We still have a lot of butterflies hanging around here. I’ve finally identified the “mystery” species, which are quite plentiful these days. They are Silver Spotted Skippers, and they really love the Tithonia.
Silver Spotted Skipper on Tithonia
So do some of the other skipper butterflies. I believe the one in the photo below is a Cloudywing skipper.
skipper butterfly
And the one below appears to be a Fiery Skipper. I have had a lot of fun trying to put names to these butterflies!
Fiery Skipper on Tithonia
The Buckeyes are now hanging out on this Golden Jubilee Agastache. The bees like it too, but I guess there’s plenty to share.
Buckeye on agastache
The Buckeyes have a new love too. The Autumn Joy Sedum is just starting to open its blossoms, and they are going nuts over it. I counted 24 of them there one day.
buckeyes on Sedum
We also have some Gray Hairstreak butterflies that are hanging out here in early September. They seem to be Sedum fans as well. These Sedums are so easy to grow, providing fall color as well as nectar for many butterflies.
Gray Hairstreak butterfly on Sedum
I also saw a hairstreak hanging upside down on a mint blossom. I know that bees love mint, but this is the first time I caught a butterfly there.
hairstreak on mint
This has been a banner year for swallowtails in our area. The heat and dry weather may have actually helped them out. Their numbers are waning now, but there are still a few offspring crawling about. This caterpillar has eluded the birds – for now.
swallowtail caterpillar on bronze fennel plant
That’s all for now. I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse into the butterflies that are visiting HA these days.
Wow, you are so lucky, all I have seen in my garden are the monarchs, and of course the cabbage butterflies.
Hi;
Spotted the title to your blog post over on Noelle’s blog and stopped by to enjoy the lovely butterflies! Great pics! Thrilled to also learn the names of them. I see mystery butterflies flitting about in my gardens but I rarely know who they are..
Now I can put names to a few more of mine. We, too, have lots of Fiery Skippers, and I’ve seen the Gray Hairstreak, but it never looked so lovely as against a pale rose background of unfurling sedum. Great shot! Your garden looks so full of life, Villager, as I always picture it from your descriptions. 🙂
We had a ton of swallowtail species this year, as did my family down in Georgia, and you’re the third blogger from another area of the country to mention it. I wonder what did it for them. I wish their numbers would boom again every year — and that all the wildlife would have similar good luck in the years to come.
I love all the butterflies. My old garden mostly had tons of different bees, but not many butterflies. I’d see some black swallowtail larvae (I grew a lot of dill just for them), but not much else. Occasionally one would come in and grace the garden, but it was always fleeting. My Autumn Joy was always covered with bees. Tons and tons of bees, but I never saw a butterfly there.
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Beautiful pictures! The buckeyes are my favorite of all the ones pictures there – their spots are just so striking! I also like your new blog header picture!
You’ve inspired me. I am going to plant tithonia next year, maybe that will increase the good butterflies rather than the cabbage butterflies. Last year I had lots of black swallowtails and their caterpillars on my parsley, but none this year.
Love the photos!