We had six more gulf fritillary butterflies hatch in our butterfly house this morning, creeping our number up to 13 successes. They were beyond ready to be released this afternoon. Many started digging in right away, taking long sips from the sweat nectar, after I placed them on the penta. Five of them stuck around giving me a chance to try out my new camera. I forgot how much fun it is to take pictures with a good quality camera. So . . . needless to say there is picture galore today of the gulf fritillary, a true favorite of mine.

And of course a few beauties hung out for a little while before climbing onto the penta.

Interesting fact: a butterfly usually does not have more than five distinct colors on its wings. According to author Thomas C. Emmel in “Florida’s Fabulous Butterflies,” each scale on the butterfly’s wing has one color. The intensity of the color is a result of the overlapping of scales, as well as the light’s reflection off those scales, Emmel wrote.

Furthermore, there are only two types of colors, pigmented, which are chemical compounds, which may come from the organic dyes in the plant the caterpillar eats, according to Emmel. The second is called structural, which comes from the reflection of the light.

The gulf fritillary is among the most common butterflies found in Florida. Since the species cannot handle any kind of freezing weather, Southwest Florida is a perfect location for them to be. They frequent our garden daily.

According to Emmel, the brown and red areas are pigmented scales, while the silver spots appear through the light, as it refracts through prisms in the scales of the wings.

It is so incredibly fascinating to learn more about these beautiful insects. I have grown a new appreciation for them and enjoy the many species even more fluttering in our garden.

Check out my gulf fritillary page for more photos and information about its life cycle: https://sweetbutterflybliss.com/gulf-fritillary/?frame-nonce=c651d35acc