A complete guide on some of the most popular garden butterflies
There are so many benefits to having a garden but one of the highlights is the presence of beautiful butterflies that shows up, especially in large numbers. Butterflies are known as pollinators helping to contribute to our ecosystem that is so diverse. What I found to be so amazing is that there are estimated to be “over 100,000 species of butterfly worldwide”.
The painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) is a member of the family Nymphalidae this garden beauty has colors of pale orange to the upper wings, blacktips are on the forewings marked with spots that are white. Rows of black spots can be found on the hindwings, and blue eyespots which are pale can be found on their undersides.
During springtime, a vast number of the painted lady butterfly migrate northward across the Mediterranean from Africa to Britain and even Europe traveling thousands of miles. These butterflies are known to mate through all seasons including the winter months mating while even migrating.
The painted lady butterfly is popular among garden butterflies, this beautiful lady can be identified by pale orange on the upper wing tip, blacktips can be found on forewings marked with spots that are white. Blue eyespots can be found on the undersides while rows of black spots can be seen on the hinder wings.
The comma butterfly is a butterfly that has a very unique wing pattern that I believe can get the attention of just about anyone, it is so cool to visit your garden and find them taking up residence. I believe that a garden where butterflies are present causes that garden to really come alive with their many activities and especially if children are around this makes the experience more rewarding providing hours of fun for them.
The eastern comma butterfly is a North American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Nymphalinae, this butterfly can be identified by its orange-brown color and dark markings along with a large white mark along its back towards its rear end. Their color makes them inconspicuous to predators camouflaging among other plants. These butterflies are common throughout England and Wales, Ireland, and Southern Scotland.
The black swallowtail butterfly is beautiful and can be seen gracing many urban gardens with their presence these butterflies are active between late April and early June so if your hobby is studying butterflies in their natural habitat then this time of the year is when you should watch out for them.
Though they have a short life span they do leave their mark that is unforgettable, below we will be discussing some amazing fun facts as we enter the world of the black swallowtail butterfly.
The eastern black swallowtail butterfly can be found throughout southern Canada, most of the eastern and mid-western United States, west to the Rocky Mountains, southwest into Arizona, and northern Mexico. This butterfly has two generations a year, the first group of butterflies emerges between late April and early June.
The western tiger swallowtail butterfly is native to western North America, this butterfly is commonly seen in woodlands, sagelands, meadows, near streams, and rivers, parks, suburbs, gardens, oases, canyons, creeks, roadsides, and wooded suburbs. These butterflies are very active and love sunny locations.
Our gardens and landscapes are teeming with all sorts of insects whether they be garden insect pests or beneficial insects, what we don’t want is to mistake these insects that are of great benefit for the bad guys. Have you ever moved through your garden area and stumbled upon insects especially the weird-looking ones wondering what they were? In this article, however, we will be discussing such insects known as the eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillar and how to identify them.
In one of my articles, we discussed the biology of the eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly and how you can create a natural habitat for them in your home garden, however, we will be looking at some fun facts about this butterfly that have caught the attention of so many people. The eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly is very beautiful and will fill your garden with its many colors as they move about collecting nectar. Here are the fun facts that you will find to be very interesting.
Papilio glaucus the eastern swallowtail butterfly is native to eastern North America and is said to be the largest butterfly in this region. Their habitat includes meadows, nearby streams, deciduous woods, forest edges, open sunny upland fields, woodlands, river valleys, waterways, parks, and residential gardens.
The male eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly can be identified by its light yellow and black colored pattern, the female is of a deeper yellow color with black patterns. The female also has blue and orange color markings near the tail end.
The Europeans were responsible for the introduction of the cabbage white butterfly to North America, these butterflies also spread to Siberia and Asia. It’s recorded that the cabbage white also called cabbage butterfly was first sighted in Quebec Canada in 1860 and is most commonly found in Sidney Australia and loves open spaces such as woodlands, forests, heath, and urban areas.
The cabbage white butterfly can be identified by its white cream color with small black dots on its wings, the chrysalis is greenish in color that changes pale green to light brown with aging and remains attached to the host plant. The adult larva has a green to bluish-green coloration with a black ring and small black pints around the spiracles.
The caterpillar however has a lateral row of dashes and a yellow mid-dorsal line, both in yellow. Their green makes them camouflage and invisible to predators. The adult cabbage white butterfly lives up to 3 weeks.
The eastern black swallowtail butterfly is popular among other species of butterflies being admired for its beauty, when seeking to attract the black swallowtail butterfly to our gardens one of the key elements is to plant what they love because it’s the black swallowtail host plants that will attract them like a magnet. The plants that are chosen however should be divided into 2 categories, one group of plants should be installed for the adult or parent butterfly while the other group consists of plants that the larva (black swallowtail) feeds on.
There are other common names that the black swallowtail butterfly goes by, these other names are as followed.
The eastern black swallowtail butterfly belongs to the family Papilionidae and includes more than 600 species worldwide, these butterflies can be found throughout Canada to northern Mexico, parts of western United States as well as most of the eastern United States, New Mexico, Nevada, California, throughout New Hampshire and Colorado. The eastern black swallowtail butterflies are common visitors to farmlands, open fields and can be frequently seen in urban gardens or landscapes.
