The beautiful, and wonderfully named, Red Spotted Jezebel (
Delias aganippe) has been frequenting our garden. They are particularly fond of the Buddleia which has been a mass of fragrant purple, here a male is resting on my garden foe, cleavers. The caterpillars of this species eat mistletoe, which is abundant in our neighbouring bushland.
The history of the name Jezebel is fascinating and a little sordid, check it our
here if you're interested. A little disparaging a name for such a beautiful butterfly.
The Yellow or Australian Admiral (
Vanessa itea) resting on my drying washing. Far more noble a name, although I wonder what the male thinks about being a Vanessa. The food plant for their caterpillars are stinging nettles, of which there must be a number nearby, as many of these can be seen in our local area. I do love the butterflies of Spring and look forward to seeing the Painted Ladies and Common Browns that will come a little later in the season.
The delightful hum of bees being busy can be heard throughout our garden. On the advice of a friend I have been eating lots of beautiful blue Borage flowers of late, they are best munched early before the bees steal their nectar. They taste quite delicious, a little like cucumber, and are meant to be very good for you, read
here for more.
