My Yard ~ Butterflies

This year has been a strange butterfly year with wet.cool weather at the end of June into the July and so the numbers of butterflies have been low.  Hopefully that will change as we get to the end of August and into September & October. 

Silver-spotted skippers

Summer Azure

Common Buckeye

Clouded Sulphur

Variegated Fritillary

Variegated Fritillary

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

 

My Yard ~ Butterflies

 Shocked and excited to have a Long-Tailed Skipper fly out of a large bushy lantana I was watering.  Also had an Ocola here along with 8 other species of butterflies.  This is really great for the end of October in a drought year.  We haven't had a freeze here yet so I still have zinnia's blooming though many of them are dyeing.  I have still been watering due to the drought.

Lantana

Zinnia

Sachem

Fiery

Long-tailed

Ocola

Ocola

Cabbage White

Orange Sulphur

Fiery

Clouded Sulphur

Common Buckeye

 

Nature at Nottingham County Park

Peck's

Silver-spotted 

Peck's

Clouded Sulphur

Pearl Crescent

Clouded Sulphur

 

Lancaster County Butterflies ~ Holtwood Nature Perserve

 I was shocked to go back and find the main field with butterfly weed and other wildflowers has been mostly cut to the ground in prime season for the butterflies. I was told by a Nature Conservancy volunteer, they planted them by mistake instead of the grasses they received a grant to plant so are the staff are cutting everything now so they can replant in Oct. Very sad not to wait another 4-6 weeks.  Below are some of the butterflies from the day.  I missed missing any Zebra swallowtails but happy to see mating Sleepy Orange.

Mating Sleepy Orange

Great Spangled Fritillary

Summer Azure

Orange Sulphur

American Lady

 Eastern-tailed Blue 

Monarch Caterpillar

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Clouded Sulphur

Great Spangled Fritillary

Pearl Crescent

Clouded Sulphur

Common Buckeye

Chester County, PA ~ Wolf's Hollow County Park

Wolf's Hollow County Park 18 species of butterflies seen and very little of the meadow walked. Not pictured are Cabbage Whites, Summer Azures, Eastern-tailed Blues, Sachem's and Zabulon Skippers. I see many return trips in my future for birds and butterflies.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtails & a Monarch

Peck's Skipper

Horace's Duskywing

Variegated Fritillary

Clouded Sulphur

Meadow Fritillary

Orange Sulphurs

Common Buckeye

Black Swallowtail laying eggs with caterpillar on bronze fennel

Pearl Crescent

Silver-spotted Skipper 

Least Skipper

Monarch