Butterfly bush and butterfly

Butterfly bush is supposed to be a floriferous lepidopteran magnet, and in the plant ads and, no doubt, at White Flower Farms, the nursery's nursery, it certainly looks like this: a stunning panicle populated by a congregation of small, soft blue blossoms. These, of course, prove irresistible to large, showy butterflies like the Great Spangled Fritillary, a species that is having a banner year in our area. We've even had a second hatch, so there are now just-about-perfect GSFs on the wing. At our house, alas, the Buddleia is pretty wimpy—shade will do that to a sun-loving plant—so when I walk by it en route to a trek, the butterfly bush rarely lives up to its advertisements. In fact, today, our GSFs spent most of their time probing for something on the driveway stones. I found this GSF on a grown-to-perfection Buddleia at the lake we frequent. It certainly knew a great thing when it saw, smelled, and tasted it.