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This summer butterflies have been pretty much absent. However, this week there have been several flitting around the garden and feasting on the last of the buddleia flowers. There weren’t many, but they were very welcome and they brought with them the hope that there may be more butterflies next year.
The red admiral shown here was one of a group of five that found the only buddleia that was still flowering well. This particular plant is one that I had intended to remove, but had found it impossible to dig out. (I have a number of more attractively-coloured named varieties in the garden, so I had decided to remove some of the more ‘ordinary’ buddleias. This one is one of the progeny of a massive shrub that was in the garden when we arrived. It seems that its family line is destined to continue!)
The severe and later than usual cutting-back prevented this buddleia from flowering at the same time as the others. That turned out to be an advantage for this group of late butterfly visitors. Next year I’ll cut the buddleias back at slightly different times so that the flowers will be spread over a longer period. Then there should still be something to feed butterflies that arrive later on, rather than all the flowers being over by this time.
The red admirals briefly had a small tortoiseshell butterfly as a companion, but I suspect they chased it away. I spotted it feeding much higher up and too far away for me to be able to photograph it. (But you can see a photo from a previous year in this post.) This was the only small tortoiseshell I’ve seen this year.
Other interesting visitors to the garden this week were a couple of elephant hawk-moths and one of their caterpillars. (Found on a very small potted fuchsia. I brought the pot up to a much larger fuchsia and later noticed that the caterpillar had very obligingly transferred itself to the less vulnerable plant.) This is only the second time that I’ve seen elephant hawk-moths here, so I’m hoping that there will be more in the garden next year. 🦋
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
Staggered cutting-backs will keep the butterflies from staggering around for lack of flowers.
The red admiral in the final photograph looks pristine.
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Hehe, Steve! Yes, that red admiral probably hasn’t been around for very long. They do get very ragged-looking when they’re getting a bit old.
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How nice that at least some butterflies are around this late in the season. May your wishes for a better future butterfly year come true.
The buddleia thanks you for not removing it by displaying beautiful flowers and by attracting beautiful pollinators. It definitely deserves to remain in place.
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It’s a relief to see some butterflies at last, Tanja. My garden has several buddleias but this one is more sheltered on a windy day – so could be more useful at this time of year!
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🦋🦋🦋
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Strangely although there are several buddleias around here in the wild, I have rarely seen butterflies on them. I was surprised last week though to see a humming-bird moth and what appeared to be a green fritillary butterfly in my garden, though I didn’t have a camera to hand. I can’t be sure of the ID but it was one I haven’t seen previously. Red Admirals have visited too and plenty of the Whites, though the return of the wind and rain has put an end to the visits.
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I wonder if those buddleias are somewhere a bit breezy? Or maybe it’s that there’s something else that they prefer? Your visitors were something special… 🙂 The butterflies seem to be deserting us again too, with the weather changing to promised rain over the next few days and much cooler.
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I didn’t know what a buddleia might be, so I went looking, and was surprised to learn that it’s considered an invasive in many states. There were innumerable cautions about its tendency to spread itself around and choke out native plants.
As for the flower itself, the common name ‘butterfly bush’ suggests why it would be desirable in a garden; it’s certainly flower-laden! I had a hard time finding it at first. It seems that the spelling used here is ‘Buddleja.’ I also learned that the generic name honors the Reverend Adam Buddle, an English botanist and rector. There’s so much history in these scientific names!
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Buddleia seeds itself around very prolifically so it can make itself a nuisance! The flowers have a sweet scent, so attract bees and butterflies easily and they are around at a time when many other flowers have gone over. I once saw around 40 butterflies on one here but that was years ago – sadly can’t imagine it happening now.
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I have looked at my untrimmed Buddleia all summer.
It is still raggedly blooming
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If it’s a big buddleia, I should imagine that it’s had lots of flowers over a long period – a pollinator feast! 🙂
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I have started to see a few more butterflies this last couple of weeks after an absence, mainly whites, speckled wood and gatekeepers. Have seen the odd peacock but not many small tortoiseshells this time. Red Admirals don’t come here as much and prefer the hotter weather. Enjoy your butterfly visitors.
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We still have that group of red admirals (and several whites) here. There’s lots of mature ivy at the back of the garden and it’s in flower at the moment, so I often see them there. They seem to be making the most of the sunshine. (I don’t think I’ve ever seen a speckled wood.)
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