Milkweed wildflower seeds are ready to blow wherever they want here on Cape Cod. You can see the pods are open and bursting with white fluff and attached seeds. The seeds will just disperse in the wind.
The Milkweed plant is the stable plant that the beautiful Monarch butterflies feed upon. There are a lot of Milkweed plants all over Cape Cod where you can see the Monarchs.
I saw this Milkweed plant at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary where you can see many Monarchs in the summer months. I also have seen many Milkweed plants at Fort Hill which is also a favorite place of the Monarch butterflies.
I wonder if the seeds will still be there the next time I visit the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
Most of the butterflies are gone for the year but I saw this Yellowpatch Skipper feeding on a Knapweed wildflower. The colors of the skipper were shades of orange and brown. I had never seen one before.
Skippers, part of the butterfly family, are named for their quick, darting flight habits. Most have the antenna tip modified into a narrow hook-like projection which you can see in the photograph.
This was a great view of a Painted Lady butterfly at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. There are so many different species there which you can see in the gardens by the Visitor’s Center or out on the trails.
I loved this photograph as it is feeding on a Butterfly Plant in the garden. You can see some of its bright orange and black coloring as well as its camouflage coloring when its wings are closed.
It was such a treat to see this black Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly feeding on the Zinnias in my yard here on Cape Cod. It is such a pretty butterfly.
The Spicebush Swallowtail is a very large butterfly measuring 3 1/2″ to 4 1/2.” Its overall color is black with white and blue spots on its wings. It loves to sip nectar from a variety of flowers and frequents woodlands, meadows and gardens.
Usually the Cabbage White butterflies spend most of their time flitting from flower to flower. It is very difficult to get a photograph of them as they don’t stay in one place long enough.
We were at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary looking to photograph Monarch butterflies when I saw this Cabbage White on a yellow flower. I got my camera out and clicked away. He never moved. That wildflower must have been delicious!
I got so many great photographs, but this one is my favorite! What do you think?
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
