At the spot where Ellesmere Ave. and Highland Creek intersect, there is a small parking lot and a few short trails.
Visit any meadow in bloom and you will invariably find butterflies flitting about.
Orange Sulphur on Purple LoosestrifeCabbage White Butterfly on Purple LoosestrifeCabbage White Butterfly
They are helping our with the pollination of plants. Of the 200,000 species of animals which serve as pollinators, about 1,000 are birds, and bats, and other animals. The remaining 199,000 are insects.
Monarch Butterflies are especially attracted to the numerous Milkweeds found here:
Monarch on Swamp MilkweedMonarch on Swamp MilkweedMonarch on Swamp MilkweedMonarch on Swamp MilkweedMonarch on Swamp MilkweedMonarch on Swamp MilkweedMonarch on Swamp MilkweedMonarch on Swamp MilkweedMonarch on Canada Thistle
Bright, bright, restless bright, through the sun-burnt meads, Wavers the butterfly; Ever across its path a pilot invisible leads A sylphid fleet of the thistle’s light and feathery seeds, And August passeth by. – Edith Matilda Thomas (1854–1925)
What a place–even if looking a bit dry right now. And what beautiful plants and butterflies. Thanks, Miles!