Suddenly yesterday (Saturday) we were inundated with visitors, these visitors are not requiring any beds to be made up or cooking to be done, just as well as there are so many of them! When we had the heat wave last month, I can’t say that we were inundated with butterflies, but yesterday, in the hot sunshine, they were everywhere, flitting about from flower to flower, not settling at all, it was very difficult to photograph them! Today it is cool and raining and not a butterfly to be seen.
Tortoise Shell on Verbena bonariensis.
Peacock on Buddleia
Comma on Buddleia
Gatekeeper resting on Cornus leaf.
Red Admiral on Eupatorum atropurpureum
Silver washed fritillary on Lysimachia ephemerum.
The butterfly I was so excited about was the Silver washed fritillary, which has been coming to the garden for a good few years now. It was feeding on the Lysimachia ephemerum which is just by one of the buddleias, and totally ignored me, so I was able to take quite a few photos of it.
Silver washed fritillary feeding on Lysimachia effemerum
Silver washed fritillary feeding on Lysimachia.
We had loads of Speckled Wood butterflies in the garden during the heatwave, but of course the day I was running round photographing all the others, where were they?! We also haven’t seen any Holly Blues yet or Painted Ladies, but there is still time. Usually, when we let the circular lawn grow into a flowery meadow for part of the summer, we have Ringlets busy laying their eggs on the long grass. This year though, no meadow, as we knew we were having a big tent in that area for our birthday celebrations the other weekend, must make sure we leave the grass to grow long next year.and hopefully they will come back.
Echinops ritro Taplow Blue
Butterflies weren’t the only visitors yesterday, this plant of Echinops ritro Taplow Blue was a frenzied feeding station for lots of the bees, they seemed quite frantic to find some food.
Bees feeding on Echinops ritro Taplow Blue
Between the showers yesterday, I had a wonderful time photographing all our visitors, hopefully we will have more to come as long as the weather behaves itself during August. I am more than happy to have lots more visitors this summer!
My goodness, Pauline, what a wonderful collection of butterflies and photographs of butterflies! What a huge variety of visitors you have had – and you have reminded me of the difference between Red Admirals, Peacocks and Tortoiseshells! Thanks! The echinops here have been very popular with bees too, and I am pleased I added three new plants last autumn.
I forgot to mention Cathy, the thousands of Cabbbage Whites that we have, didn’t think you would want to see a photo of those! My echinops was admired by our daughter when she was last here, so part of it will be going to her garden in Bristol in the autumn, it certainly is a “bee magnet”!
Hi Pauline,
Bah, looks like the Admirals are down near you – I’m yet to have one at all and am getting a bit concerned (rarely get Painted Ladies, so I don’t even consider them). Also very jealous of the Fritillary; realise I won’t ever see one unless I move to the country and/or near wasteland/meadows.
I have so many butterfly photos now that I don’t know what to do with them all. So instead of getting them all posted I’m procrastinating under the pressure because I’m so far behind on photos now I’m going to have to ignore a few weeks and start fresh I think (but then run the risk of missing out some lovely shots).
This is the first year I’ve had Echinops blooming, and boy do the Bees love it! I can’t believe they go so crazy for it…I know Salvia , Sea holly and others are popular, but this! Wow.
We’ve only had single Admirals so far Liz, I’m hoping more will be on the way. I’m surprised Painted Ladies didn’t arrive with the heatwave last month, I had visions of them all rushing over the English Channel from France!
My butterfly book has the Silver Washed Fritillary living in or near woodland. The caterpillars eat violets in woodland and we have plenty of those for them to enjoy, before they then spend their time as a chrysalis in the textured bark of the trees around them.
I agree, the bees certainly seem very taken with the Echinops, I’ve never noticed this before this year. Last year the best plant here for both bees and butterflies was the Eupatorum atropurpureum which has only just started opening its flower buds. Last year the plant was well over 7ft tall, probably due to all the rain, it is only about 5 1/2 ft this year, so should be easier to photograph any visitors, or I hope so anyway!
Lovely collection of butterflies and wonderful photos, Pauline. I used to grow Lysimachia ephemerum in my garden in England and would love to try it here, it didn’t need much water so I think it would work here, maybe in a slightly shady area rather than full sun; I can’t even find the seed any more from any company. If you ever collect seed I would love some, I can give you an English address to send them.
I will certainly save some seed for you Christina, usually I just cut the Lysimachia down when over but I will try to stay my hand this year! It is spreading slowly here by underground runners, like the rest of the Lysimachia family, but thankfully not as fast as L.cilata Firecracker.
Lovely pictures – I always have trouble getting them to pose for me! We have had very few butterflies so far. Hopefully this month they will all turn up one day, like yours.
Thanks Cathy, most of them are so skittish at the moment, it’s a job to get a decent shot! We’re going to have a few days rain, so not good for butterflies for a while. We hope to see lots more when the weather improves, but where did they all go during the heatwave?
My echinacea are also full of butterflies and bees at the moment. Mostly we have Peacocks butterflies. Your pictures are so beautiful and detailed. My anis isop are also popular and my malva. I have some lemon butterflies, and 2-3 others species. It´s lovely to watch them fly about.
I think Gitte, butterflies and bees bring an extra something to a garden, to see them flitting and buzzing from flower to flower shows that the gardener has done something right! I wonder if your lemon butterfly is our Brimstone, which reminds me that we haven’t seen one of those this year, I wonder why?
Well you may not be busy the kitchen for these guests Pauline but you are certainly providing a menu much to their liking. What attractive visitors. I have read that it’s a good summer for butterflies and recently watched a fascinating ‘Springwatch’ documentary about both butterflies and moths. Did you see it?
I must be doing something that they like Anna, because they seem to like this garden, thank goodness. Yes, I did see the Springwatch documentary, anything to do with wildlife and I’m there watching!
What a joy to see all the flying flowers! It seems I never have my camera at hand when a butterfly poses, but when I go searching for them, I have a difficult time finding them. Great shots! I think a garden full of butterflies is a happy garden.
In that case Deb, thank you, my garden is very happy at the moment, the bees and butterflies are all back today, bringing the garden alive. There are problems some days trying to photograph them, they never seem to settle, then other days I can get within 3 inches of them and take as many photos that I like, those are the days I like.
I’m so impressed by your photos Pauline, I really ought to take the time to learn how to capture the butterflies that visit our garden. I really like that echinops, another plant for the list…
Thank you Janet, but its the camera not me! I have a setting for macro shots for flowers and this is what I also use for butterflies, this means I have to be quite close and that’s when they usually fly away! The echinops is still attracting the bees so it must be a good plant for them.