Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: A productive day butterflying :o), 1 by TexasPuddyPrint

TexasPuddyPrint wrote:
Woohoo...got to photograph the Red-Spotted Patch today!!! This one was a bit worn out...but it's a lifer for me. Also got to photograph a Guatemalan Cracker too....and a gorgeous Malachite.

I've got citrus trees in my back yard and had quite a few tangerines on the ground so I gathered them up and took them to the NABA park along with some butterfly bait on Monday before I went to work. I walked around with Derek Muschalek for about two hours looking for that elusive Red-Spotted Patch and finally had to give up and head out to work. As I was leaving I took one last look around the trees where the fruit had been placed and yelled back to Derek , "I know there's a Cracker with my name on it out here somewhere!" Also said, "I'm going to be mad if while I'm at work I visit the Texas list server website and read that the butterflies I'd been waiting for showed up!"

Well, wouldn't you know it...later that afternoon I read where the Patch and a Guatemalan Cracker showed up...and a very cooperative Malachite too. GRRRRR!!!

So, I head off to the park again this morning hoping I'll get a chance to see those elusive butterflies. As soon as I get there John and Gloria Tveten wave me over and tell me to look at the Guatemalan Cracker on my tangerines!!! (They came down to the valley for a few days of butterflying)

The critter was a bit skittish so I didn't get any close up photos...but hey, we all saw it!!! We all walk around a bit more and I stop to photograph a very cooperative Malachite at the hanging basket of tangerines. John says it reminds him of a stained glass...I quickly come back with, "Nope, the colors reminds me of chocolate and key lime pie!!!" Everyone gets a good laugh because John's thinking of the beautiful stained glass windows of a church and I'm thinking gastronomic delights!!!

Gloria sees the Red-Spotted Patch on some eupatorium right after that. What a find!!! It was very cooperative too. Got two lifers today!!!

~ Cat

Here's the Red-Spotted Patch...a bit worn and washed out by the bright sunlight.