As you know, one of the main objectives of my garden, in addition to just being beautiful, is to attract pollinators

And that means all pollinators – bees, wasps, flies, ants, beetles, moths and of course, butterflies.

The butterflies are kind of the crown heads of the pollinator world – the showy ones everyone wants to see.

Though the moths are quite interesting too.

We have tonnes of moths here, though they tend to be hard to photograph. Many are quite small, they move fast, and they mostly come around at night when it’s harder to get decent pictures.

They are also harder to identify, because so many are beige/off white and look similar.

The butterflies are also a challenge.

This yellow Swallowtail would NOT sit still.

I finally got shots of a different one eventually.

Though his wings were pretty ragged.

He hung out on the Black Knight butterfly bush for quite a while.

The white cabbage butterflies (like the one Relic was watching on Friday) are the most abundant in the yard. It’s not unusual to have several flitting about at one time.

The red-spotted purple butterfly was very nervous, but eventually settled in for a long sip on the Black Knight butterfly bush

And I caught it from a different angle a day or two later.

Beautiful from both sides!!!

And for this little Northern Crescent, I have to thank Kathy B.

It’s because of her that I planted Cosmos… and this little guy loved them so much it was easy to get a picture of him.

And then I got another one from a different angle a few days later.

This little European Skipper hung around the catio garden for quite a while one afternoon and I was able to get several shots.

This Silver Spotted Skipper is a somewhat regular sight around here, though he’s usually hard to capture.

But the dark purple Delphinium helped me out and held his attention for a while.

I caught this little Common Branded Skipper on the siding by chance.

I see these little Meadow Fritillaries quite often, but are rarely able to capture them.

This one had some damage, and I think it made him a little slower.

It’s to the point now that I don’t walk out of my house without camera (ie phone) in hand because I just never know who will flutter by.