Gulf Fritillary

While doing some of the last pumpkin and jalapeño harvesting for the season, I happened upon this little caterpillar on some of our passion vine. It's a Gulf Fritillary!

Gulf Fritillary larvae feed exclusively on passionflower species.

(Click photos to enlarge)

Agraulis vanillae

The next two photos were taken by our friend Trey who has some pretty awesome gardens of his own. He has been able to photograph the Gulf Fritillary at some later stages in its life cycle.

Gulf Fritillary chrysalis -

Gulf Fritillary butterfly -

The Gulf Fritillary is one of the few butterflies I actually know how to identify. It gets its name from its migration route over the Gulf of Mexico.