Backyard Butterflies

One advantage of having a lot of native plants in the backyard is that those plants tend to attract a lot of butterflies and moths. Some come looking for a nectar source; others want to find good host plants for laying eggs. In my backyard, I have recorded over 20 species of butterflies (and many more moths). Some of them were probably just passing through (especially the Monarchs), but others are probably hosted here.

This Red Admiral was sunning itself on a grape leaf yesterday evening.

It was soon joined at its sunny perch by an Eastern Comma.

The two butterflies circled around each other a few times at first, but both soon settled down on nearby grape leaves.

A Spicebush Swallowtail was also patrolling in the area of the grape vines, and it landed in the grass a few times.