Gulf Fritillary

Misnamed scientifically as Agraulis vanillae, the Gulf fritillary has nothing to do with vanilla. Rather this bright orange butterfly traveled up from Southern California in the 1950s on it's host plant, passion flower (passiflora), after a Hollywood craze for tropical plants migrated north. Long-winged butterflies able to emit a foul odor when being chased by predators. Gulf fritillary prefer open habitats. Plant a passion vine and you are likely to be visited frequently by these striking butterflies.