Painted Ladies

The painted ladies were on the move today. We saw many of these colorful butterflies among the annuals at Prescott Park in Portsmouth, New Hampshire this afternoon.

Apparently this is the most widespread butterfly in the world, but it is also cyclical so some years they are quite common. This seems to be a boom year. The painted ladies are also migratory, overwintering in the southwestern U.S. and in Mexico. In March and April they fly fast on their northward journey, reaching northern Canada by June, beating the equally migratory monarch to its summer grounds.

Migratory butterflies continue to amaze with their ability to survive such a long distance migration on their tender wings.