I saw another orange beauty that I fell in love with today, the Julia (Nymphalidae/brush footed) butterfly.

I really enjoy finding inspiration for my gardens, so today my daughter and I took our good friend to The Butterfly Estates, which is located in the Downtown Fort Myers River District. Their 3,600 square foot glass butterfly conservatory is a butterfly lover’s dream. The peaceful space provides a sanctuary for an abundance of butterflies, this one being among the countless ones we saw and admired.

The male is brighter in color with black spots towards its apex, while the female is a dull orange with black bars across its apex.

The Julia also uses the corky stemmed passion flower as its host plant, which we have many in our butterfly garden. They can be found in numerous counties across the state of Florida, with Lee being among them.