DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 71

Mark - thanks for the photos - was thinking I had a Christmas Senna but perhaps it is Cassia Alata - I can't remember which - it's fixing to bloom - so time will tell. As for the egg - got the sulphur part down right...but which sulphur is the big question :o)

~ Cat

ps...drove out to the ranch - the day started out chilly but it warmed up. Same usual suspects - they were even hitting up this aster type plant - which they usually avoid but guess since the flowers are scarce they're hitting up anything they can.

Here's a couple of Mallow Scrub Hairstreaks, a Fatal Metalmark and a Southern Dogface :o)

The back fields were also full of Dainty Sulphurs - hundreds and hundreds. The sun was setting and it was getting chilly again but they were still flying. Thought this was a cute pic.

~ Cat

...and a Robber Fly ready to dine on a teeny Ceraunus Blue.

~ Cat

Nice shots Cat. Question...what plant is in the pic with the dogface?

Sheila - am not positive but I think it is either called Rose Palafoxia (palafoxia rosea) or Sand Palafoxia (palafoxia sphacelata). It is from the sunflower family (asteraceae). It grows wild out in the back pastures.

If the mistlfower, lantana, white brush, sunflowers or pretty much anything else is in bloom the butterflies will gravitate towards those first. I think they regard this as use it or die of starvation!

~ Cat

Ok, so it isn't the magnet it appears to be in the picture! LOL!! I guess with your drought earlier a lot of plants are performing to their potential.

The drought still has a bad effect on the native plants even though most have really long tap roots...but it is an amazing turn around when we do get rain. We got 3 inches on Monday so the plants and trees should start putting out new blooms soon. Am hoping the butterflies will have a better selection to feed from.

The only reason it appears as a butterfly magnet is because it was the only thing blooming :o) Funny thing though - when I was out there last week only the teeniest of ground covers was blooming - really teeny little blooms - and the majority of butterflies were on the ground - literally walking on the dirt from wee bloom to wee bloom :o) Must say the Giant Swallowtails and Pipevines looked really silly dwarfing the tiny flowers :o)

Not sure what this ground cover is - but I think the Dainty Sulphurs use it as a larval host - as there are hundreds and hundreds of DS out at the ranch this time of year. If not, then perhaps they are using it as a nectar source like the other butterflies.

~ Cat

~ Cat

Funny to come here with the intention of asking for an ID confirmation for this butterfly and then to see your posts about the Dainty Sulphurs, Cat.
I'm guessing that this is one. Photographed today. We've had 4 freezing nights (a little early for us) this past week with two being hard freezes. Almost all my garden flowers are done for but still have some Gaillardia and a couple of other things hanging on.

Very pretty shot angele!!

Thanks Sheila. I've been seeing this little butterfly for about a week now but always flying around. It was great to finally catch sight of it stationary.

Nice sulpher shot! I saw one of the really large sulphurs flying around this morning. Also a Monarch and a GST. That'll teach me to go out without a camera! But these are all over the place, 24/7.

The Question Mark goes back to the same old crappy banana....every day. Red Admirals still here also.

And one of the hackberry butterflies.

Looks like a worn PVST, enjoying the Fairyduster, going from bloom to bloom.

Angele - nice colors! Love that yellow on red. Glad to see the Dainty Sulphurs are getting around.

Linda - the snouts are on the wing for sure! Are ya'll getting them by the millions yet? All the radiators/grills and windshields are full of butterfly butts out here :o) Can't believe you have only one Tawny on that banana. You should have dozens by now too. They've been showing up here for the past month - always the first at the brew too. The large sulphur you saw was probably the Large Orange - they are flying around out here by the thousands as well. According to Fall Season count which we had on 10/25/09 we saw 19,871 of the Large Orange Sulphurs and 55,317 American Snouts. :o)

~ Cat

Enjoyed the butterfly trip.....
Here is a Monarch (one of 2). Must be flying south to warmer weather, think I'll join him/her...

This is a Orange Sulphur correct? Took these yesterday.

Male?

A Queen Butterfly enjoys the W TX Mistflower and the sun shine.

It's been really sunny and I try to limit my time outside because I'm prone to skin cancer. So haven't gotten a pic of the Monarch that I've glimpsed. But I found a few eggs on my milkweeds. Kind of late, but maybe I'll get to raise Monarch cats this year after all!

talk about late, check out this lone Monarch yesterday from central Illinois

Oh wow! That IS late! I saw a comma or question mark last week, but that's it

Oh,,, I need to check my milkweeds... they are just now beginning to really grow and bloom.. isn't that really late? If I find eggs, what should I do?
Here is a closeup of sulpher on pineapple sage today..

