It seems like good time to report on the status of the pollinator garden.

The “garden” was started in the spring of 2024, and a lot of attention went into the number and species of plantings. And the flora did well. There were 44 species of butterflies observed that year. My observations consisted of about three walk-arounds, comprising 15-30 minutes each, typically around noon.

Yard Butterflies 2024

1. Red Admiral
2. Gray Hairstreak
3. Common Buckeye
4. American Lady
5. Variegated Fritillary
6. Question Mark
7. Hoary Edge Skipper
8. Fiery Skipper
9. Eastern Tailed-blue
10. Dun Skipper
11. Pearl Crescent
12. Northern Brokendash
13. Zebra Swallowtail
14. Pipeline Swallowtail (observed, not photographed)
15. Southern Cloudywing, June 6
16. Horace’s Duskywing
17. Cloudless Sulphur
18. Gray Hairstreak
19. Variegated Fritillary
20. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (not photographed)
21. Clouded Skipper
22. Pipeline Swallowtail
23. Crossline Skipper
24. Sachem Skipper
25. Silver-spotted Skipper
26. Orange Sulphur
27. Red-spotted Purple
28. Little Yellow
29. Hackberry Emperor
30. Sleepy Orange
31. Painted Lady
32. Phaon Skipper
33. Long-tailed Skipper
34. Great Spangled Fritillary
35. Gulf Fritillary
36. Red-banded Hairstreak
37. Red Admiral
38. Monarch
39. Common Checkered-Skipper
40. Dainty Sulphur
41. Diana Fritillary
42. Delaware Skipper
43. Giant Swallowtail
44. Spicebush Swallowtail

The garden was expanded in 2025, increasing it’s size by about 50 percent. Again, due diligence was made in the number and species of plants added to supplement the perennials from 2024. Perhaps it was a lack of attention and maybe a few less days of observations, but only 27 species of butterflies were recorded.

Yard Butterflies 2025

1. American Lady, May 22
2. Little Glassywing, May 22
3. Hoary Edge Skipper, May 28
4. Common Buckeye, May 28
5. Horace’s Duskywing, May 28
6. Fiery Skipper, May 28
7. Orange Sulphur, May 28
8. Dun Skipper, May 29
9. Tawny-edged Skipper, May 29
10. Southern Broken-dash
11. Diana Fritillary, May 30
12. Hackberry Emperor, May 30
13. Spring Azure, June 2
14. Pearl Crescent, June 4
15. Delaware, June 20
16. Silver-spotted Skipper, July 15
17. Little Yellow, July 15
18. Monarch, July 15
19. Clouded Skipper, July 15
20. Pipeline Swallowtail, July 23
21. Red-banded Hairstreak
22. Painted Lady, Aug 1
23. Northern Brokendash, Aug 6
24. Giant Swallowtail, Aug 9
25. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Aug 10
26. Summer Azure, Aug 27
27. Eastern Tailed-blue, Oct 1

And now, late September 2026 as the pollinator season is winding down, the count for this year stands at 38. Admittedly, less effort in plantings occurred this year, and both the number and variety of plants were down. And the deer and rabbits were relentless, eating new buds nightly. While 37 seems like a good number, it appeared that there were far fewer butterflies than in previous years, including those years before installation of the garden. One of the highlights of the year was the number of Diana Fritillaries observed over the course of the summer, stretching from late May to mid-September. Another highlight was the maturing of several Butterfly Weed plants.

Yard Butterflies 2026

1. Spicebush Swallowtail, Apr 5
2. Spring Azure, Apr 14
3. American Lady, May 3
4. Northern Cloudywing, May 15
5. Great Spangled Fritillary, May 20
6. Northern Brokendash
7. Fiery Skipper
8. Monarch Caterpillar, May 21
9. Gray Hairstreak
10. Monarch
11. Northern Cloudywing, May 26
12. Diana Fritillary (male)
13. Common Buckeye, May 29
14. Diana Fritillary (female), Jun 2
15. Pipeline Swallowtail, Jun 3
16. Juvenal’s Duskywing
17. Red-banded Hairstreak
18. Eastern Tailed-blue
19. Dun Skipper
20. Pearl Crescent
21. Southern Cloudywing
22. Red-spotted Purple
23. Horace’s Duskywing
24. Silver-spotted Skipper
25. Byssus Skipper
26. Realkirt’s Blue
27. Phaon Crescent
28. Great Spangled Fritillary (Jul 3)
29. Hoary Edge
30. Southern Brokendash
31. Variegated Fritillary 
32. Sachem Skipper (Aug 3)
33. Viceroy
34. Little Yellow
35. Painted Lady
36. Cloudless Sulphur
37. Giant Swallowtail
38. Clouded Skipper

For 2027, we will attempt to increase both the number and variety of flowers, including more Marigolds and adding Zinnias. We may also try to “start” a butterfly bush or two over the course of the winter.