More cosmos for the butterfly sanctuary

I just love cosmos, and a couple of years ago I had the pink cosmos.  This year I sowed a packet of orange cosmos and it certainly is a great butterfly attractant.   I like cosmos in the vegetable garden as it grows so high and feathery, and even though it is a huge plant with lots of flowers, it really isn't taking up much space as the vegetables can grow around the base and still get lots of sunlight. You can see my very healthy zucchini in the background here. I love the dangly bits on this Ulysses -  they are the lower part of its wings, which give its species the name swallowtail..
 This is another type of butterfly we often see in the garden, called the Common Eggfly.  I have yet to find out where they lay their eggs.  This is a male and they are evidently very territorial and will chase away other males.  They look the same on the underside, but
 the female has these same blue spots, but then orange spots in between them, often leading people to believe it is a different species.
 These sit still for a little longer than the Ulysses, as they draw out that sweet nectar.
 
For some reason the butterflies dont hang around much during the weekends, maybe because I am busy rushing around getting chores done and chase them away.  Once again my hubby has got some lovely butterfly pictures. They must be relieved that once again the vegetable garden is quiet and peaceful as they flutter around.
When planning the garden I planted  what I thought were flowers that would attract birds and butterflies around the bird bath, but that area is mostly occupied by honeyeaters and other birds. The butterflies flit by for a bit of an appetizer, but the vegetable garden has definitely become the butterflies domain lately.  I put out a tray of water, but not sure if the butterflies have been drinking from it  I heard they needed water and the best thing was to have a shallow bowl of water with rocks for them to stand on.  I have been toying with the idea of  making a mosaic butterfly bath....

Comments

  1. BernieHMon May 30, 03:47:00 PM

    Fabulous photos! I'm so jealous that you get to see the Ulysses so much. We're lucky if we see one once a year here. Just last weekend we went up to Paluma and saw a pair dancing around together. I wasn't quick enough getting the camera out of the car though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. OneMon May 30, 07:44:00 PM

    More fabulous butterfly shots from your hubby.

    I finally managed to get some butterfly shots too on my cosmos. Mine is white.

    ReplyDelete
  3. TaniaMon May 30, 08:05:00 PM

    Great photos of a very beautiful butterfly. We dont have that one here...

    ReplyDelete
  4. garden girl in SATue May 31, 02:19:00 PM

    Hubby definitely deserves a CRATE of beers for these shots!

    ReplyDelete
  5. diane bTue May 31, 08:48:00 PM

    The cosmos are so bright and beautiful. The photos are super. I can never get a shot before they flit off somewhere else. Those are beautiful colours too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Solitude RisingWed Jun 01, 06:30:00 AM

    Once again, beautiful butterflies pictures and close ups too. Maybe the butterflies are afraid that the birds might snack on them if they get close to the bird bath :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. OneThu Jun 02, 01:46:00 AM

    Hi! Just to let you know that your posts have inspired me to put more effort in shooting butterflies around the cosmos flowers. I have put a link to your blog in my latest post.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kit Aerie-elThu Jun 02, 05:12:00 AM

    What incredibly beautiful butterflies!

    I'm pleased to have found your blog (it's great!) via a link in a post by Onenezz about butterflies.

    ReplyDelete
  9. GigaThu Jun 02, 08:06:00 AM

    Ale piękne motyle i zdjęcia ! Pozdrawiam serdecznie

    ReplyDelete
  10. africanaussieThu Jun 02, 09:23:00 AM

    Bernie,
    I love it when they do that courtship dance...so glad you got to see that.
    One,
    Oh I have never seen white cosmos - I just planted some of the pink ones, and thanks for the link.
    Tania,
    that is what I love about blogging is you get to see everyones else's cool photos :)
    Garden girl,
    sssh - he has already taken advantage of my suggestions!
    Dianne,
    I am glad my hubby has taken up this hobby as he is much more patient than I am.
    Solitude rising,
    I have never actually seen the butterflies drinking from the other birdbath, but they love to come to the flowers when they are wet from watering.
    Aerie-el
    Thank you
    Giga,
    welcome

    ReplyDelete
  11. AndreaThu Jun 02, 03:04:00 PM

    It seems your post with the butterflies is contagious, first to One and then to me! So the "kiasu" syndrome bug hit me and i linked to both your posts. haha! I hope you enjoy my post as well. Also those butterflies you have are also common in our place!

    ReplyDelete
  12. KJThu Jun 02, 05:47:00 PM

    These are really great photos, I love butterflies and now I am getting back into painting (when I get the courage I am looking at my stuff at the moment)I have decided to paint a butterfly. I might use these for inspiration if you don't mind :)

    ReplyDelete

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