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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Beauty resides in trees
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A galaxy full of stars
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Aurora borealis over Maligne Lake in Alberta
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The citadel in Bonifacio, Southern Corsica, France
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A pair of high achievers
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A breathtaking cave when it’s cold
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Yi Peng lantern festival, Chiang Mai, Thailand
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So fresh, so clean
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Badlands National Park anniversary
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Aerial view of Plaza Mayor, Madrid, Spain
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National Mushroom Day
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Short-eared owl
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World Meteorological Day
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Part science experiment, part public park
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Giants of the Southern Ocean
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International Day for Biological Diversity
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Village of Santa Maddalena, Dolomites, Italy
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International Day of the Snow Leopard
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Among the cedar and spruce
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Gaztelugatxe islet at sunset, Basque Country, Spain
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Gravity-defying wonders of the world
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World Migratory Bird Day
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In the tropics, land greets sea warmly
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Union Square, Manhattan, New York, USA
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Night view of the RMS Queen Mary, Long Beach, California, United States
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A triumphant pose
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Belogradchik Rocks, Bulgaria
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Plum blossoms, China
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Zebras enjoying their day
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Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, United States
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

