The American Painted Lady is a frequent visitor to the front yard butterfly bush.

A bit more muted than most, this butterfly is often mistaken for a moth, especially with its furry body.

One way to tell that it is actually a butterfly is that its antennae have small balls (or clubs) on the ends rather than being feathery-edged.  Also, this creature of subtler beauty is diurnal – one of those sciency type words that means active in the daytime; moths, on the other hand, tend to be more active at night.

Don’t you just love the eye spots on the wings?  In my mind, this is a stroke of creative genius, as it lures predators to nip at the less essential areas of the body.

Despite not being as vibrant as other butterflies, I still find them quite lovely.

As I stood and watched this Painted Lady flutter about, I glanced over to the Zinnias and was nearly blinded by the brilliant colors of a Gulf Fritillary.

The sun was truly highlighting this beauties bright colors.

I tried to get a picture of him in flight, but he was to darty for me to keep up with.

I know I’ve said it before, but I find the patterns on this butterfly absolutely amazing.

I figure it’s a good day when you get faded and fluorescent in the same photo shoot. 🙂