Blooms Butterflies and Bees

Meet Vernonia noveboracensis - commonly known as Ironweed.  It caught my eye while out bushwhacking trails and wildlife openings the other day.  It seemed a bit too early for New England Asters so I thought I better check it out.  

It is indeed a striking purple color and hard to miss.  It is a perennial native east of the Mississippi ranging from Massachusetts to Florida.  It belongs to the Asteraceae (sunflower) family and this specimen was north of four feet tall.  We didn't plant it but we're tickled to welcome it as butterflies and bees love it. 

The butterfly in your image is a 

Great Spangled Fritillary - Speyeria cybele.  It is a large, orange-brown butterflies with distinctive black markings on their upper wings. The undersides of their hind wings feature numerous large, silvery-white spots, giving them their "spangled" name.

They're commonly found in open woodlands, meadows, fields, and along roadsides across much of North America, including Wisconsin.  Adults feed primarily on nectar from various wildflowers, including milkweeds, thistles, and ironweed.  Their caterpillars feed on violet leaves - commonly found growing throughout the farm but primarily in the floodplain of Silver Creek.