Butterflies are certainly amongst the most beautiful creatures that visit my garden.
Unlike bees, their playful flight amongst the flowers does not seem as focused or purposeful. Watching them flit back and forth, it is hard to imagine that they can actually attain a flight speed of up to 12 mph.
It is equally impressive to know that the monarch butterfly visiting this hydrangea in my front garden completes a long journey of 2000 miles during its annual migration between Canada and Mexico.
Butterflies lift themselves with the use of strong muscles in their thorax that forces their decorative wings up and down. I love watching the air carry them like a kite or hang glider.
This past summer we visited the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory. The conservatory is a tropical paradise; home to dozens of species of colorful, free-flying butterflies.
It is the most magical place to spend an afternoon.
The butterflies are all around you; in the air, sipping nectar from the flowers and visiting plates of fruit that have been scattered for them throughout the conservatory.
The species of butterflies that visit my own garden are much more limited. I find that they tend to appear in the garden in the late summer and early fall.
They flit amongst the phlox, bee balm, sedum 'Martona' and this red Pincushion flower, 'Scabiosa'.
And as you can see, they especially love the Pee Gee Hydrangea
and pink Echinacea in the front garden.
More Information and Links:
Did you know that butterflies can see red, green and yellow?
That representations of butterflies are seen in 3,500 year old Egyptian tombs at Thebes?
And that Antarctica is the only continent that does not have any butterflies?
Find more fun facts about Butterflies: Fun Butterfly facts.