A Yellow Swallowtail butterfly toured my backyard with me following along as he sampled Melissa Balm, Trumpet Vine and a Coneflower.



Backyard
July 9, 2025
Several Common Buckeye Butterflies were visiting patches of fleabane along the dike at Donnelley WMA on Friday. This first one was looking a bit tattered.

The next one didn’t flit around quite as much, and gave me several views.



Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
April 25, 2025
After seeing very few butterflies all summer I saw a Monarch, a Skipper, a Gulf Fritillary and this Zebra Longwing Butterfly all in the same day.

I have seen a few more Zebra Longwings since I took this, but no photos. Wow are they fast!

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
August 11, 2024
A tattered Gulf Fritillary found the last tattered bloom on a Lantana. This was just a few days after Tropical Storm Debby drenched the South Carolina low-country with 15 to 20 inches ( up to 0.5 meters) of rain. Any plant with delicate blooms took a beating.

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
August 11, 2024
I was concentrating on the Yellow Swallowtail butterfly circling a buttonbush, not noticing the dragonfly or the bee until looking at the photos later.

The bush was rooted down an embankment into a swampy area frequented by snakes and alligators so my angle options were limited.

The bee moved on…

The butterfly sampled all of the buttons while the dragonfly had a rest.

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
July 20, 2024
A Zebra Longwing Butterfly was flitting ahead of me beside a flower garden that appeared devoid of flowers. This one red bloom finally caught the butterfly’s attention.

We’ve had several nights below freezing so I was quite surprised to see a butterfly at all.

Except for that one small tear in his wing he looked in good shape but there weren’t many flowers in the immediate area for him to feast on.

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
December 24, 2023