Why Were There Butterflies All Over Boise This Weekend?

"Am I seeing things or did you guys just see it too?"

If you came to visit us at Idaho's Largest Garage sale, chances are I may have asked you that question on Saturday.  I would be in the middle of a conversation with someone and get completely distracted by a group of butterflies floating by us and it happened more than once.  Where were they coming from? The way my mind tried to rationalize it was that there must've been a wedding nearby and the couple chose to include a butterfly release as their sendoff at the end of their ceremony. I don't know many people who'd consider the fairgrounds to be the perfect wedding venue, but that's the best I could come up with.

That theory fell apart when I got home to Southeast Boise and there were butterflies all over my neighborhood too. A few hours later, I was part of the Shine a Light NF Walk in Meridian and guess what kept floating by us at Scentsy Commons? Yup, more butterflies.

Where did these very pretty brown and orange butterflies come from? Commonly mistaken for Monarch Butterflies, the Idaho Statesman explain that these Painted Lady butterflies made a pit stop in the Treasure Valley this weekend as part of their annual migration pattern from Mexico/Southern California. It happens every year, but it was more noticeable this year because Southern California is experiencing something called a "superbloom" of the flowers that Painted Ladies like to munch on.  Because there were more food sources available there was also a bump in the butterfly population.

So, it wasn't your imagination! There really were thousands of butterflies in Boise on Saturday and if conditions are right, you may see even more of them over the next few weeks. If you had some drop by your yard and got some cool photos, please share them with us in the comments section or by using the "chat" feature on our mobile app!