The garden’s butterfly population seems to be reaching its peak, especially with the migrating monarchs. I can’t leave or return home without wanting to grab the camera, or at the very least lose myself in watching these magical creatures. A couple of these photos have already been posted on Instagram so I’m sorry if this is repetitious for some of you.
We saw hardly any Eastern Tiger Swallowtails until after the middle of August, but they’ve been much more noticeable lately,
The Black Swallowtails have been around all summer, but this is the best picture I’ve gotten of one all year. They tend to be kind of hyperactive.
Lately there have been a half dozen or so Monarchs most mornings when we head out to work. I’ve probably mentioned this before, but the Zinnias and Mexican Sunflowers (Tithonia rotundifolia) have been magnets for all kinds of butterflies. Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) and the Milkweeds have also been pretty popular.
I like this Monarch in motion picture even though it is fuzzy. Looks like a vampire come to suck the bumblebee’s blood.
Painted Ladies have been plentiful this year.
Same butterfly, different light and angle.
The presence of butterflies certainly lift the spirits, even if they do tend to make me late for work.
gardeninacity 
Hope your boss is a gardener so s/he would understand one has to stop at least for a moment and enjoy the beauty of these visitors. Great photos.
Thanks. My boss is something of a gardener, plus he’s pretty flexible about schedules as long as the work gets done.
I’m becoming increasingly fond of the painted ladies, and I especially like the translucence of that last photo. Thanks for sharing all of these here — those of us who’ve chosen to avoid social media are grateful.
l also liked the lighting in that second picture.
We have more butterflies this year than ever before. I’ve become obsessed with chrysalis-watching, hoping to catch the moment of emergence (haven’t yet).
I’ve seen very few chrysalids – one of this year’s few disappointments.
What beautiful images! Since losing my zinnias to the rabbits, I’ve seen very few butterflies, so I especially enjoyed these photos. I think you have the best excuse ever for being late to work!
That’s what I think, also – but damn those rabbits!
Great photos of the butterflies… not surprising you are late for work! If you have a special technique for taking photos of butterflies … let’s us know… it is beyond me!
Telephoto lens (200mm) and LOTS of patience. Though this past week, there have been so many butterflies, not as much patience has been needed.
Thanks Judy
What great pictures of the butterflies on the tithonia. Stunning!
Thank you!
A beautiful way to start the day by reading this blog. Never, never could those fluttering lovelies be repetitious. Wonderful that you don’t even have to leave home to see these delightful creatures.
Yes, I love seeing them when I walk out the door.
Lovely photos, especially the last two–swoon worthy!
Thank you!
Grandson came home from his first day of kindergarten all excited because there was a caterpillar in the classroom and it was making its chrysalis. Did you know it will become a butterfly? Lovely photos.
This is a great thing to explore with kids. The little girl next door came over last year to see the newly hatched Monarchs come out of a couple of chrysalids we had raised inside.
I love seeing all the butterfly photos — we have quite a few bees here in Quebec, but not so many butterflies….
The bees are lots of fun to watch also.
I know of a large patch of zinnias where I can usually count on seeing painted ladies, but I haven’t seen a single one this year.
Huh. Wonder why.
Not sure, but they’re still; not around.
Beautiful garden visitors. Lots of Swallowtails in my garden this summer, many more than ever before, but hardly any the past two weeks.
I would like to see more Swallowtails, especially some different species. One year we had a Giant Swallowtail, but it never came back. I have host plants for Spicebush and Pipevine Swallowtails, but no takers yet apparently.
It’s so exciting when we see butterflies fluttering about – they are absolutely loving the zinnias in my garden as well. The monarchs, especially, are plentiful this year. And LOVE the action shot with the monarch coming in for a landing – it obviously doesn’t care that it’s already occupied!
Seems to be a little bumblebee/butterfly rivalry going on !
You are lucky to have such a wonderful range of gorgeous butterflies in the garden. The only one of those we have is the Painted Lady.
And yet I am a bit disappointed there isn’t more variety – I have lots of host plants that aren’t being used as far as I can tell. But I do appreciate what we have.
Great photos! I just saw perhaps a dozen Monarchs this morning at the Portage which is the largest number I have seen this year so I guess migration is in full swing.
Sorry to see them go. Would love to see a dozen all at once!
So beautiful
Thanks!
Lovely photos! We have had loads of Painted Ladies too. They love the thistles growing all around (and IN) the garden!
There’s a native non-invasive thistle I’ve tried to grow without luck. The goldfinches love it also!
It is a great butterfly time of year, isn’t it? These photos are so fabulous. Sometimes I think it would be awesome to live in a place where one could see butterflies every day…like, San Diego, maybe?
I hear Costa Rica is an amazing place for butterflies – I’ve always wanted to go there.
What a treat this post was. Beautiful pictures! We’ve had a good year re the painted ladies too.xxx
They’re an intercontinental species!
We have noticed so many more butterflies this year in our area of southeastern Ontario-especially Monarchs. Not sure why, but they are great to see.
They certainly are.
I love the pictures! They are so pretty! It’s nice to walk right outside your door and see beautiful butterflies. And I think it is ok to be late for work lol. In my area, I don’t usual see butterflies. I see deers, raccoons, hawks and of the like. Do you see other wildlife in your area?
We do have some. There are rabbits – too many rabbits. Also possums, coyotes, skunks, squirrels, and chipmunks. I’ve heard rumors of fox, but never seen one. No deer or raccoons. We do have hawks and owls and many kinds of songbirds.
That’s nice. I found this article about butterflies and how there wings work. May I send it to you?
Sure.
Please tell me if you like it and what you like about it:
https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/g201404/butterfly-wing/
Interesting.