Another Great Spangled Fritillary

June 10, 2025

I’ve been watching the buds for what seems like forever. Today flowers on my Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) finally began to open. A Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) came by to enjoy the nectar of the blooms, one of their favorite food sources.

The blossoms of Butterfly Weed are also popular with bees, other butterflies, and hummingbirds. And it’s the host plant of the Queen and the Monarch butterfly.

I’m hoping I can propagate more of this plant for my garden. Not only do I love the pollinators that it attracts but I thoroughly enjoy its rich orange glow.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.