BUTTERFLIESFlying FreeButterflies truly are free. A beautiful gift from God, these free flying beauties delight our eyes and lift our spirits. They don’t cost us anything and they give so much in return. Probably the most famous one in the United States is the Monarch. Monarchs migrate great distances every year. While I was attending school in Mexico one day we were called out into the patio area in the center of the school. The trees in the patio were literally covered with Monarchs. They were as thick as the leaves on the trees. They had stopped by on their migration trip. The next day they were gone. What an awesome sight and a privilege to see them.
I was amazed at the toughness of these little creatures one time. In January my husband and I went to Merrit Island on the east coast of Florida. It is a well known bird watching area. We went to see the migratory ducks visiting there for the winter. It was extremely cold with the north wind blowing, but on the road-sides were these resilient little Southern White Butterflies flitting along eating off of the wild daisies beside the road. I was so amazed. I snapped some pictures and when I got home
I just had to paint one of those Southern Whites.
I have lived all of my life in either California or Florida. I have not lived in any of the other colder areas of the United States. So, I probably don’t really know what ‘real cold’ is. 
I mentioned how the little whites were on small daisy flowers. Daisies are one of their favorites. They can’t hover like a hummingbird when they eat. They need a landing platform to land and sit down when they eat. So daisies and other flowers where there is a surface where they can land are their favorite flowers. Here is a Checkered-skipper on his daisy landing pad.
Here in Florida my favorite plant for these flying beauties is lantana. I like it because it can be planted and left to grow all summer with almost no care. That is my kind of flower! And the beauties like it, too. This spring I had some surgery and while I was recovering I was not able to get out to mow and weed my shrub and flower beds. I have a wonderful neighbor who is doing my mowing for me. Well I hadn’t weeded and the grass was very tall the first time he mowed. So he was doing me a favor thinking he was mowing down weeds for me, he mowed down some of my lantana and a couple of special day lilies. The lantana dies back in the winter and grows again when the weather warms up. See the Palamedes Swallowtail on lantana photo.
Now any time I walk by that area I see several different types happily eating from the flowers. I am blessed with the miracle of more of these beauties because of my new plants.
You can attract them to your garden.
When moths rest they sit with their wings outstretched. Unlike their counterparts who sit with their wings folded up over their body. This makes it difficult for an amateur like me to photograph them because as soon as they land up go the wings over their head. You have to catch them just when they are landing before they fold their wings. 
The wings of most butterflies are about as wide as they are long.
There are different types of butterflies.
There is a type of butterfly that have wings that are longer then they are wide. They are called longwings. The Florida Zebra Longwing is one of these. At night the Zebras roost together in large groups. Most flying beauties eat only nectar and live for just a few weeks. The Zebra Longwing eats pollen as well as the nectar of flowers. This addition to its diet enables it to live several months, much longer than other flying beauties. Butterflies truly are a free gift of God here for all of us to enjoy. Invite them to your yard and enjoy!
Return from Butterflies to Gifts of God
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Butterflies are amazingly resilient. They look so fragile the way they float and fly on the breeze. There can be a storm come by and when the sun comes out after the storm, out come they come. 
