See the butterfly?  It is a Tiger Swallowtail, Pterourus glaucus.  Isn't it beautiful!!!  

 

We love our Echinacea plants, and so do the butterflies.  And the bees, and the grasshoppers, and the hummingbirds.  They love it for the nectar.  Lots in our yard!!  They love lots of different flowers for nectar.

 

They are a little more picky when it comes to host plants.  Not just any plant will do for raising babies.

 

The female butterflies lay their eggs on the leaves of willow, some cherries, and tulip poplars.  Lots of those in our woods too!!!   The caterpillars emerge and eat the leaves.  They grow and grow until they make their chrysalids.  After a few weeks they break out and are beautiful butterflies.

 

We often see Tiger Swallowtails early in spring.  They hang around the apple trees, sipping the nectar and pollinating the flowers.  I was surprised to see one this late, but I just read that they have 1-3 broods a year, spring-autumn.  So there you go......your science lesson for the day.

 

See, growing pretty flowers in our gardens serves more than the singular purpose of "pretty," they also attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.  And while they are using the flowers for food, they are also pollinating them for fruit production.  Everybody wins!!!

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!