Last week I had the good fortune of being able to roam some highland fields. I spent most of my time in Mouth of Wilson, VA., a cultural and ecological crossroads. A variety of lifeways and pathways meet at this locality, steered by the geology and its mason, the New River. Along Wilson Creek just upstream from its mouth at the New River, summer wildflower meadows abound. This arterial waterway charts its coarse up and up, finding a multitude of spring heads upon Mount Rogers and lesser surrounding mountains and hills.

The following is a list of butterflies observed immediately along Wilson Creek in Mouth of Wilson from August 24-26, 2010. I still don't haven't ventured into the realm of skippers, so this list is far short of complete. One swampy area in particular was dancing with a variety skippers.

Eastern comma
Viceroy
Monarch
Black swallowtail
Eastern tiger swallowtail
Red spotted purple
Pipevine swallowtail
Cabbage white
Common buckeye
Silvery checkerspot
Pearl crescent
Great spangled fritillary
Meadow fritillary
Eastern tailed-blue
Wild indigo duskywing
Northern pearly eye