Today I want you to meet a backyard butterfly. Fritillaries are beautiful butterflies but if you want to see them up close you have to creep up on them very carefully as they are jumpy. The butterfly’s scientific genus name is derived from a word meaning easily scared! I have found if they are busy feeding on a flower they are much easier to approach. The caterpillars eat violets like the other fritillaries but they also eat passion vine and several other kinds of plants. Variegated fritillaries in most of the US so you may have some near you.
