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Close up of Painted Lady - Vanessa cardui

Papilio machaon. Butterfly in its natural environment.

Close shot of an Apollo or mountain Apollo (Parnassius apollo) butterfly resting on a field scabious.

Common Commander butterfly feeding on Mikania micrantha Kunth (Mile-a-minute Weed). Butterfly feeding on weeds.

$Aglais urticae is a common resident. Migrants are also often seen. Its distribution probably has not changed during the last century. However, the Dutch Monitoring Scheme shows a decline in numbers in the 1990s; the cause is not known.\nAdults can be seen looking for nectar in gardens, parks and on roadside verges. \nThe caterpillars feed on the smaller plants of Urtica dioica in very sunny, open spots.\nThe species flies in two generations from the beginning of March until the end of October. The adult butterfly hibernates in cool, dark places, such as barns, attics, or hollow trees.\n\nThe Picture is made along a small Brook in the Eifel (Germany) in halfway August 2021.$

gossamer-winged butterfly, A butterfly is gathering honey

Great spangled fritillary on joe-pye weed in summer, top or dorsal view, showing the pattern on the back of the wings. The Latin word fritillus means chessboard or dice box. Fritillary is also a checkered flower.

Closeup of a great spangled fritillary butterfly, Speyeria cybele, foraging on a spotted knapweed flower on Mt. Sunapee, in Sunapee State Park, Newbury, New Hampshire.

Spotted Fritillary Butterfly also called red-band fritillary Didymaeformia didyma

Beautiful Apollo (Parnassius apollo) resting on a Echium vulgare, known as viper's bugloss.

$Brenthis daphne, the marbled fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.\nDescription:\nBrenthis daphne has a wingspan of 30–44 millimeters. Wings are rather rounded, the basic color of the upper side of the forewings is bright orange, with an incomplete black marginal band. The underside of the hindwings have a yellowish postdiscal band and the marginal area is completely suffused with purple, with a marble effect (hence the common name). The quadrangular patch on the underside hindwing is partially shaded orange pink to outer side. The chrysalis has two dorsal rows of thorns with bright spots and a bright metallic shine.\nThis species is very similar to the lesser marbled fritillary (Brenthis ino), but the latter is slightly smaller and the coloration of said patch is completely yellow.\nBiology:\nThe butterfly flies from late May to early August depending on the location. The eggs are laid separately in July on the leaves of the host plants. The larvae feed on brambles (Rubus fruticosus), raspberry (Rubus idaeus), Rubus caesius, Rubus sachalinensis, Sanguisorba officinalis and Filipendula species, while adults usually feed on nectar from brambles, thistles and other flowers. This species is univoltine. It overwinters at the caterpillar stage in the egg shell. \nDistribution and habitat:\nThis widespread species is present in the Palearctic ecozone from the southern parts of the continental Europe (northern Spain, southern France, Germany, Italy and eastwards to Slovakia and Greece), up to Caucasus, western Siberia. It prefers warm and sunny forest edges, woodland and bushy areas where the host plants grow, at an elevation of 75–1,750 meters above sea level (source Wikipedia).\n\nThis Picture is made during a Vacation in Bulgaria in May 2018.$

A Grey Hairstreak Butterfly Nectaring on a Flower

Butterfly spreading wings on red flower - looking at camera.

Great spangled fritillary, fluttering over summer wildflowers (joe-pye weed) as it feeds, with the focus on the eyes and head. The butterfly's striking pattern inspires its name. The Latin word fritillus means chessboard or dice box.

American Lady Butterfly On White Flowers

Small White (Pieris rapae) butterfly on yellow red Common Lantana (Lantana camara) in Arrecife, Lanzarote

$Vanessa cardui is a very common migrant that arrives from Africa every summer. Numbers fluctuate annually, depending on the reproduction in Africa.\nThe species is most likely to be seen in open areas were the vegetation has a mosaic structure, such as waste land, fallow ground and pasture land.\nit uses various species of Carduus, Arctium and Cirsium both as larval food plant and as a source of nectar.\n\nThis is a common Migration Butterfly in the Netherlands.$