Backyard and Beyond

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. The hugeness of these is really telling when they’re at eye-level. Wingspan can reach 4.5″.Monarch.Black Swallowtails.Sulphurs courting.American Lady. Oops! This is a Painted Lady. I’m so used to seeing American Ladies, I didn’t even look closely at this photo. Thanks to Ken for pointing out the mis-identification.Common Buckeye pair.Red Admiral, very beat up. Note the rolled tongue: it has to go somewhere while in flight.Another Red Admiral in fine fettle.

All seen, like tomorrow’s specimens, in Green-Wood. For variety, and numbers, the cemetery has never looked better for butterflies. The cemetery is mowing less and they’ve dedicated a tiny portion of the grounds to native flowers. It’s a great example of what happens when there’s habitat. On the down side, they’re still farming honeybees. From the big yellow kites of the Tigers to the tiny blue flutterers we’ll see tomorrow, the butterflies have come once it’s been built.

The most common butterfly there is still the Cabbage White.