One of the great pleasures of having a garden is the many visitors it attracts--and I'm talking about the non-mammalian kind.
Along with flowers come pollinators, including butterflies, moths and bees. When I take my camera into the garden, I find I am more likely to slow down and look closely at the petals, stems and leaves to see who has come to visit.
With the help of a guidebook and Google, I can usually guess at the insect species I've found. The rest of the time, I am quite clueless. If any of my readers has a few more clues than I do, I'd love help in identifying my visitors.
Take a look at my guest book so far this summer; this week's post will just focus on the butterflies who stop by. :
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWLLUz5lHFfTgnV0yuAA_MRMRQiT7snHHSxjStf2vys3bbpo80Zk4CL-8OobDo2n2bmCPCqh2gzuMns2LFHIAhyJZAwdA5-0BV7fpP61TM3sp2Y9iIBMgfSYj_BbeIKteqd21F2aePeM/s320/IMG_4066.JPG) |
A Tiger Swallowtail seems to be loving the camera almost as much as the butterfly bush. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfnh8JmdLNx38P8mIXYzZ34AW7mgcoBa_dt4dWjLi_r9C8Jc4FXay3aWwK7rcTQbmltbriceIL6vJpGSUWuraj62KTkRup9rXHDaJ2Hkotn0eMtHFJ8gVSDTU9mzTIyfxWY4nrH8m59s/s320/IMG_4091.JPG) |
Another view of a Tiger Swallowtail. Even its body is tiger striped. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBgH_j0in8Q0ZSHHMUv-G1o-wNIHfEXxO6ipzxdjF8iGHay5F4TO4-Qqv-kO8KZAwND4Ht3wseHCLln1adWnRUOC1FcBImC3H_NZ8B4elDxS15oJin9tZVJ_Bu9r8VrWVFgkKBxbdYRE/s320/IMG_4087.jpg) |
These are Black Swallowtail caterpillars. Every year they find my dill and eat it leafless. But there is plenty of dill for all to share. I don't have a picture of this guy as a butterfly yet, but he looks a lot like the Spicebush Swallowtail shown below. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQfb8FDmanQ_5rJS6AbhofhMhkOKxYiY9lSC81InJf4zW0V2GZpQv8VXQ5axkLW0qmYTew1jnV23HmlbEjlMXrixydlSurtu9O-4mEsX48BEJSeQnpcLV4cuWjzBLAa7s7CyrSQYLDJDA/s320/IMG_4191.JPG) |
Some butterflies look very different depending on whether you're look at them from the bottom (ventral) or the top (dorsal). The Spicebush Swallowtail shown here is demonstrating the ventral view. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZkV3x0WIaXOy719dVnpuWLdYp3zc4x0OcUwRcFKw2YcbhzOA4mlvfvh1bnUVQsM6vl7w1PPSYFYwa3Uj9SdS6MUIDsungAMxHuCefr2K0koRs32U_WmDEW9945_yLWYxqwCZGIHIkKU/s320/IMG_4207.JPG) |
Here is the dorsal view of a Spicebush Swallowtail. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqm4osgYrJPqjC2a9eo0biSBlnC_hkolcKihOZqMBiL6u2DRDSn-NLSp0_sZqMlTrmEcmOoBV-DlKqqrZT7t-50aSQrUhAtnlUiC91g4w_tStGQDUvYZk4DmUEhvlZz7ubeYpM_E2Cez8/s320/IMG_4344.JPG) |
A Cabbage White butterfly demonstrates another way to look at the ventral view, as it feeds on purple loosestrife. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWtlKhf15qHdlzkjkBJ1IS8o7FfgmCFFHkG81bjby_Ww1oImA4FZF2MM_Rr37h5tkZrRZXlJYgIxhQAUD1PDDsI9HjaVdvVQJ2K74PebUjFRzbRujy949yBxZjw8xkP6O5uF-Z-K112SY/s320/IMG_4325.JPG) |
A dorsal view of the Cabbage White. For some reason, I always seem to see these butterflies in pairs, but they move so fast, I am never able to catch two in the viewfinder at the same time. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIAmyRvVqOZAAHBNRHcpnw9gghWT4LUJ9jbZeememFCGS0qRuzZc97mlca1BkDa6yO5xh280kgF7BWnBDgZV9jIzgHkt4uqFWGcAid6VozrtNOs1UMRFAYorlMcXvnMCjSnyIQeFBM5o/s320/IMG_4217.JPG) |
