Butterflies and Other Backyard Finds

Face on with the swallow tail.

Swallowtail and white butterfly on purple cone flowers

 I was with my family hanging out in the backyard and we spotted a couple butterflies on the cone flowers of my aunt's garden.  Having worked in a butterfly garden or two in the past they were easy to identify. The larger butterfly with yellow wings that have black stripes is called a tiger swallowtail. The white one is just a white butterfly, there are many types but it was hard to identify it when it kept moving about. As I got closer to take the pictures of the butterflies the swallow tail would fly away then swoop around the yard before returning to the flowers. To help identify some butterflies in Maryland you can go to: http://www.marylandbutterflies.com/, or for general North American moths and butterflies see  https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/. These are both good places to start when trying to identify butterflies. To attract butterflies there are two different kinds of gardens one can make, for them to lay eggs on called host plants and one for nectar. Some butterflies only lay eggs on certain plants for the larvae, caterpillars, to eat and grow on. Monarchs for example only lay eggs on milkweed because that is what they eat. My aunt's garden has more of the nectar plants. These are good for the adult butterflies to enjoy some nectar for food.

There was also a squirrel that made an appearance trying to get food from the bird feeder. Which sometimes happens. And a few birds flew by as well.

What is in your backyard? Try making garden choices that are good for wildlife which make for great nature watching. Pollinators like butterflies need more flowers to enjoy, and we get to enjoy looking at them. Meet Me Outdoors.