Butterflies of Eastern Shore of MD, Side Farm House

Swallowtail Butterfly on a Butterfly Bush - Buddleia flower

Painted Lady on the Butterfly Bush

The gift that keeps on giving...my Butterfly Bush! As if the purple color of the bush is not impressive enough, the broad color spectrum of the visitors is spectacular.  This bush attracts a huge number of butterflies.  My curiosity peaked, it has prompted me to research the names of the visitors.

Before they came to visit, I had no idea what a Silver-Spotted Skipper was, nor an Orange Sulphur. A Painted Lady is a Victorian house in San Francisco, a Monarch is a royal ruler and a Fritillary is a tall regal cluster headed flower....or maybe no.  I have since come to learn that I was wrong on all accounts. Those names all are ascribed to colorful, lively butterflies. Maryland, the state where I reside, has hundreds of butterfly varieties in residence.  Yes, hundreds!

Silver Spotted Sulphur on the Buddleia

Visiting this Buddleia bush is like a drug. I wander out to the garden to casually note who my new visitors are...and the next thing I know I am hooked in again. It is disappointing when I forget my camera, inevitably there will be some new variety that I have not documented before. I hate when that happens! Here some photos are posted of my butterflies, so you can see what I a talking about. Note one or two of them are rather tattered from their journey. The Monarch and Buckeyes migrate yearly.

Want to find out what your visitors are called? Butterflies and Moths of North America http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ is a great website that can be found by clicking the previous link. If you are curious what butterflies and moths are native to your area, give a click and explore their info. The website is easy to explore and they have a link for regional checklists to locate the butterflies in your area by identifying your state and county. Wow, that blew me away.

Spicebush Swallowtail

A Monarch migrating to Mexico

A travel tattered Common Buckeye