Butterflies in the Garden

August 2, 2014

The garden is constantly full of movement these days.  But it's not only the bees that are buzzing around.  We have seen  beautiful butterflies lately though not in abundance.  Monarchs have been rare this season and I understand that this is as a result of losing habitat, both in the South and here in Canada. I have been aware of some that are not usually this far north.  Butterflies are not as efficient as the honey bees in pollinating but they are probably more important to our ecology since they are native pollinators so we try to have plants in the garden that will attract them. Here is a photo post of the beautiful butterflies we see in our garden.

Field Crescentspot on Zinnias

Question Mark Angelwing closed on Beauty Bush

Question Mark Angelwing half open

Question Mark Angelwing open

Tiger Swallowtail on echinacea

Orange Sulphur Butterfly on echinacea

Eastern Black Swallowtail on echinacea

Old Red Admiral on hydrangea

Young Red Admiral on hydrangea

Monarch Chrysalis raised by neighbours

Monarch butterfly on echinacea

Monarch butterfly on echinacea

Butterflies are fragile and if you look closely at some of these pictures you will see tears in their wings or a missing tail.  It is remarkable that some of them can travel thousands of kilometres from their wintering spots to come back to Canada.   

Enjoy your long weekend and watch out for the butterflies!