I have a couple of photos I would like to share. I believe this is a North American Giant Swallowtail. I've had two others visit me this past spring and summer.
Being me, there is a story to go with the photos.
I opened the greenhouse door and spotted this guy hiding up among the colored glass.

I was excited to see the bfly. They are very special to me. I must have disturbed the bfly so he flew across to the other end of the gh.

The bfly kept going back and forth between the gh wall and the mirror ball. I was trying to get a better photo, when I saw a bird on the outside of the gh spot the bfly. He tried several times to nab the bfly, but the gh wall kept foiling his attempts.

I was greatly relieved to see that the bird did not succeed. While I wasn't able to get any photos of the bird trying to attack the bfly, you can see the handle of my shovel on the outside of the gh near the bfly.

I decided not to chase him out, and went about my chores. I never did see the bfly after this photo, but I hope it found it's way to freedom, and was fast enough to avoid the birds.
I felt really blessed by his visit.

I was amazed to see all the different b.flies you have. I'd like to learn more about them. Can anyone suggest a good book that would help me to cultivate the natives in my area? I noticed that not many people from my part of the world post on this thread, but maybe someone knows something that will help.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos and posts.
Thank you for allowing me to share mine.
Walk In Beauty!
SingingWolf

Hi my friend SW..
CA is a pretty good place to find bfs I would imagine. As for plants to attract butterflies either for nectaring or laying eggs (host plants), I find this site very helpful and easy to use. www.dallasbutterflies.com ...just click on butterfly gardening in the column to the left on their home page.

There is also a lot of other information on the "sticky" thread at the top of this forum.

Btw, the GST (Great Swallowtail) that you pictured uses citrus trees as it's host plant, and I know you have those in your area.

Good to see you on this thread....please stick around.

Welcome SingingWolf,

Like Sheila said - the 'sticky' thread at the top of the Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening forum provides lots of good information.

The BAMONA (butterfliesandmoths.org) website is good for doing searches for what is in your area - it also lists nectar and larval hosts as well as provides butterfly photos. It's a bit outdated and doesn't provide current record sightings but it still is a good website to refer to.

The Kaufman Focus Guide book - Butterflies of North America is an excellent book. You can find used copies for a few dollars. There is an updated version from 2007 that probably will run you close to $20 but you don't need to purchase that newer version. The only difference between that and the older version is an add on section of a few pages that covers the deep south Texas rare Mexican strays.

http://www.amazon.com/Butterflies-North-America-Kaufman-Guides/dp/0618153128/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257466163&sr=8-1

other than that you can always go to the www.naba.org website and look for chapters in your area - most should have websites and provide butterfly photos and information. Our south Texas chapter does - and it is an excellent resource as we have also included a variety of photos of each species, some life cycles and a good .pdf file for larval host plants.

http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabast/

~ Cat

This message was edited Nov 5, 2009 6:17 PM

And later on, if you want to ID caterpillars, I'd recommend Caterpillars in the Field and Garden, by Allen, Brock and Glassberg. I saw the Monarch again, but also there was a Queen in my yard for a little while. Now, I wonder about the eggs on the milkweed. Could be either kind, I guess!

Holy Guacamole! I was outside doing leaf cleanup and look who stopped by!

Good for you Mrs Ed; I saw one today as well but it absconded before I could pic it.

Nice shot Mrs Ed...
It looks like an Orange Sulphur. If I am on the right track, the one you shot is a female. The male has a solid black border on the dorsal side. The female has yellow areas within the black border.

Nobody ever confirmed my OS pictures above, so I may be off track.

This message was edited Nov 6, 2009 6:13 PM

This morning I counted 20 Gulf Frit cats and 2 of these chrysalis.

This message was edited Nov 10, 2009 10:20 PM

I don't even try (well hardly, at least) to ID the sulphurs.

I am usually wrong when I try, but each time I learn a bit more.

AJ way to go!! The two chrysalis are Monarchs and if you have about 7-8 days you can cut the branch and tape them inside a container with cutout for breathing. See my diary for a method I use, or check the sticky at the top of the forum. Monarchs emerge from the chrysalis at 10 days. Good luck.

All the eggs I found on my milkweed last time hatched into Queen cats. Then I found two more eggs today. Now there are Queens around, but no Monarchs. And the fruit feasting butterflies seem to be gone, at least for now.

I don't think any of the Monarchs or Queens are laying eggs in my area right now. Our leaves are beginning to drop here.

Hi,, I have searched and can't find this little booger. He/she's only about an inch across. Gold colored with bright gold at the top. I thought it might be sulphur, but it doesn't look like the orange or dainty. Any idea?

Elaine