![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/SkipperonBergamotOnNaturalCrooksDotCom.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nGiant Swallowtails Survive the Polar Vortex<\/h2>\n
The first butterfly I glimpsed on my return was a large blur of black and yellow. As I stepped closer and it fluttered over some plants to land a few feet from me, I recognized it: a Giant Swallowtail. I hadn\u2019t been sure if they had survived the exceptionally harsh winter but it looks like some of them did!<\/p>\n It was a bit difficult to get photos of this one even though it was only a metre away. This particular butterfly never landed while feeding. Instead, it kept at least 2 of its wings flapping at all times. A video would have been better at capturing how it hovered while feeding, then with a start and a jerk floated over to another plant and started again.<\/p>\n While focusing on it, a bright orange colour moved past the corner of my eye. Expecting a Monarch, I was pleased to see it was another unusual (for the area) visitor.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not entirely sure what type of Fritillary this is. The orange colour, large size, and generous collection of spots and crescents suggest several types.<\/p>\n No matter which, it was happy to take advantage of the nectar on offer from the Bee Balm.<\/p>\n These two large butterflies occasionally jostled for position with the smaller but more active Skippers. Add a few small bees and hornets and the place was really buzzing.<\/p>\n OK this Skipper was on a Swamp Milkweed Nearby But It Was Irresistable<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n It was a wonderful way to spend some time on a warm sunny summer afternoon. I\u2019m very grateful to whoever didn\u2019t slash down this patch of bergamot.<\/p>\n Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n Join In<\/strong> At least three types of butterflies were enjoying some sweetness on a sunny summer afternoon in Eastern Ontario. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,4,11],"tags":[286,285,5,29,284,283,22,287,288],"class_list":["post-2756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-focus","category-insects","category-rambles","tag-bee-balm","tag-bergamot","tag-butterflies","tag-flowers","tag-fritillary","tag-giant-swallowtail","tag-insects-2","tag-skipper","tag-swamp-milkweed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2756"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8361,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2756\/revisions\/8361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nFritillary Refuels<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\nHave you had a good summer for watching butterflies either at home or on a ramble? Please share your sightings with a comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"