Butterfly Month – Gulf Fritillary

Another local you might see fluttering around in your garden is the Gulf fritillary.

The larvae form can be found chewing on native and nonnative species of Passiflora (host food plant).

I recently noticed the Gulf fritillary flying and landing for a second, then repeating this over and over. Taking a closer look I realized it was laying an egg each time it landed (this time it was on the Passiflora, but another one was on the block house).

Some of the favorite adult nectar sources are Tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis), pentas (Pentas lanceolata), and lantana (Lantana camara)

These photos were taken locally in pesticide free yards. Butterflies don’t like chemicals with their salad, so please keep them in mind before using pesticides in your yard.

For more information on Butterflies and Host Plants check out the below sites:

http://www.floridata.com/tracks/butterfly

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_butterfly_plants

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_butterflies

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_butterfly_gardening