Take time to see the fluttering color

Photo by Terry Stanfill A pair of tiger swallowtail butterflies visit a buttonbush at the Eagle Watch nature Area earlier this month.
Photo by Terry Stanfill A pair of tiger swallowtail butterflies visit a buttonbush at the Eagle Watch nature Area earlier this month.

— WESTSIDE -- As summer winds down, a visit to the outdoors yields ample opportunity to see fluttering color as butterflies — a wide variety of them — visit flowers and blooms and lay eggs.

A trip to Eagle Watch Nature Area, just west of Gentry, often provides views of swallowtails and monarchs in addition to a host of other varieties of the flying insects which help pollinate flowers to produce seed and food for both people and animals.

And many butterflies have very specific host plants, making their existence dependent upon the host plants. The monarchs, for example, are dependent upon the milkweed to lay their eggs and produce more monarchs. As the milkweed disappears, so do the butterflies.

Even though a trip to Eagle Watch or another nature area is a rewarding experience, many species of butterflies can be viewed by simply taking a trip out into your yard and watching, especially if there are flowering plants or host plants to the butterflies in close proximity.

And for those wishing to get a taste of wildlife photography, butterflies can often be photographed up close with inexpensive cameras and cell phones, often with stunning results and beautiful colors.

Take the time to see the fluttering color around us.

General News on 08/31/2016