Earlier in the year, I posted a Bucket of butterflies that I had seen on a trip to the Missouri Ozarks. Meanwhile, I’ve been accumulating pics of butterflies visiting my front yard. I know, the title says backyard; I took artistic license for alliterative purposes.
A long time ago, I learned that butterflies of many species are attracted to zinnias and purple coneflowers, which by good fortune are easy to grow at my place. The soil is dense clay which I’ve improved with mulch. There is abundant sunlight between my house and the street.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns spinning around us.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
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2020 will go down in history as a year with many dubious events. But one good happening was my first-ever sighting of a zebra longwing. There is a good chance that they had been visiting all along, but I never saw them because of my travels. This year, there have been near-daily sightings since late July. I saw one yesterday, even though the zinnias have nearly played out. The red morning glory flowers offer a Plan B for nectar-loving insects.
With no further ado, here are some of the butterflies that posed for pictures this year. As always, I welcome any expert advice if any of my species calls are wrong. Funny thing, when I was a kid, I learned all of the large and colorful butterflies, but paid little heed to the skippers. It turns out that the skippers are regular visitors to the zinnias, and I’m making up for lost time by learning about them now.
From here on, the butterflies get bigger and more colorful…
Are you tired of looking at butterflies? That’s tough, because I have three more. I saved them for last, because they remind me of the way I feel after enduring Campaign 2020.
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