I took a hike at Fort Hill on the National Seashore just to look for wildflowers and butterflies. And boy, was I lucky! There were Monarch butterflies everywhere! I must have taken 200 photographs!
The Monarch butterfly’s wingspan is 3.5-4″ and orange with prominent black veins and borders. I loved all the polka dots on its body. They feed on milkweeds which abound at Fort Hill.
The Monarch butterfly is so well known that there are attempts underway to designate it as the national insect of the United States. That would be so cool!
I have never seen a Black Swallowtail before it landed on one of my Zinnias in my backyard yesterday. I happened to see it out of the corner of my eye so I ran and got my camera and clicked away. He was just beautiful.
The Black Swallowtail is a large butterfly with its wingspan up to 3.5″. It is mostly black with iridescent blue on its hindwings and rows of yellow with an orange eyespot. You can in the 2 photographs how different it looks with its wings open and closed.
So pretty, don’t you think?
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
