Fritillary butterflies? They can be visual elixirs, so visually stimulating that they make an entire morning, if you know what I mean. This one, Melitaea phoebe was met in the agricultural fields surrounding Mishmarot, north of Tel Aviv, and close to the Mediterranean Sea.

I’ve been fortunate to have seen so many fritillaries now: Great Spangled, Aphrodite, Meadow, Mexican, Gulf, Variegated and Melitaea Persia montium on the peak of Mt. Hermon (Israel).

2018? July beckons as the month I will find Diana. Where? In the mountains of north Georgia. Exactly where? I don’t know, but I will search and search those north Georgian state parks, especially those in northwestern Georgia. Diana fritillaries, I am told, are huge and spectacular. Alone again, naturally.

Jeff