OMG!!!!! WOW!!!!
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 80
Too funny Mrs_Ed!!! I stopped looking at my fennel plant - one day there are hundreds of BST eggs on it, next time I turn around there a gobs of little caterpillars feeding away! Since I've already raised and released that species and photodoc'd the lifecycle I leave them to Mother Nature. Have been much too busy with work to raise a lot of butterflies right now - so am sticking to a few I haven't raised before.
Yes.. that prickly lime ash is popular at the ranch for the Giant Swallowtails - also used by Sicklewinged Skippers and Forbes Silkmoths!!! I love larval host plants that are used by a variety of butterflies and moths :o)
~ Cat
Hey Cat, I only seem to get monarchs and black swallowtail cats here in the yard, though I have some other host plants, so I'll just stick with these for now. I'm not sure I'll bring any more in! I'm really curious about this group though because there were several that as first instars were kind of orange instead of black. And you can see how the oldest is really pale. I've never seen that before.
Nanny, drive on up here and get some of these babies! LOL.
LOL!!!
^_^
I got curious, so even tho I look everyday and have seen nothing in over a week...today there were 5 4th instar cats on the fennel!
Male BST...saw several males this week in fact!
This message was edited Aug 13, 2010 7:14 PM
Female BST....
This Common Buckeye looked so pretty on this rudbeckia....
2 Sulphurs....
getting frisky???? I think one was interested the other not so much...lol!
This message was edited Aug 13, 2010 7:18 PM
Odd thing about some of those BST cats - these were from the same brood and although they have the same markings the coloring is very different!
~ Cat
Wow Nanny, things are really jumping at your place.
Cat that IS interesting. Can't wait to see how these all turn out.
Returned to a rural country drainage ditch to check on wild red lobelia density (there last week too), and to our delight, able to pic some more Coppers, I think this one is an American Copper.
Also there, lots of Monarchs...
and Buckeyes
Red Admirals and Painted Ladys (illustrated):
Got this really pretty pic yesterday and had to share.
That is really pretty Kelly!
I found this Woolly Worm on the underside of an Ironweed leaf one day!
Mrs_Ed - those caterpillars are from last year or the year before...can't recall for sure. They both came out as normal looking BSTs. Go figure!
I have a question regarding the Monarchs cats.
How will I know they are getting ready pupate? With the BST thye gut purge so that makes it easy!
Mine just went to the top of the cage and stopped eating. I had my last two eclose this morning. At 6 a.m. ish I was outside with the dogs and one had just come out. i couldn't believe how tiny the little wings were!
Okay thanks...I am wondering if I should put some tulle, paper towels or something for them to attach to since I have them in plastic totes?
I dunno, I think you should be okay. Shelia does hers in those small glad ware things and they attach to the plastic. Then she can easily pull the silk off and attach somewhere else.
I know this is a skipper, but I'm not sure which one. Can anyone give me a positive ID? I couldn't get the butterfly to pose so I could get a nice sideways shot. I rotated the picture so it's easier to see. I hope it's easier to see....
Peck's Skipper would be my designation
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth laying eggs on the honeysuckle.
I think this is a fiery skipper.
I thought it looked between a Peck's and a Zabulon.
Marna, you think it looks like a Fiery Skipper?
Have lots of ironweed behind our house and was wondering what butterflies or maybe some of them I might expect to feed on the flowers nectar?? Thanks,
Cuckoo
Mrs_Ed - way cool on the hummingbird moth - you going to raise and release them?
Have a Black Witch moth roosting on my front porch - am tempted to put her in a bag or cage to see if she'll lay eggs but I don't have any of their larval host around - so I will leave her alone :o)
~ cat
Wow a lot of activity since I checked in last!!.....
Nice shots everyone, wtg on the HB moth and tiny BST cats Marna.
jmorth....is that a button bush the painted lady is on?
Nanny the cats will be fine on the plastic container and it is easier to scrape off and pin in an emerging box. You can see the silk in the pic when it pulls away.
Welcome Kellydz and cuckoo4.... Like the monarch pic Kelly. Cuckoo, don't think it is a host plant but a lot of bfs will nectar from it.
Marna....you said something about the monarch's eclosing and how small the wings were. I took this photo at just the right time when one flipped out of the chrysalis. I was amazed at the large abdomen and tiny wings. But in a matter of minutes they use that excess liquid to pump the wings out. We also had it on video and one day will post it when we figure out how to edit.
Yah Shelia that is exactly it!!! I couldn't believe it. I didn't know the wings were that small. But now I understand how it can fit in those small chrysalids.
Oh jeeze Cat, I hadn't thought about raising it. I went to look for the eggs and couldn't see them. I'll go out tomorrow and check with a magnifying glass!
Oh and since the monarchs left, I was able to give their cage to some of the swallowtails. I guess I had mis-counted. I have… TWENTY-FIVE! egads!
Terry, ooops. I meant to post of picture of a skipper I had today, that I think is a Fiery Skipper. I still think yours is Pecks. Here's mine.
I hope you have a lot of food for the brood you have Marna. If you think you might run short and had fennel enough, put some of the tiny first instars on it. They will switch over without a problem at that stage.
I think I have plenty. I have a row about 3 feet long. It's kind of seedy but they seem to be eating it well anyway. And I think the greenhouse has some, I've been meaning to call.
My gosh Mrs Ed....do you think they will finish in time?? I am wondering if my last 3 are going to eclose or not.
I have a monarch cat on the prowl in the container.
Cuckoo, you should see sulpurs, buckeyes, whites, monarchs and swallowtails, skippers all on the Ironweed. It is very popular!
This moth was in the house the other night...
LOTS of Buckeyes were around today...so some buckeye love!
For those that raise monarchs, what is the best way to keep milkweed fresh? I underestimated how much one monarch caterpillar can go through when I let my daughter adopt it. He has exhausted the supply I have growing in my yard. I have access to lots to cut but I know that they like it fresh. Any suggestions on how to keep it fresh? In water like cut flowers? In moist paper towel in the fridge? Any help would be great.
Sheila_FW, yes, it is a Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis L.). The ditch where pic taken is full of them...
Kelly, I just pick some daily and toss it in the cage. If you can't do it daily, you might try to put it in water. I seem to remember some discussion about this a year or so back. I think the advice was to make a fresh cut at the sink and then put it in warm water, which helps to keep the cut open. Maybe between two wet paper towels in the fridge might work too.
I find that collecting it early in the morning or late evening is best. During the day it is a bit wilted and won't last. If you are collecting a lot take water with you to drop them into. I rinse the leaves and place them in the wet floral foam for feeding. I would imagine the refrigerator would work, but I don't collect ahead so don't know.
