Triple front yard butterfly sighting

For the past few weeks, many butterflies have been swarming the Austin area. This morning, I spotted three different beauties. Seeing them usually stops me in my tracks.

Fall is butterfly season in Austin

Butterflies are active in Austin for most of the year, but fall features a splendid of the fluttering beauties. It's like a second spring.

A queen butterfly, a close relative to monarchs, takes a sip of nectar from Gregg's mistflower in my backyard pollinator garden.

Queen sips milkweed nectar

Queen butterflies Danaus gilippus are active in the Austin area in September. The various types of milkweed plants are among their favorite sources of nectar. Often confused for monarch butterflies, queens have a distinct white dot pattern on its wings. Texas Butterfly Ranch shows a great side-by-side comparison.

Queen caterpillars

A pair of queen butterfly larvae convert milkweed into body mass. These caterpillars have 3 sets of "antenna," called filaments or tentacles, while monarchs have only two.