Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Daily pictures #100!, 4 by mellielong

mellielong wrote:
I was just out picking milkweed and my fingers were sticking together so I can imagine how hazardous it is for the cats. Oh, and I brought one more inside. He'll probably go to the museum with the others tomorrow.

Today, I went hiking in one of my favorite areas to go see the Florida Butterfly Orchids that live there. There was only one in bloom and the rest in bud so I guess I'll have to go back in a couple of weeks. While there, I saw a Buckeye, Barred Yellows, Zebra Swallowtail, and a Palamedes Swallowtail. I only managed to get pics of the Palamedes. They hang out in swamps a lot because their hosts are bay trees that live in wetlands. So that's where I tend to go hiking. Luckily, now is the dry season.

I got back home and saw the usual suspects. The Monarch, this skipper that was sitting on my Giant Milkweed, the Gulf Fritillary, and the Zebra Longwing. There were two Zebra Longwings and one laid eggs on my Passiflora caerulea! I also saw a Checkered Skipper and a Barred Yellow but they wouldn't hold still for pictures.

Melanie