Gulf Fritillaries

Whenever I think of gulf fritillary butterflies, I think of my childhood best friend's mom, whose name was Carmen. She was an amateur lepidopterist, who sometimes went to local schools to teach the kids about butterflies. When I first got into gardening, she introduced me to the world of herbs and butterfly host and nectar plants. The passionflower, with its intoxicating chocolate or vanilla-like fragrance, was one of my favorites, which she had growing on a trellis by her back door. They are the host plant for gulf fritillary caterpillars, slimy-looking orange worms covered in black barbs.

I never knew that passion vines were native around Alabama before her. In fact, they grow in roadside ditches and forest clearings and other abandoned places with greatest ease. The other common name - maypop - refers to the passionfruit which is bloated like a balloon and pops like one, too.

Fall is my favorite time of year, and whenever I see swarms of gulf fritillaries I know summer is coming to an end. When I was a kid I used to like to go to my dad's land, which is where I work now, and walk through the woods. Little openings amid the trees would be covered in wildflowers and fluttering butterflies in September. Among the most striking flowers were the ironweed, tall as a man and glowing with their deep purple plumes.

I was walking along the road in front of the shop this week and took some photos of the butterflies and ironweed.

My uncle's shed. It's what I see as soon as I step out of my office, so I tend to warm up my camera, so to speak, with it.

Gulf fritillary and ironweed

Sulphur butterfly and ironweed. Some say the sulphur butterflies are where we get the "butter" in butterfly.

Back to the gulf fritillary. This butterfly is from a tropical butterfly family and the Southeast is about the northermost range for these. Coincidentally (or not), the passion vine comes from a tropical plant family and the Southeast is about the northernmost range for it also.

Hello there, friend.