Great Spangled Fritillary
There's a butterfly garden outside of the Kensington Park Nature Center that attracts a number of insects. Curiously, it is planted almost exclusively with non-native wildflowers, such as this Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare). It's a fairly tall (5-6 feet) non-native thistle with extensive spininess.
The butterfly is a pretty Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele), about 3.5 inches across. It has a close cousin, Aprhrodite Fritillary, that's very similar in appearance but a bit smaller, and having a spot on the front wing (top surface) that is lacking in the Great Spangled.
Captured in the golden morning light.
Great Spangled Fritillary
There's a butterfly garden outside of the Kensington Park Nature Center that attracts a number of insects. Curiously, it is planted almost exclusively with non-native wildflowers, such as this Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare). It's a fairly tall (5-6 feet) non-native thistle with extensive spininess.
The butterfly is a pretty Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele), about 3.5 inches across. It has a close cousin, Aprhrodite Fritillary, that's very similar in appearance but a bit smaller, and having a spot on the front wing (top surface) that is lacking in the Great Spangled.
Captured in the golden morning light.