In case you would like to review, we came from here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1118978/
Common Buckeye looks so pretty on the Ironweed!
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 80
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail...V for victory!!
EWWWWWW to the dead frog!!! Then again...considering how much some butterflies like cow poo, scat and owl upchuck...who am I to judge :o) Some photos of my fondest butterfly moments :o) ROFL!!!!
No need to freak out - most are of butterflies on bait or fruit - but there are a few of poo too!
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/TexasPuddyPrint/12610/
Great pics!
Am still picturing that dead frog. UGH!!! Glad it's on the other post ;o)
When I lived in Memphis I used to have cocker spaniel that loved to roll around on the dead toads? frogs? in the parking lot of condo. YUCK!!!
When we moved to Texas and I took her with me to the ranch...one of the first things she did was run out to the back pasture and roll around in cow poo!!! Needless to say...I picked her up from around her arm pits and walked her over to the water trough and dropped her in!!! Thought she'd learned her lesson but as soon as I pulled her out she got loose and then went to roll around in the dirt!!! Just as bad!!! Dratted dog!!! Gotta love those fur faces!!!
~ Cat
Thanks for the birthday greetings at the end of the last thread.
From today - Buckeye
Buckeye in the spearmint
and a white -
Nanny, what is ironweed?? Is it a type of thistle?? I have not heard of it before.
Well there are several types. It is not a thistle. The flowers are much smaller. The plants can get quite tall here. It is often seen growing wild in fields or along the roaside. Very common and bees, butterflies and birds(finch, chickadees, titmouse) just love it!
A link to the plant files
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/57426/
I finally seem to have gotten some seeds to germinate in my garden this year...took 3 tries!
Oh thanks. I believe I have seen them growing wild along roadsides too.
I found this guy today on my butterfly garden but I've got no idea what it is other than a Hairstreak. I wish I had a better camera for a closer take. Here is the picture
Here is a closer view
Roly:
A Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak (Strymon istapa modesta).
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
Okay everyone, so sorry about the frog incident. Yucky and intriguing all at the same time. And yah, my dogs like to roll on dead snakes. P. U.
Lily, that pix on the last thread looks like a painted lady to me.
Remember those BST eggs I couldn't find last week? Well I found a cat today. Pictures later…
meanwhile, this gal was laying on both the fennel and the parsley. Blurry picture because I was also holding some tomatoes from the garden and getting bit by mosquitos.
YAY...can't wait for pics!
I have 2 more monarch babies!!
Hey Dale...you gonna make it down this year? The weather's been extremely hot but with all the flooding some are saying it has killed lots of wildllife but will also bring new wildlife into the area.
I've been working out at the ranch on weekends - danged grass is so tall - and weeds sprouting like crazy. Hopefully by October everything will be in full bloom and there'll be a gazillion butterflies.
Did I tell you I photographed a mating pair of Outis Skippers out there a couple of weeks ago? Andy Warren confirmed the ID - that's a new species for me.
There's been a Mournful Duskywing hanging around the sunflowers for the past few days - and having read that they use oak as a larval host out of curiousity I started looking over an oak branch hangs low near the sunflowers. I think I found a Mournful Duskywing egg on the new leaves of my oak tree! Guess time will tell...
~ Cat
This message was edited Aug 10, 2010 7:05 PM
Fingers crossed Cat!
Holy cow. I went out to get that caterpillar and figured that I'd find some more. But I found 13 before I gave up because of the mosquitoes. So now all are tucked away in the cube. I'll get pictures tomorrow, but lots of them are kind of "blond" or orangish. the others are the normal black.
Yeah...the skeeters are bad!!! With all the flooding we had and all the water that is still standing - the skeeters are vicious! I went outside a few minutes ago to bring in a last instar Guava Skipper caterpillar and those biting fiends were all over me!!! Scratchy! Scratchy! Itchy! Itchy!!!!
Found some new Guava Skipper eggs on the guava bush - and remembered there were caterpillars from the last brood still on there feeding - it's hard to keep the guava leaves fresh and soft - so I usually leave the cats on the bush until they start to pupate...then I bring them in :o)
Here's one of the big babies!!!
Pretty
Out of focus.
I need some help here with an id on a butterfly and can't take a picture maybe some of you experts can tell me that have so many butterflies :) I've strolled thru the pictures and haven't seen one that looks like it and it's the first time I've noticed one here.
It looks a lot like the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail but it seems to have more black on it and a yellow stripe from wing to wing close to the top of his wings that's what made me notice it I have a bunch of ETS here but only one of those so far, I noticed it flying around and thought it was one of those large grasshoppers you know the ones with the decorative wings that show when they are flying thru the air lol I haven't seen it land on anything since I've been watching for it to see what the wings really look like that yellow stripe from wing to wing really stands out when it flying though looks to be at least a 1/4" inch wide if not more. I just noticed it today. It's gone now I'm hoping it's going to come back so I can get a better look at it.
