Doug spotted this beautiful butterfly on one of our bushes this afternoon. I'm not knowledgeable about butterflies, but I submitted a photo of this one to http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/. They got back to me shortly with the identification. It's a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta).
It's not a rare type of butterfly, by any stretch of the imagination; but we couldn't remember having seen one before. According to the information on the website, Red Admirals prefer sap flows on trees, fermenting fruit, and bird droppings; visiting flowers only when these are not available. Then they will nectar at common milkweed, red clover, aster, and alfalfa, among others.
I guess this one couldn't find any tasty bird droppings today.
Linda, these are gorgeous photos!!! How nice to not only come across a butterfly but be able to photograph it. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat captures, Linda. Isn't it wonderful what amount of help and information can be found in the Internet? :) I also love the flowers - if I'm not mistaken it's a Spiraea bush which I also have in my garden.
ReplyDeleteFabulous capture of the butterfly.
ReplyDeletePretty little guy, see them here on the dirt roads a lot drinking minerals
ReplyDeletebird droppings - too funny! i've seen butterflies on dog poop before and thought that was disgusting, too!
ReplyDeleteGREAT shots! I love the distinct colors of this butterfly.
ReplyDeleteBird droppings? Really? I had no idea that these beauties had that in their diet. This is a wonderful series of a butterfly we don't see very often. What a gift too see this fella in the flowers (thank goodness) for these wonderful photos.
ReplyDelete