Posted in HomeSchool Happenings

As we were out running to the health food store today,

my dear husband asked me to bring him a chocolate shake to work.

So we pulled into Burger King and as we waited in line we saw these...

There were quite a few of them gathered around the flowers.

The children and I enjoyed watching them.

I was glad I grabbed my camera before we left.

After some research online this evening,

I was finally able to identify these butterflies

and look forward to sharing it with the children tomorrow...

"The Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, a striking, bright orange butterfly of the family Nymphalidae and sub-family Heliconiinae. It was formerly classified in a separate family, the Heliconiidae or longwing butterflies, and like other longwings it does have long, rather narrow wings in comparison with other butterflies. It is not closely related to the true fritillaries. It is a medium to large butterfly, with a wingspan of from 6 to 9.5 cm. Its underwings are buff, with large silvery spots. It takes its name from the fact that migrating flights of the butterflies are sometimes seen over the Gulf of Mexico.

The Gulf Fritillary is commonly seen in parks and gardens, as well as in open country. Its range extends from Argentina through Central America Mexico, and the West Indies to the southern United States, as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area on the west coast. It is occasionally found further north in the US."

(from Wikipedia.com)