gulf fritillary

There were loads of butterflies and dragonflies out in the woods and meadows that day. This one I'm pretty sure is a Gulf Fritillary, which was also a lifer for me that day.

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae: Nymphalidae) Nectaring Lantana. A common butterfly of the southern US from southern California east to the East Coast of the USA. I was surprised to find it in Ollantaytambo, Per at high elevation. Apparently a fairly common species there.

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae: Heliconiidae) Wingspan 6.4-7.6 cm (2.5-3.0 in). Perched on Common Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). Little Brazos River, west of Bryan on Hwy 21, Brazos County, Texas, USA. Disturbed river riparian and bottomland hardwood forest at ca. 66 m (217 ft)...

Also know as the Passion butterfly for its love of that vine.

I feel very fortunate to live where there are so many lovely butterfly varieties. We have them all year long except for the very coldest part of winter. This gulf fritillary is one of the common ones and summer and fall seems to be their peak time.

Gulf fritillary in my garden

On a planted wildflower in my garden.

Feeding on the pickerelweed. Gray today and surprised to see the butterfly feeding as they are more active on bright sunny days.

In my back garden.

Gulf Fritillary on Blanket Flower. It's been very hot and dry here but these flowers are very hardy and heat tolerant. The butterflies like them too.

The underside of their wings are beautiful and the bottom white spots are metallic-y silver in sunlight.

We've planted our front flowerbed with native wildflowers for the butterflies and hummingbirds. They are a big success. This gulf fritillary spent quite a bit of time going flower to flower.

I have native wildflowers planted in my front flower bed and the butterflies are really attracted to them.

The white spots on their underside actually are a silvery metallic when the sun hits them. Difficult to capture in a photo. A common but pretty butterfly in NW FL

More formerly known as the Gulf Fritillary.

When there are no birds to watch from the dock, there's always some other critters to watch next to it.

I cannot resist any time they pop up between birds. This one is also known as the Passion Butterfly.

Gulf Fritillary

St. Marks National Wildlife REfuge is a wonderful place to see all kinds of butterflies. As autumn approaches there will be more to come, including the annual arrival of the migrating Monarchs. Pictured is the gulf fritillary, a rather common butterfly here in the Florida panhandle.

A common butterfly near coast of NW Florida. As faull approaches, will see lots more.

I think Tropical Storm Lee dropped enough rain in the Panhandle of Florida (only 1 - 2 inches) but it was enough for the flowers. I think it made this lantana in my garden a little juicier for the butterflies today.

A Gulf Fritillary on the lantana in my garden

Gulf fritillary nectaring on sweetbush.

About 100 degrees here today. My next door neighbor has ziinnias blooming and they are attracting the butterflies. This is a Gulf Fritillary. When they are busy getting nectar it is easier to photograph them if one does not make any jerky sudden moves.