The Queen Butterfly in December

by Donna Lewis

This week I had so many butterflies everywhere here on our property in Central Texas. Sulphurs, Gulf Fritillary, a Swallowtail, Queens, and numerous tiny little butterflies too quick for me to get a good look at.

Of course, we also have had one freeze that took out most of any flowering plants I still had. It has been warm, so the plants have not died down completely. The Coral Honeysuckle is blooming proficiently, and all the butterflies are swarming around it. This is also the Hummingbirds favorite plant in my yard.

The Queen Butterfly was really unexpected. Poor things were flying everywhere in my garden trying to find those special plants that I have for them, mainly the Purple Mist Flower. They really love that plant in particular.  The Mist Flower usually shows up late in the summer when it is dry and very hot. Right now, it is dead as a doornail. Really sad.

I see all these butterflies with nothing to nourish them, and I know the first big freeze is on our doorstep. I wish I could help them.  Many of these little guys should be asleep in a chrysalis for the winter months. But the weather has tricked them into waking up and thinking it’s springtime. 

But this is how we learn about nature.   We observe her and learn lessons. Mother Nature is a great teacher.