Grand Spangled Fritillary in Westborough

[Nancy E. Burke]

Today around 1pm, partly sunny, around 80 degrees.  A grand spangled fritillary spent a lot of time nectaring at Swamp Milkweed in a deck container at my house in Westborough.

I’ve seen very few butterflies of any species at my property this summer, though I’ve had a bumper crop of milkweed:  lots of common, some tuberosa, some swamp, and even a couple of purples I’d started a couple of years ago.  No sign of monarch activity or chew marks.

 

On 7/6, we went to Wachusett Meadow (Audubon) to take a walk.  They have an area in the lower part of their upper meadow which had been mowed early in June (the rest of the field is full of mature milkweed).  There were a lot of young milkweeds about a foot high.  When we passed by it going up the trail, we saw three oviposting monarchs, and a tiger swallowtail flyover.  When we came back down, we saw one monarch oviposting there, and one reoccurring “dogfight” over that part of the meadow between two individuals.  It was low 80’s, partly sunny, about 10:30 am.

 

Nan Burke

Westborough