Butterflies & Sunflowers

Not only have birds been flocking to the nearby sunflower field … several other winged critters have been observed and photographed. Today’s post focus on the butterflies. One of the first visitors I encountered in the sunflower field was a Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly (Speyeria cybele):

Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly

 

A bit later, I found another Great Spangled Fritillary, but with a twist. This one had a small cobweb tangled in his legs:

Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly

 

I really wanted to walk over and remove the cobweb … but my conscience told me to let “Mother Nature” take her course. Besides, the butterfly was not having difficulty flying about … only difficulties when trying to walk about. And the butterfly would likely only flit away when I approached anyway. So I just “sat on my hands” and enjoyed the beautiful scenery :o)

A bit later, a couple of Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) flew in. I was quite excited to see these royal beauties. Over the past couple of years, it seems their decreased numbers have directly impacted the numbers of them visiting our area. Such beauties!

Monarch Butterfly

Monarch butterfly

 

And one more species managed to visit while I photographed the area … a pair of unidentified species of Skipper butterflies:

Skipper Butterflies

 

In tomorrow’s post, I’ll feature a couple of non-bird, non-butterfly critters that flew into the sunflower field :o)  And if you’ve missed any of the other sunflower field posts, here are links to them:

Posted in Macro Photography, Nature Photography, Wildflowers
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