Proper identification of the eastern black swallowtail butterfly includes black wings with light-colored spots, or scales, on the trailing edges, on the male the spots are pale green, and on the female, the spots are iridescent blue. The undersides of the wings have bright orange spots.
The fall months are finally here, it is so amazing how time flies and before we can blink an eye winter will be here also with its chilly freezing months.
As the cold weather approaches butterflies like other wildlife will be looking for a place to overwinter because this is very crucial during this time of the year to ensure their survival.
Some places these garden beauties over winter include the soil or leaf litter at the pupa or larva stage, as adults hiding in tree bark, man-made structures, or the crevices of rocks.
To help butterflies prepare for this time of the year (fall) here are some helpful tips that have proven to be beneficial.
As the name depicts the peacock butterfly is one of the most beautiful butterflies ever. These butterflies show off their beauty by displaying their bright colors that will get the attention of anyone. The peacock butterflies are a real show stopper and populate places such as Scotland, England, Britain, Wales, and Ireland.
Other species like the banded peacock butterfly can be found in places such as Central America, Costa Rica, Texas, and Mexico. The peacock butterfly belongs to the family Nymphalidae and is mostly single brooded.
Anthocharis cardamines, the orang-tip butterfly is most active during the spring months and can be seen between April and July. This butterfly is in the family Pieridae with a species of some 1, 100 which is large.
The orang-tip butterfly gets its name from the bright orange tip that’s found on the forewings of the males. These butterflies love the bright sunlight and can be seen actively flying about under these conditions.
The cabbage white butterfly belongs to the family Pieridae and can easily be identified by its white wings and black markings which can be found on the wingtips, the wings of this butterfly also have small black dots. The cabbage white butterfly can be found throughout Asia, North Africa, and Europe.
In Europe, the cabbage white butterfly is known as the small cabbage white or small cabbage, in New Zealand as the small white, and in North America as the cabbage butterfly or cabbage white. What I found so amazing about the courtship of these butterflies is when the male spots a female and seeks to win her he will get her attention by flying up and down in front of her in a zig-zag pattern.
The small tortoiseshell butterfly belongs to the family Nymphalidae, this colorful beauty can be found in gardens across Ireland and Britain. The tortoiseshell butterfly is orange to reddish with forewings that have yellow and black margins with the edges of the wings having blue ring spots.
These butterflies congregate in large numbers as they visit gardens in the spring and during the fall months. However, there is a growing concern because of the decline of the tortoiseshell butterflies due to parasites, climate change, pollution, and also drought during the hot summer months.
The red admiral butterfly belongs to the family Nymphalidae this beautiful butterfly can be found in places such as the Caribbean, Asia, both Central and North America, the island regions of Hawaii, North Africa, and Europe.
These butterflies can be easily identified with wings that are black with white spots and orange bands that make this butterfly so beautiful. They thrive in climates that are warm, from March through October in North America the red admiral has two broods each year.
The meadow brown butterfly is widespread and can be found in places such as Europe, North Africa, Iran, Asia Minor, the Canary Islands, Iraq, and Russia. These butterflies can be found mostly in Scotland congregating wherever there are patches of native grasses that are overgrown. The meadow brown can be easily spotted by the eyespots that are on their wings.
Orange patches can be found on the forewings only, one eyespot on the forewing, and none on the hindwings. They can be seen flying low over vegetation. It’s been discovered that the markings on their wings vary from region to region. Large colonies have been lost because of fields being overworked.
The silver-skipper is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae, it’s believed that these butterflies (skippers) are the most recognized and largest in North America. The silver-skipper is found mostly throughout the United States and Southern Canada and has 1-2 generations in the Midwest and increases this number in the Southern part of the US.
The males are said to be territorial and compete to attract females also the males have been known to fly towards moving objects and other flying insects. These butterflies are most common to many butterfly lovers and will have much activity as you make a home for them in your garden and landscape area. Below we will go more in-depth about the life cycle, how to attract them into your garden, and much more.
The swallowtail butterfly is popular among butterfly lovers, these garden beauties will have your garden area buzzing with excitement as you create a natural habitat from your backyard, a garden oasis with the presence of the swallowtail is so inviting as you make these beneficial insects feel right at home.
Creating a habitat of this kind is a great way to start a wildlife garden providing a home as well as a food and water source for them, this is a great way to bring balance to our ecosystem. For more on the care of swallowtails continue reading to have much success when caring for them.
The monarch butterfly can bring that much-needed flavor to your gardens and landscapes with their beautiful colors. These butterflies are popular and can be seen in gardens gracefully flying from plant to plant collecting pollen, this is one of the many wonders of nature which can have gardens teaming not only with their beauty but with excitement as we watch them in their natural habitat.
Get kids on board as they watch these fascinating wonders of nature help in bringing balance to the ecosystem with their presence and activity. This is a great way to teach kids not only about plant life but wildlife and the contributions they bring, my childhood days were full of excitement as both my friends and I went butterfly watching along with catching a few which help to make school break on those long summer days so great. Below we will be discussing this popular butterfly along with looking at some fun facts. If you are a butterfly lover and would like to know more about the monarch butterfly then continue reading as we take this exciting journey together.