Thanks Cat. I can tell the difference a lot better with them side by side. I could have gone to that website that you can do that on maybe. Anyway I am excited.
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 64
This one showed up yesterday...I posted on another thread cause I'm not sure what it is...maybe a Tropical Checkered Skipper ?
I love all the blues. They are so cute, but wish they'd stay still for a while!
Well it seems to me that July 4th is the kickoff of butterfly season for me. The coneflowers and butterfly weed is blooming and the Phlox are all budding up.
Here's a monarch on some tasty thistle.
Hackberry Emperor at the brew…
Confused old monarch… she landed everywhere but the milkweed (even on the dill)! No ovipositing on this trip I guess.
Maybe Melanie in FL can help on the white ID.
Good pics everyone!
mjs - you got the checkered part right - it's a Checkered White (Pontia protodice) from the White family not the Skipper family. They use pepperweed as a larval host out here and other wild mustards.
~ Cat
All the photos are gorgeous! I love to see them all!
YAY! One of the girl monarchs gave me an egg today. So far only found one on the swamp milkweed (not even blooming).
Cat, well, that one's not listed in my book "Florida's Fabulous Butterflies" I can't recall seeing one around here before. So will have to go in search of info on the web.
All I can find on my Milkweed are aphids. Oh the operative word is were aphids.... I washed them all off awaiting my Monarch/Queens. Hurry butterflies!
One of the few I saw out in the garden was this Silver spotted skipper:
nice, LL, I haven't seen one of those yet, and there will come a day when those are mostly what I see.
mjs - just goes to show ya that Florida has more fabulous butterflies you didn't know ya'll had!!!
I have lots of butterfly books for south Texas but my best reference book is the Kaufman Focus Guide: Butterflies of North America (by Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman). I have numerous, yes numerous copies of that which I keep next to me right here on my computer desk, my nightstand, my camera bag, the car, the ranch and in my desk drawer at work :o)
You just never know when a butterfly not endemic to your area will show up in your yard :o) I also have several books for butterflies of Mexico (as this area borders Mexico) and I keep hoping to see one of those stray over the border to my back yard as well!!!
~ Cat
A photo from the ranch on Saturday - a Gray Hairstreak and two Reakirt's Blues.
This message was edited Jul 6, 2009 2:11 PM
ps...Lily - great SSS!!! We don't get that one this far south :o)
~ Cat
Wooohooo, wishing upon a star! Please tell me this is one of the Black Swallowtails, for I've ooddles of Fennels and Parsleys in this flower bed.
Cat I don't have any Gray Haristreak here, not sure if I got those blues. I'd love some. :-)
Another monarch…
It looks like a black swallowtail to my untrained eye.
Snuzer29, thanks. I'm almost butterfly-less here so far this growing season. So any promise, or what looks like promises -- are all welcomed.
What kind of cat is this? sorry to put it here, but it's on my automatic gate and I need a quick id, I'm afraid he's going to get bumped off, and he's forming his "j". Thought maybe a zebra longwing but after looking at pics think maybe not. When is it safe to move him?
MJ, that's a Gulf Frit. cat. Move it with care for the metal could radiate heat and kill it I think. Best of luck. If you bring it indoor, it will eclose within weeks. Cat or Sheila can give you more info. Oh Melanie too. :-)
ok..it doesn't look like my other Gulf Frit cat's...but I've seen a Variegated Frit...maybe that?
googled images...that's it.
Lily's right - those metal poles can get really, really hot and generate enough heat to kill the chrysalis.
Ya'll eyesight is better than mine - I couldn't tell what frit is - but the predominately lighter color on top leans me towards Variegated too. You're going to love the color of the chrysalis! It is one of the most beautiful chrysalids I've ever seen.
If you're got high temps and dangerously direct sunlight hitting it - shade it with a piece of cardboard taped above it - high enough not to touch it though.
Once it's done forming the 'J' you can gently pry off the silk with a toothpick or a pin. You can either lay the chrysalis on a piece of papertowel in a cat cage or if you want to hang normally you can touch the end of a toothpick to hot glue and then touch the tip of the toothpick to the silk and twirl it around. Poke the other end of the toothpick into a piece of styrofoam so the chrysalis will hang in it's natural position.
Any twig can be used instead of the toothpick :o)
~ Cat
This is a GF that made on a light fixture 20 foot from the vine. They are greasy white gray just before forming a chrysalis, did your's look like this? Either one it should make a chrysalis soon and the shape and color of those are much different and can be identified easy then. Also after the chrysalis is dry try what Cat said about moving it to a safe place.
I went down and got it off the gate,it had formed it's chrysalis, so I very gently pryed it off w/ a toothpick. It wiggled tho!! anyway I've got it in a cage now on a paper towel. I've got 9 monarch in their chrysalis's now. I'll just put them all together.
There's still 3 Black swallowtails in their chrysalis's on the porch, how long can they stay like that, all the others eclosed a couple weeks ago.
There's a queen hiding out somewhere on the porch also. it escaped from the cage and I'm sure has formed it's chrysalis as it was about the same size as the monarchs.
Saw this Queen today - can't tell if male/female, but I didn't notice any egg laying going on.
Ahhh, I'm glad you had a chance to move the cat. to safety. That's a beautiful butterfly, isn't that a Queen?
Shelia, yup, kinda had a greasy look, but much lighter than the Gulf frit cats, which I have tons of, their rampant...
Lily, yes the last pic is a Queen.
Hey everyone! We are just tearing up this thread so I started a new one here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1012049/
Come join the party!
Melanie
I am sooooo excited, today I watched the birth of my first Black Swallowtail. It stayed in that position for about an hour till the wings hardened off. What a beauty, no scratches or dents! According to my journal it was 11 days from chrysalis to eclose. 6 more to go............
Ok, you guys I seem to be a plenty with weird horn worm moths. This one is chocolate brown with very light yellow stripes. Its the same size as an adult tomato worm. Got any guesses on what this is?
Cool cat!
Datura - what was it eating? Could be a vine sphinx or rustic sphinx...but am not sure what flies up there in Fort Worth. Guess this means you're going to have to raise it and let us know :o)
~ Cat
Peg...Just a stab in the dark here on your ID. Could it be that the cat is a Tersa changing instars? I found this site that shows several colors.
http://www.birds-n-garden.com/tersa_sphinx_hummingbird_moths.html
Good luck with the other BSTs....you are doing great!
This message was edited Jul 8, 2009 12:28 AM
Hey everyone.....I forgot there is a new thread....
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1012049/
Sheila, its feeding on a plant which I was given and thought to be Virginia Creeper. However, I found out at one of our MG meetings last week that it is not Virginia Creeper. It looks exactly like it but the leaves are fleshier. I will contact one of the few people that know its name and get back to you.
I don't think its a tersa only because it has stripes and I think the pics showed dots on the body. I took more pics last night, they might be better. I will post them later.
The info on raising moths was good information though.
Peg
Hey Peg...go post on the new thread to keep us all together. Look forward to the info on the host plant. When you get the name of it look on www.Dallasbutterflies.com under "butterfly gardening" and see what bfs and moths use it.
I have a email into someone that knows the plant, here is a better pic of it.
No tail then...hmmmm that is a puzzler.
Datura,
Here is a photo of a Vine Sphinx I have - they look quite similar - this one green with a tinge of brown. No horn on the tail either :o)
~ Cat
