscis (galea) is all unfurled and sucking something out of/off the wood?

After I finished patting myself on the back for being able to correctly identify this industriously distracted butterfly (even a blind pig finds an acorn now and again) I checked in on the feeding habits of same.

There it was again:  The adults do not visit flowers, but feed on rotting fruit, tree sap, dung, and animal carcasses.


I just can't get over how many butterflies are apparently out doing the insect version of what buzzards do.

I had no idea.  Did you?

This has me thinking that butterflies are much bigger badasses than I ever guessed.  Respect!