Dozens of small brown butterflies also gather and feed in my garden. Tiny, they are often eclipsed by their showier relatives, and I have to admit I have trouble identifying them. This is a skipper; it's maybe 1/4 inch from stem to stern, as seen here. This type of skipper has a kind of double folded wing, but it turns out, so do a dozen or so others. The group is known as folded wing skippers, but I can only guess which particular one this is. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZdavKlzNbBxaSTyA9uZXwFxIM0rF5tHF0QQAyfkbdy65SJMvL-TQ8MKBmG6rWkvqfLzzxU_ekpySZl84sSGlukqOlcs9WBW4lJ7FE04W7Zv3KxDeyoBZoO3heWlclzaO0tVNoLqHGbww/s320/IMG_4372.JPG) |
Here you can see the folded wings on this skipper. Don't know what he is either. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lzOO3uyOY_2mUP6ZK_1EEU-fpXnamX3gx5XskvcNC2aA_XtMpQQaBRbkjrXICXYROkfohMVqRLMFDYjEVNnO0ePX6co5IisXPNhyphenhyphengvIRWILnJMXX3aeZ8DtMcVbMyNe-FTlAe2u8qts/s320/IMG_4362.jpg) |
Two folded wing skippers alternate between feeding and resting. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3IJuFNzgYHtup61FA_ycMWqb8utzItXDQ3aru593IwJP6Tuyhew3e63m6TJbI6jCxONuVDnNS0tW8y5n2bkH16TXmqDMXSMeBTB2HjTQDVwP9cCJTXyKpRAfVzOF29TPOxOAXGvG2z34/s320/IMG_4458.JPG) |
Horace's Duskywing is quite a bit bigger than most of the skippers, even if it is mostly brown in color like they are. With a wingspan of about an inch and a half, he's much easier to identify. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSEyuaE8kRDvc2znbkKgExG1n05phZ8g7BHkWABs1cDxQxoo5lzsSgQJB9GSAoUnQv70HqVBB-urcG0TqKH2SCVOrhtqf7VD5wB7LgwZLFM0Vy-6RIjWxU_9ZWJC-CPDR8j1C61hxvgiI/s320/IMG_4356.JPG) |
The Silver Spotted Skipper is a very common visitor. At any given moment, a half dozen of these creatures are flitting in and out and among my butterfly bushes. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqW-jzoIQ40RqIQNTG-iny_WZ547ELRt9HUkMf4wpdd5dz5jasTVs1KsHitvxpmF77sL7DJX-sls9GgUVYyapOT3ZF2s2XvkGe4egjH1KVOKSBQGcpjDiOXV52kIzeTr5NUX0-IeDBe-c/s320/IMG_4058.JPG) |
For many people, the Monarch is the archetypical "butterfly." This monarch was posing on Purpletop Vervain, otherwise known as Verbena bonariensis. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSK88Fptg4mNnOwLZZQDVWiJUblUhwPbaSA3GT2lsuJ0pdgf0vKThpjIlvn39C-ZKj9KpInGQMVuOZqaTwbhj9d88liI6oAQw03a47yML8dzyel630a6ufLTzBDJD5semF2bNHjf_Qcs/s320/IMG_4472.JPG) |
Monarchs like the butterfly bush, too. I think everybody does. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV31VmV6Bt44nUlepi2AcA8jzfLwnOn8MpijExSua0O4lLFnm6vYgvywr6ORB7SdrAwLXMajWfPaldHmXyJmODwGw7GtMi-oNnmGdG-nBoRUdYejdtxZEYT_gUJ3oIwFMxTAGofeIoCug/s320/IMG_4400.JPG) |
I would love this butterfly just for its name: Great Spangled Fritillary! Sounds like an exclamation: "Great Spangled Fritillary, Martha, is that a moose in the back yard?" |
My garden is so much more than just flowers; it is a place of bright colors and constant movement. A living work of art, it is made all the more precious by the knowledge that its beauty and wonder are short lived.
Susan- I love your photos and everything in between! Keep up the good work! ~Laura from Hair Port
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura. I'm so glad you like the blog! I have lots of fun taking pictures and am happy to share. :-)
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