Hello Painted Lady

This afternoon I was resting after adding grapeseed compost around some of our shrubs in the patio plant beds. And from the corner of my eye I spotted a lovely Painted Lady Vanessa cardui fluttering in the breeze past me and onto a red valerian flowerhead.

At first I thought it was a monarch butterfly, but it is seemed too small to be one.

What a lovely surprise on this very warm afternoon to finally spot one of these butterflies.

There were a few of them that visited the garden, starting in the late Spring, but I hadn't been able to see one up close this year, until today.

The butterfly spent a long time on this flowerhead.

It visited every single blossom for nectar.

The underside of the wings has such an interesting pattern, including the four eyespots on both wings.