Butterflies

We have many butterflies that hang out in the yard.

This one is probably my favorite. The Tiger Swallowtail. It can have a 5” wingspan.  The colors are so sharp on this one I don’t think it is very old.

This is a Zebra Longwing. It has definitely been around awhile. The colors are fading and there is a bit of hind wing missing.

I believe this is a Peacock Butterfly. It’s a small butterfly and we can have a dozen or more at once. There is a ground cover vine (that is impossible to get rid of) that has a yellow flower they seem to like. I keep hoping the bees will develop a taste for it…but no luck so far.

A Viceroy…similar to a Monarch but with the coloring of a Queen. A very deep rust color.

The only thing in the yard the bees and butterflies seem to agree on are the Bottlebrush bushes.  The butterflies like the Lantana and Jatropha….the Pagoda Plants and the Spanish Needle.  So Far, the bees don’t seem to go to any of them, other than one or two for pollen on the Jatropha.

We don’t see many of the Luna Moth since they like the night and their life span is so short. They mate, lay eggs and then die. Living only a week or two. The Sweet Gum tree is one of their host plants and we have several around us. I guess I’ll have to spend more time outside at night…..uhhhhh…..maybe not…mosquitos.