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
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Leadenhall Market, London
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Fireflies glowing above a stream, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
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Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii, USA
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Sociable climbers
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Modica, Sicily, Italy
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81st anniversary of D-Day
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Spring equinox
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Plains zebra foal in Etosha National Park, Namibia
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Eurasian otter and pup, Estonia
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Sunset on the Valley of the Moon
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Guild houses of Grand-Place, Brussels, Belgium
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In the running
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Love is in the snow
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Vila Franca Islet, São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal
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A Balearic islet
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Singing the blues
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Pinnacles National Park, California, United States
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Haut-Barr Castle
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Champaka Sarasi, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India
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Blue hour in Trondheim, Norway
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International Zebra Day
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Happy Boxing Day!
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Whos snoozing?
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A vibrant, sun-drenched island
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What are these colorful insects?
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A cuddling pair of Taiwan yuhina
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Happy Fathers Day!
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Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
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Rice fields at Sapa, Lào Cai, Vietnam
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Trooping the Colour
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