I didn't notice outrageous numbers of Painted Lady butterflies at my earlier stop at Wellesley College campus meadows, but I stopped next at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society at Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley and found great numbers there. They were nectaring on the zinnias and lantana in the trial garden, on the butterfly bushes in the main garden, and on the butterfly bush and flowering garlic chives in the herb garden.
There were a few monarchs and one black swallowtail mixed in for good measure. A beautiful stop!
Beautiful photos! I really love the photo with the butterfly, bumble bee and honey bee all jostling for the best nectar.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Wish I could have a garden as pretty as this at home!
ReplyDeleteWe live in Sutton MA and in the last 2 weeks our butterfly bush has no less than 20 painted ladies on it at a time! In the 4 years we've had this bush we usually have 3-4 monarch butterflies. Never seen anything like this before!
ReplyDeleteAnne, me too! I have 2 butterfly bushes and they have been filled with Painted Ladies since this started. It's wonderful to see so much activity on them, but I do hope they aren't keeping away other varieties! I noticed the two Zabulon Skippers that had been using the butterfly bush before the Painted Lady irruption began have since moved across the yard.
ReplyDeleteHello-I am in the lower Hudson Valley and my white butterfly bushes are absolutely covered with Painted Ladies since about mid-August-10 to 15 at a time. Perhaps the drought in the Midwest is pushing more individuals north and east? They coexist with fritillaries well, but do not seem to have a good relationship with monarchs stopping by. It is very interesting that they enormously prefer the white buddleias. My tiger swallowtails enormously prefer a light purple buddleia.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! There is much unknown about the local irruption. From what I've read on the Mass Butterfly Club emails, no one noticed a large number of caterpillars this year. The Painted Ladies all seemed to appear at once. And they pretty much have all but disappeared overnight, too. Some saw them flying in a SW direction from off the ocean.....so where did they come from? Where did they go? Did they leave here and go to Hudson Valley? Or did you have them at exactly the same time? Ours were fresh and beautiful at the start....were yours too? I'm surprised how little is known, even in these modern times, about butterflies!
DeleteThe Painted Ladies are all over Manhattan and even found my lantana plants on a 15th floor terrace! Also, Labor Day weekend, Delaware shore, Painted Ladies by the dozens.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of you finding them on your terrace, high above the city!
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