#XingfuMama’sWhatsoeverIsLovely – Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography

XingfuMama hosts the weekly challenge Whatsoever Is Lovely. The challenge is simple. Just reflect back over your week and see what is lovely, whether a thing or a moment, share in a post what is precious and lovely to you.

This week I am continuing with Whatsoever is Lovely to me; Beautiful Flowers & Butterflies #5. These images were taken on Coleman’s & my recent visit to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina. The first area we visited was the Butterfly Bungalow. We had not previously visited the Butterfly Bungalowsince the times we’ve visited Daniel Stowe Conservancy before were in the Springtime.

For this post I am focusing on the Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus), one of the many varieties of butterflies maintained within the Butterfly Bungalow at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden.

The Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) is a one of the most fascinating butterflies in eastern North America due to its specialized lifecycle, unique hosting plants, and their use of mimicry to survive.

Spicebush Swallowtail
on Anise Hyssop
(Agastache foeniculum)

The Papilio troilus, aka the Spicebush Swallowtail, or Green-clouded butterfly, is a common black Swallowtail butterfly only found in the Eastern United States and Southern Ontario, however, it can sometimes be seen in the American plains states, Cuba, Manitoba, and Colorado. .

It is normally found in deciduous woods, or woody swamps. There they can be seen flying low and fast through shaded areas.

The Papilio troilus has two (2) subspecies, Papilio troilus troilus and Papilio troilus ilioneus. The Papilio troilus troilus is the one seen in this area and pictured in these images. Papilio troilus ilioneus is confined to the Southeastern coastal United States, mainly throughout Florida, along the coast of Georgia, and in places in Texas.

The primary host plants for the Spicebush Swallowtail are most commonly the Spicebush ((Lindera benzoin) or White Sassafras (Sassafras albidum). Despite their preference to primarily feed Lauraceae plants, they do feed on Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), especially here in the Butterfly Bungalow. Anise Hyssop is widely known as one of the ultimate “pollinator magnets” that is typically added to gardens.

The Spicebush Swallowtail love the Anise Hyssop for its perfect landing pads. The dense, structural spikes are composed of hundreds of tiny, nectar-rich tubular flowers. The Spicebush Swallowtail can easily grasp the stalks with their legs while their long proboscis probes from bloom to bloom. They also love the Anise Hyssop for its continuous energy. Anise Hyssop has an exceptionally long blooming window,The plant typically produces fresh flowers from June through September.

This blooming season of the Anise Hyssop provides a vital, reliable energy source for late-summer generations of butterflies preparing to reproduce or move through woodland edges.

*Spicebush Swallowtail*
(Papilio troilus)
on Anise Hyssop
(Agastache foeniculum)

Click on images to enlarge.

Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge-2026 Week #38

Monday Portrait

Macro Monday (MM)

Terri’s The Flower Hour-2026.09.28

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens.

Location: Butterfly Bungalow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Bely, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a lovely weekend filled with love, joy, and laughter. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

This week I am continuing with Whatsoever is Lovely to me; Beautiful Flowers & Butterflies #4. These images were taken on Coleman’s & my recent visit to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina. The first area we visited was the Butterfly Bungalow. We had not previously visited the Butterfly Bungalowsince the times we’ve visited Daniel Stowe Conservancy before were in the Springtime.

For this post I am focusing on the Dryas iulia, Aka Julia Longwing butterfly, Julia heliconian, the flame, or flambeau.

Dryas iulia is often misspelled incorrectly as julia. It is the only representative in the genus Dryas. It is a species of brush-footed butterfly, native from Brazil to southern Texas and Florida. In the summertime it can sometimes be found as far north as eastern Nebraska. They are considered rare immigrants or temporary strays in both North and South Carolina. That doesn’t mean they won’t be spotted though. During the warm summer months, individual adults occasionally migrate or drift northwards from their permanent breeding grounds in southern Florida and southern Texas.

The Julia Longwing butterfly was are known for their striking bright orange wings. They can have black markings, and their have notably long and narrow forewings which gives them that “Longwing” moniker.

The Julia heliconian butterflies are extremely fast and erratic fliers; they were quite a challenge to capture with my camera. Their fast movements prevented me from being able to catch all of them clearly, however, I still did managed to catch a few good shots with my Canon.

Besides being very fast fliers, they frequent clearings, paths, and margins of forests and woodlands. They feed on the nectar of flowers, like lantanas (Lantana) and shepherd’s-needle. They drink the tears of caiman, the eye of which the butterfly irritates to produce tears.

The Dryas iulia butterfly species is real popular in butterfly houses similar to the Butterfly Bungalow at the Daniel Stowe Conservancy. Their popularity is due to its longevity and its activity throughout the day. They were intensely fascinating to watch them zipping to and fro, hither and yonder faster than your (at least mine) eyes could follow them.

These pictured here are maintained in the controlled environment of the Butterfly Bungalow inside the Gardens of Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina. The Dryas iulia are a featured seasonal resident of the Butterfly Bungalow at Daniel Stowe Conservancy. Since these butterflies thrive in tropical environments, the Garden imports them chrysalides as part of their summer pollinator exhibition. The warm, humid greenhouse enclosure provides an ideal environment for them to fly alongside other native and tropical species like the Zebra Longwing and Malachite.

Click on images to enlarge.

Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge-2026 Week #38

Terri’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge-Orange

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens.

Location: Butterfly Bungalow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Bely, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a lovely weekend filled with love, joy, and laughter. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Tag: #XingfuMama’sWhatsoeverIsLovely

2026 Whatsoever is Lovely: Beautiful Flowers & Butterflies #5

2026 Whatsoever is Lovely: Beautiful Flowers & Butterflies #4

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