Today we’re in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada, in Christine Saint-Pierre’s garden. She’s shared pictures of her garden in bloom before (Worth the Wait). But today she’s sharing some images of the most beautiful visitors to her garden, which bring her as much joy as the flowers do.
A dragonfly resting on the fuzzy seed heads of a staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina, Zones 3–8).
A spectacular white admiral butterfly feeding on a daisy.
Sitting on an oriental poppy bloom, a white admiral butterfly shows off the dramatic pattern on its wings. This species of butterfly has two forms. Ones with a broad white band on the wings are found in the North; in the South, they lack the white band. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of birches, aspens, poplars, willows, and cherry trees.
A silver-bordered fritillary resting on spirea blooms. The caterpillars of this species feed exclusively on violets, hibernate through winter, then pupate and emerge as adult butterflies in spring.
Another silver-bordered fritillary resting in spirea. This striking specimen has more dark colors, with the typical white edge to the wings.
An eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly stopping for a sip of nectar from a lilac. While some caterpillars feed on just one or two types of host plants, this one has a wide range of options, usually feeding on members of the magnolia and rose family, but also using willows, poplars, and even lilacs.
Another view of this gorgeous butterfly.
Eastern tiger swallowtails clearly love lilacs, even though they are not native shrubs. Some butterflies can adapt to use nonnatives, while others require a specific native host plant. All need host plants free from insecticides to thrive.
A Virginian tiger moth looking like it is ready for a Canadian winter in a white fur coat. The large, feathery antennae are a clue that this is a male moth. He will use those antennae to help follow the pheromones released by females so he can find them to mate with. The caterpillars feed on low-growing grasses and clovers. Avoid using insecticides on your lawn, and you might just be rewarded with this beautiful moth in your garden.
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Comments
thanks for sharing these photos of the magnificent creatures with whom we share our gardens!
Thank you for your comments. I really enjoy these little surprise visits 😊
Lovely. You clearly have created a haven for your pollinators! beautiful pics!
I am glad you enjoy the pictures. Every summer I look forward to seeing the butterflies that will « stop by ».
Wow, what a wonderful assortment of flying insects your garden has attracted, some of which I never knew existed! That tiger moth was just fascinating with that fuzzy fur coat of his! Great photos.
Thank you. My favourite is the dragonfly. I did not know if I would have enough time to take the picture. It wasn’t in any rush. It stayed there for about an hour 😊.
Wow! Amazing pics!
Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed them!
Beautiful pictures. You have inspired me to get my camera out.
Thank you for your comment. I missed so many beautiful pictures because I did not have my camera with me...Now, I don’t take any chance, I always bring my camera on my walks around my garden 😊.
Thank you for these beautiful photos. The dragonfly looks like a piece of enameled jewelry! I just found the caterpillars of tiger swallow tails on the parsley that I plant near my butterfly weed garden for that very purpose. Love the tiger moth! Last summer we had a luna moth around for a few days - stunning!
Thank you for your comment. I hope a Luna moth will stop by my garden, they are so beautiful. You are very lucky. That would make a great picture.
I really enjoyed this post. I plant a lot to host the butterflies. They seem to really come out this time of year. I have a lot of swallowtails. Truly beautiful! I’ve seen the white moth before as well.
Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed my pictures. I am looking forward to the end of the month when the Monarch butterflies and the Painted Lady butterflies will stop by my garden to enjoy the Sedum plants.
Great pics. Our gardens can bring more than flowers - thank you for encouraging LESS insecticides - they kill way more than intended.
Marvelous, marvelous photos! I've never seen a dragonfly photographed like that!!! Fabulous!!!
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