dainty pretty fritillaries

She takes such a beautiful picture! She is quick in the air but when she lands for nectar she must have no fear of predators because she really takes her time...so unlike the swallowtails who barely land for nectar before they are on to the next flower.

 

fritillary magic

The Gulf Fritillaries are super gorgeous in the yard this year. They just had the best time. I think they spent their whole life right here in the same place! Our passion vine still has chrysalises and caterpillars too. So fun and pretty to have around.

Gulf Fritillary

Beautiful gulf fritillary feeding on the black and blue salvia in the garden today. Taken with my new Canon PowerShot SX40. I used auto settings and even though the subject is a little soft, I love it because I was standing a good 20 feet away.

Gulf Fritillary

The Gulf Fritillary seems to be the first butterfly obscessing on our garden this year. They love the leaves of the passion vine to lay their eggs on. We have hundreds of caterpillars already munching down. It has been a slow start but shouldn't be, we had a mild winter and everything has been ready for the butterflies in the form of host and nectar plants. I think we can blame the mockingbirds on this one though. I saw the massacred remains of a Monarch on the ground, the body was gone and the wings were left. Something tells me, the butterflies fed some of these fat little baby mockers flying around my yard.

passion vine

It's the start of the new season and we have been working really hard getting the garden ready for our butterflies. This is my second year documenting what flies through here and hopefully this year I can share some of the birds and other things we have attracted too. Many sections of the garden have been revamped. Little by little things have been moved around and new things brought in. The passion vine has flowered and I am really excited because last year I grew this monster from 6 cuttings off the neighbors vine. I stuck them in a pot and prayed. Half of them died. I had only one flower last year. But this year is a different story. I have the pretty blue flowers already. The flowers are enchanting and exotic. The leaves are used as food plants for the larvae of the the Zebra Longwing and Gulf Fritillary.

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

I love the underwings of a fritillary. We have a couple passion vines in the yard and this is a host plant for them. The flowers on a passion vine are exotic and breathtaking. I will take a shot as soon as they bloom. I lost ours last year due to torrential rains and I had to regrow from a neighbors stem cutting. I should have red and purple/blue blooms this year. Can't wait because you can't find the red in Lowes or the nurseries I frequent. I hope I got a red, some shoots did not take but I had a few of each, so I am hoping for one red and one blue.