Family Nymphalidae

Caterpillar foods: Stinging nettles (Urtica sp.)

Adults overwinter, so we would see them flying as early as March, and as late as October.

For many years this butterfly was fairly common here, but in some years we saw only a few individuals all summer, in others we saw hundreds of caterpillars and butterflies.  In peak years the caterpillars completely decimated the leaves on our nettle plants.

2005 was one of those peak years.  In our July 21 butterfly count, we saw 134.  We would have counted even more if we had walked the driveway earlier in the day, before the sun got too hot.

The last year we saw them was in 2012.  Since then we haven’t seen any – I keep hoping they’ll come back.

9/26/2010

 

Caterpillars feed in groups, on top of nettle leaves.

The chrysalis has a beautiful gold sheen.

 

Adult butterflies

Nectaring on Common Milkweed

 

And basking on the driveway – where I most often see them.

 

Butterflies on the driveway – Milbert’s Tortoiseshells along with Red Admiral, Commas, and Compton Tortoiseshell

 

July 2011

 

These butterflies overwinter as adults, so sometimes I see them very early in the spring.   This is one that came out of its winter shelter to bask in the sun on March 19, 2011.