Butterfly Milkweed

The rains have stopped, at least temporarily, and the butterflies and dragonflies are seemingly everywhere. This butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) in the back garden is always very popular, as seen above with visitors pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor) and monarch (Danaus plexippus).

We have seen many pipevine swallowtails this year, which is perplexing as we have no pipevine family plants, to our knowledge. We have white snakeroot, although that is not a reported larval host.  There is plenty of wild ginger here, which some have reported being used, but this is sharply contradicted (as "certainly incorrect") by Bouseman and Sternburg in their book Field Guide to Butterflies of Illinois.Anyway, the adults are here and enjoying the milkweed and other flowering plants, and we enjoy seeing them around.