This spring the first butterfly I saw was the Mourning Cloak, but normally I see the Red Admiral first. One was enjoying the sunshine after some cold cloudy days, but the Red Admiral today looked more orange than red after a long winter. I’ll have to look for other ones to see if they are red like during the summer or pale orange.
Red Admiral Not Red
March came in like a lamb, and with sunshine and a temperature in the low fifties, March went out like a lamb too. Or maybe floated out like a butterfly, as one of the first butterflies of the season was enjoying the sunshine on my lawn this afternoon. The Mourning Cloak has one brood in July and after flying around in the summer and fall, it hibernates over winter before mating in spring.
Mourning Cloak Butterfly
I still saw a butterfly yesterday enjoying the warm fall day but it must not have heard about the cold weather coming otherwise it would have been flying south in a hurry.
Red Admiral Hanging Around
This Milbert’s Tortoiseshell butterfly blends in with the autumn colors, like the turning leaves and fall flower blossoms.
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell
Bugs, bees and butterflies were enjoying a dry day to collect nectar from the late summer flowers. This monarch butterfly was very intent on collecting from goldenrod, which provides a good nectar flow in late summer. Most adults monarchs only live for a few weeks, but the generation born as fall approaches hold off on reproducing and monarchs from this area will make the long migration to Mexico. These migrating monarchs will live for six to eight months before starting back north in the spring.
Monarch on Goldenrod
Yesterday when I was mowing lawn, I spotted a Giant Swallowtail butterfly checking out the flowers. With a wing span of 4 to 6.25 inches and even up to 7.4 inches, this is the largest of all North American butterflies.
Giant Swallowtail
The sunshine and blossoming flowers brought more butterflies to the yard, like these Great Spangled Fritillaries, which are found in Wisconsin from late June through early September.
Great Spangled Fritillary
The summer flowers are attracting bees and butterflies but I didn’t have my camera while mowing today so I could only watch the giant swallowtail butterfly checking out the blossoms. A few days ago the blazing star flowers were a popular spot for fritillaries and monarchs.
Summertime Monarch
Besides the common milkweed, the swamp milkweed is also blooming now and it is attracting various insects and butterflies including the monarchs.
Monarch on Swamp Milkweed
The long summer days gives more hours to spot butterflies darting around the blossoms in the yard like this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
Tiger Swallowtail