I just saw it again and it has yellow around the edges of his wings plus that stripe and yellow on the tips of his tail some sort of swallow tail but it's larger than my regular ones the only thing I saw it land on was the lantana out front just now and it was off again lol It is black with the exception of the yellow and doesn't have the stripes at the top like the EST. I wish I could take a picture of it no camera but it wouldn't sit still long enough anyway!
Finally found it it's a Giant Swallowtail just wish I could take pictures of it to show :) Sorry for interrupting :)
This message was edited Aug 11, 2010 9:29 PM
Lebug...have you looked at the BAMONA website for butterflies from your county?
Might just be a female - those are usually darker. Unless it's a Black Swallowtail? Males have more blue than the females - females have a more pronounced double yellow markings on the margins. Giant Swallowtails have that stripe.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?dc=706&_dcc=1&si=15
If you click on a bordering county on the map - you can also check the swallowtails recorded for that area.
~ Cat
Aha...so you ID'd it as a Giant Swallowtail. Good for you!!! They use citrus trees, rue and a few others from the rutaceae family as a larval host. If you see a caterpillar that looks like bird poo on nearby orange, lime etc trees - it will turn into that gorgeous butterfly. The caterpillars are called Orange Dogs :o)
This message was edited Aug 11, 2010 8:35 PM
Thank you I just edited to say I found it but thank you I'm not very good at goggling lol It's taken me almost all afternoon to find it but it's a Giant Swallowtail very pretty and really caught my eye I have all kinds of butterflies but don't remember seeing this one but my brain is getting older!
I'll save that site and put it in my favorites thanks!
The BAMONA website is a good reference tool. If you don't have a copy of the book: Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America - I highly suggest you get a copy of the 2002 version.
You can probably find one for a few dollars on ebay, Amazon or other book seller sites. It has a picture of a Tiger Swallowtail on the cover.
The version with the Red Admiral butterfly on it is the 2006/2007 version. That was has a couple of added pages of butterflies (rare strays) that were found in south Texas in 2005.
~ Cat
Just noticed the price is no longer a couple of bucks...more like 6 to 10!!! I remember getting a bunch of copies off a seller on ebay a couple of years ago. Shop around!!! Your local butterfly park might have it in stock as well.
http://www.addall.com/New/BrowseCompare.cgi?addsbn=0618153128&title=Butterflies+of+North+America+(Kaufman+Focus+Guides)
This message was edited Aug 11, 2010 8:53 PM
I think I get confused with the black swallowtail they use rue too don't they? I have plenty of those cats around on my rue and queen anne's lace but have never seen a cat from the GS I've been looking around for strange cats because I remember seeing the ones on here that looks like poo lol But now I have like 20 rues so they have just excaped my eyes I guess again thanks so much ;)
I'm so enjoying all of these pictures!
BST use rue, queen ann's lace, parsley, fennel and a few others. The Giants seem to prefer citrus in my yard but every now and the I'll find a caterpillar or two on the rue. The BSTs use rue and fennel all the time in my yard but others have had more luck with parsley and other plants.
LeBug,
I have some butterfly life cycles posted on my Dave's Garden Diary page. This is the main link but you can scroll down to find the butterfly you are wanting to know about. Once you click on the page you can click on any photo for a larger image. Hope it helps!
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/m/TexasPuddyPrint/
~ Cat
I'll pick that book up I'm beginning to have so many here this year and really need to know what they are thanks! Just can’t seem to remember the names like you all on here lol
I don't have any citris plants being in Indiana so maybe they are on the rues. I kind of lost my host garden last year long story, had to start over again for this year but they are some where around here :) I just hope I see more of them.
I have pretty good luck with the parsley and fennel here for the BST just planted some new parsley and need to plant some more fennel too have to start alll over again with those :) Planted about six butterfly weeds this year my others didn't come up from WS I'm not really new to the butterflies just had a senior moment I think sometimes they just get so confusing to me lol
Thanks for the link to your Diary page I'll check it out one of these days I'll be able to show pictures too!
I always wonder where/what the GS host plat is around here....I assume there is wild rue somewhere here as I don't grow any.
OH and I think they host on Hop tree and prickly ash too.
Hey, a first for me and in my own garden!
Gray Hairstreak.
Congrats Mrs. Ed!! Can't believe you never had one of those before!!
Ya me neither. Mostly just Eastern Tailed-blues and azures. And Coral Hairstreaks out at Nachusa.
This is the third new butterfly to the garden this year. The other two, though common, I had not seen here. Pearl Crescent and Meadow Fritillary.
Just hard to believe with all the flowers you have in your garden!!
I guess it takes a while? When we moved here in 2003 there wasn't much here but maybe one ditch lily and a few vegetable plants. STill, you'd think the most abundant hairstreak in the country would make an appearance before now!
Holy Caterpillar, ButterflyMan!
I think the count is up to 17. Not that you can see them all in this picture. But you get the idea. I have to go to find some parsely, because mine is mostly seed like this. Maybe I should just net the whole row of plants, I saw another laying eggs again today.
I stuck a fennel in there in case anyone wanted to switch over!
