Early Spring Butterflies

Early Spring Butterflies are a sure sign winter is over.
Butterflies being solar creatures aren't really around until the weather really heats up. The days and nights have to be consistently 60 degrees Fahrenheit or 16 degrees Celsius, before they are flying. Often only the Cabbage Whites are chasing each other around in the cool sunshine.
To find them you also need to know where to look. The places I look for them are along roadsides, fields, parks and in my backyard. They enjoy warm open spots where flowers bloom in profusion. Early in the season,I often don't cut the little grass I have in my backyard because it is full of clover, dandelions and the little purple flowers of gill-over-the-ground. Flowers such as dandelions, clover, and blueberries are alsoimportant nectar sources. These flowers provide some of the few early nectar sources.
Who you may see
Cabbage Whites
Mourning Cloaks
Eastern Commas
Spring Azure
Falcate Orangetips
various Elfins
Juvenal's Duskywing
Cobweb Skipper
You may see these species in the early in the season. They overwinter as adults.
Mourning Cloaks
Red Admirals
Questions Marks
Eastern Comma
Cabbage White
Orange Sulphur
Clouded Sulphur
More Butterfly Information
Butterfly Life Cycle egg larva chrysalis adult
Where to find them The most common butterfly species Seven butterfly families Spring butterflies
Attracting Butterflies Top nectar plants Top host plants
Field Guides Black Butterflies Mourning Cloak Butterfly Swallowtail Butterflies
From Early Spring Butterflies Return to Butterflies

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