The Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) and other native butterflies provide added splashes of color on summer days as they flit about our flower gardens, parks and roadsides. Butterflies don’t need much to thrive in our immediate vicinity. As long as you take extra care to plant native flowering plants that provide healthy foods for these animals (rather than non-native ornamental plants that don’t offer such benefits to our insects) and don’t spray pesticides, butterflies will be there to brighten your day (and pollinate your other flowers and veggies)!
Photographed by Twan Leenders for the Meet Your Neighbours project – a worldwide photographic initiative dedicated to reconnecting people with the wildlife on their own doorsteps – and enriching their lives in the process.
