Lorquin's Admiral Butterfly, Limenitis lorguinii, on California Buckeye, Aesculus californica, on which it feeds in its caterpillar stage. Males will wait, perched in valley bottoms, for females. Adults feed on nectar from the California Buckeye, yerba santa, and privet. They will also sip from bird droppings, and dung. Of note, this butterfly is fairly territorial and is said to even attack large birds on occasion. However, in regards to humans, this particular butterfly proved rather camera shy, requiring a bit of effort to finally catch this picture from a distance. This one was at the Southern side of its range at the Otay River, California although they are known to occur as far South as Baja California. They are distributed as far North as British Columbia, Canada and as far East as Montana.
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