As fall progresses, the pollinators are busy using the fall wildflowers to feed on to allow them to survive just a little bit longer. Before long, most of our fall wildflowers will be gone, and many of the pollinators, especially the butterflies, will be gone too. Until the spring, of course. Not long ago, I stopped to visit one of the walking trails in Gothe State Forest. It’s a place that’s pretty near my home, but I had never stopped there before. It was my intention to hike out into the woods for a little while, but I actually never made it out of the parking area! I was the only person there at that time, and as I was walking from my truck to the trail, I spotted some gorgeous flowers that I hadn’t seen before. I went to take some photos of them and also found a flock of warblers (I’m not sure what kind), that led me to some new flowers where I also found several types of bees and wasps busily at work. There were also several moths and butterflies, a woodpecker, deer tracks, cardinals, etc. All in all, I spent about two hours in that parking lot. I guess I will have to go back again at another time to actually explore the trail.

One of the butterflies that I saw out there was the zebra longwing. Zebra longwings (Heliconius charithonia) are one of my favorites because they love my passion fruit vines as much or more than I do. They are common visitors to the flowers throughout the spring and summer. Obviously, they will also feed on many other types of flowers, too. They also happen to be the state butterfly of Florida, and they’re beautiful little creatures that aren’t shy about having their pictures taken.