Butterfly season

Eastern black swallowtail

It is butterfly season in my backyard!  We think of butterflies as summer visitors to our gardens, but in my backyard, the butterflies arrive in September. 

My favorites are the large swallowtails.  In my garden, I've seen both the Eastern tiger swallowtails and the Eastern black swallowtails. 

Eastern black swallowtail caterpillar

The black swallowtails have turned my flat leaf parsley patch into their nursery.  About a dozen cute little caterpillars have nearly stripped the parsley clean.  I don't mind because they will turn into fabulous butterflies in a few weeks and the parsley will grow right back.

I also enjoy seeing the gulf fritillary families growing out on the passion flower vines.  Their little caterpillars keep the vines pruned back for me so I don't have to do it after the frost.  Their golden brown parents look pretty awesome in the garden too.

Passion flower vine, host plant for gulf fritillary

Of course, no garden landscape should ever be without cloudless sulphur butterflies.  They flit about the garden, enjoying the taste of just about everything that is in bloom. 

There are many other butterflies visiting my gardens these days, most of them are tiny and barely noticeable, but all the butterflies and their offspring are welcome here.