
Posts Tagged: gulf fritillary
Love Those Gulf Frits

If you're passionate about Passiflora (passion flower vine), you're probably passionate about those Gulf Fritillary butterflies (Agraulis vanillae). It's November with temperatures in the...
Ant investigates a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, spreads its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Amazing Gulf Fritillary

The Gulf Fritillary is as fascinating as it is amazing. The showy reddish-orange butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) is making a comeback in the Sacramento-Davis area. In the early 1970s, it was...
The silver-spangled underside of the Gulf Fritillary, shown here nectaring lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Fritillary shows its familiar colors. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Fritillary spreading its wings on lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ever Seen a Butterfly Laying an Egg?

Let's talk butterfly eggs. Have you ever seen a Gulf Fritillary butterfly laying an egg in the wild? The Gulf Frit (Agraulis vanillae), one of the showiest of all butterflies, is a flash of...
A Gulf Fritillary butterfly in the process of laying an egg on a passion flower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A tiny golden egg, the size of a pin head, begins to emerge. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The egg emerges. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of the tiny egg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Very Hungry (And Very Striking) Caterpillars

When Eric Carle designed, illustrated and wrote the children's picture book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, it's a wonder that all his young readers didn't become lepidopterists. No doubt many...
Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanilla) heads for a tasty leaf on a passion flower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Two Gulf Fritillary caterpillars chowing down on the leaves of a passion flower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a very hungry caterpillar eating its fill. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Greeting the Gulf Fritillary

Ah, the Gulf Fritillary... We spotted this orange-reddish butterfly nectaring lantana last Saturday near downtown Vacaville. In fact, the patch of lantana (family Verbenaceae) drew...
Gulf Fritillary on lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Gulf Fritillary is one of the showiest butterflies in California, according to butterfly expert Art Shapiro of UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
On its underside, the Gulf Fritillary is spangled in iridescent silver. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)