Life on a Teasel Flower!

Common Teasel is native to Europe but has likely been in North American since the 1700's. The dried flower heads were used to tease and clean sheep wool in preparation for spinning. It grows well in sunny, open sites such as riparian areas, meadows, grasslands, savannas, forest openings and disturbed sites. Each flower head contains 250-1,500 flowers that are packed into dense, cone-shaped heads. Each flower blooms for only one day! The following pictures show butterflies recently spotted on Teasel. 

https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/plants/common-teasel

Many pollinators drink nectar from Common Teasel. I have noticed larger butterflies such as Eastern Tiger Swallowtails enjoying the nectar. Perhaps they choose the plant because they can rest their wings while sipping. The sturdy stems don't bend under the weight of their bodies like softer stemmed plants will.

Giant Swallowtail

Great Spangled Fritillary

Red Admiral

Orange Sulphur

(The spread wings of the Clearwing Moth remind me of 'cat' glasses sitting on a face.)

Snowberry Clearwing