One is the loneliest number...err, butterfly

  The lack of Monarch Butterflies, once again, has me a bit befuddled. Usually during this time of year, the purple ageratums are covered with the butterflies as they make a pit stop on the Coast during their migration.  This fall, I have seen a grand total of one..one..and only one. Don't get me wrong, there are all sorts of other butterflies and moths visiting the Bayou but the lack of Monarchs does indeed make me a bit sad.  I love the beauty of the bright orange and black insects as they flit about the flowers.  

  This afternoon, I found a butterfly on the ageratums but it was not a Monarch.  This was a Gulf Fritillary and although it mimics the Monarch in coloring, there is a definite difference.  First the Gulf Fritillary is smaller than the Monarch.  The markings of this butterfly are not as thickly etched in black as the Monarch is nor is the underside as prominently marked.  The Fritillary has much more silver on the undersides of its wings.  

  As the Fritillary bounced from bloom to bloom, the setting sun caught that silvery lining and made it absolutely gleam.  I stood spellbound for a few minutes while the insect sipped nectar. The glimmering made me think of how not too very long ago, butterflies were mass killed to be used as an art medium.  Their brightly colored wings were used in making jewelry.  Pieces of actual butterfly wings were placed in lockets or under glass and made into pendants.  Granted the pieces are gorgeous and I admit that I have one.  No, I did not buy the thing.  It was passed down from generation to generation and then handed over to me.  Just a few years ago, I gave it to my daughter. She actually wore the thing during her wedding as to have a memento of her grandmother close by her during  this special day.  But no matter how special the tiny pendant is because of family ties, it tugs at the old heart knowing that one of the beautiful butterflies perished to create it. It is nice to know that there are now laws to prohibit mass killing of butterflies for things like that but these laws do not cover the killings caused by insecticides that are dumped on blooms each year.  The butterflies and honeybees suffer because of the "need" to eradicate all bugs from gardens. 

  Well, I will enjoy my lone Gulf Fritillary and one Monarch that visited this year and I will count my blessings for the thousands of Swallowtails that call the Bayou home!  No chemical sprays for me and my butterflies (and honeybees!).