Oh, the horror!

[ButterflyPR at comcast.net]

I was never very good at watching those "Predator and Prey" videos...
Yesterday, while we still had power, I went out to check on the skippers.  
One was fluttering frantically about in the buddleia.  I thought that was a bit 
odd... I looked closer.  When it stopped fluttering for a moment, I realized 
that it wasn't alone--someone was holding on to it!  I'm wondering if it was 
an assassin bug--it had sort of a reddish x shape on its back, but the rest 
of it looked greenish.  Anyway, I poked at it with a twig, the skipper flew 
away, then I flicked the bug off the buddleia.  Let the circle of life continue 
elsewhere!  

In my backyard, I continue to see skippers, Peck's, and either 
Tawny-Edged or Crossline.  How can I tell them apart, quickly?

Visited a friend in Pomfret today.  In her perennial garden, saw Cabbage 
Whites, Clouded Sulphurs, Pearl Crescents, a Great Spangled Fritillary, a 
couple Tiger Swallowtails, a couple Spicebush Swallowtails (who 
seemed to be spending a lot of time in the apple trees), a couple 
Common Ringlets, and a few skippers.  I thought one skipper might have 
been a Little Glassywing, but it seemed darker--could it have just been 
very fresh?

Diane Adams
Chester (and Pomfret)