Garden butterflies

Tetters said:
this is a Camberwell beauty (Nymphosis antiopa) and it is a butterfly I only saw once! This lovely creature flew alongside me one day some years ago - all the way along our lane as I brought the dogs back from our walk. When I got to the gateway, it continued to fly along the lane, so there we parted company. I couldn't believe the size of it. Another name this butterfly has earned is ''mourning cloak''
Click to expand...
That is a beautiful butterfly. Apparently, it is a rare sight in UK but it's range does include North America. I will definitely keep an eye out for this one.

" Commonly found throughout all of North America and most of northern Eurasia, except the UK and Ireland. There have been sightings from many parts of the British Isles but most records are from eastern counties.
 
We cannot compete here with your Texan butterflies when it comes to size. The Camberwell beauty is the largest as far as I know. YES ok, I know everything in America is bigger. Us Brits have to depend on quality instead 😁
 
After a couple of cloudy days, the sunshine was bright today and the butterflys were plentiful. Picked up several new additions.

The first one is the beautiful Zebra Swallowtail.

The zebra swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus) is a striking species native to the eastern United States and south-eastern Canada. The zebra swallowtail has a wingspan of 6.4 to 10.4 cm (2.5 to 4.1 in). Its triangular wings are white to greenish white with black longitudinal stripes. It also has a pair of sword-like tails extending from the hind-wings. The inner margin of the hind-wing features blue spots and a red spot near the body

This beauty has been somewhat elusive for me and I'm thrilled to get it in a picture.
today.

It represents the sixth variety of the eight total varieties of swallowtail found in Texas.

zebra swallowtail.webp
 
The Palamedes swallowtail (Papilio palamedes) is a large, dark butterfly marked with yellow spots and bands. It’s commonly found in and near swampy woods in the southeastern United States...and with all the rain we have had we certainly have ample swampy woods nearby.

This butterfly represents the seventh variety of swallowtails that I have captured on photo since starting this little adventure. There are eight total varieties of swallowtails known in Texas so I have only one more to go...and I have seen that number eight but not able to get a picture yet.

The Palamedes Swallowtail.



Palamedes Swallowtail.webp
 
The Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa cardui) is a fascinating species found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. This butterfly has striking patterned wings with a beautiful mosaic of colors of orange, red, black, and white. It is a strong flyer that travels from Europe and North Africa to the British Isles. Its migratory behavior and widespread presence make it a remarkable species. Although it is not common here, on Meadowlark Ranch, it fertainly makes its presence known.

Would love to see others here (@Tetters are you listening) capture a photo of this widespread variety.

The Painted Lady.




American Lady.webp
 
We do see painted ladies, and tortoiseshells, red admirals, peacocks, brimstones, white admirals, gate keepers, orange tips, commas, several blues and others, but it is still a bit early for them at the moment here. When the time is right, I will see what I can do - I promise!!
Although we are seeing a warm day here and there, it has been more like winter for most of this month.
 

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