Looking good Viceroy!! You have more in bloom there than we do, I am so jealous. As for the orange barred, looks a go to me with that dark gold/org; but let someone else say for certain...as I have never seen one myself.
Daily Butterfly Pictures #86
Nice collection of various bflies and blooms there Viceroy. Oooh I saw a couple Variegated Frits in our area today.
Nice Lily....I forgot to plant pansies this year and didn't see any. I am not much into annuals and they don't use the violets that I have in shaded areas. Guess I need to put some violets in the sun up front.
Ooh I didn't know the Frits. like pansies too. Is that the nectar they after or the plants as hostplant please.
This is what Dave (lepfarmer) has listed as host plants on the DCLS website.
" Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia):
Yellow Passionvine (Passiflora lutea), Maypop (Passiflora incarnata), Grooved Flax (Linum sulcatum), Meadow Flax (Linum pratense), Rock Flax (Linum rupestre), Berlandier's Flax (Linum berlandieri), Texas Flax (Linum medium), Tufted Flax (Linum imbricatum), and probably others of this genus; Erect Spiderling (Boerhavia erecta), Nodding Green-Violet (Hybanthus verticillatus), various members of the Violaceae family, including violets and pansies."
I happened to buy some yellow pansies a couple years ago and noticed later I had cats on them.
Great variety, Viceroy! Nice cat pic Sheila. I am still waiting for the GFs to find my Passiflora. I haven't seen any of them in my area yet this year. Most of the pictures I got of them last year were in late summer and fall. I don't know what their pattern is though.
Russell
I don't have any GFs yet either Russell, they usually overwinter and are the first ones to appear here. I think our heavy freezes took their tole on them here. They will rebound though, they are very prolific.
Thanks Sheila for the hostplants list. I do think that the V.frits cats are prettier than the G. frits. I'll be looking for eggs soon.
Caught this one sipping on the lantana today. Looks like this one had some hard times recently. Pipevine?
I had a few more of the large orange sulphurs around today but they just wouldn't sit still long enough for pictures. Places to go, flowers to see!
Russell
Bless it's heart..definately been through rough winds! Yes, Pipevine.
Places to go, flowers to see! Indeed, they are fast.
Giant night moth
closer:
Now that is a GIANT moth! Very nice.
Russell
jmorth.... Lepfarmer just gave bigred in AR an id on that a Polyphemus moth here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1177876/
That time of year for them I guess.....yours looks like a male.
Oops....I meant to post a picture of their caterpillar that I had. Here goes.
Well not one I was looking for but read between the oak leaves! LOL!
Thanks Shelia
Can anyone identify this guy?
Crit, I wished I could help. I've no idea. On what plant was it on? That could be helpful info.
I saw this Black form TigerSwallowtail this evening.
It really enjoyed the nectar on the Penta blooms.
Kim,
Judging by the spots on the body, I think you may have a Spicebush. The dark form Tiger females I've seen have solid black bodies. Or, if that's a black dot in the orange cell at the bottom of the wing then it might be a Black ST. Did you see the stripes in the wing or did it seem much larger than other swallowtails?
Here's a picture I have of a dark form female. See how the body is solid black? I suppose normal Tiger STs would be yellow with black stripes but since these don't have the yellow they end up solid black on the body. Never thought about it much before now.
Meanwhile, in Florida...everyone's ovipositing! Here's a Long-Tailed Skipper on my scarlet runner beans. See the egg on the leaf?
Gulf Fritillary on Passion Vine "Lavender Lady"
Hummm, I was too far away to tell. Melanie, perhaps another pic. helps?
And the ever-present Monarch on my Tropical Milkweed.
Hmmm...Kim, I think that's a black dot in the center of the orange spot at the bottom which would lead me to think Black Swallowtail. Haven't seen one of those yet, but they always seem to work on their own schedule around here.
Oh, and here's a Buckeye that was just being a Buckeye (as far as I could tell, no egg laying). My neighbor has the right weeds, though. LOL!
I love those Buckeye. Thanks Melanie on the possible ID. Should it be a Black Swallowtail, that would be a bonus. I've some Parsley and Meadow Rue waiting for them. Here is the Meadow Rue in blooms.
Pretty...my rue just produced three Giant Swallowtails. Mom found one of them - she's improving, I have to give her credit. They're still babies but I'll feed them and before long they'll be starring in my photos.
I haven't seen a Giant Swallowtail here personally, hope I'll see them someday. Glad to hear your Mom is catching on. It's a wonderful hobby to have.
Lily ..... it wasn't on a plant. It was on a rock where I was digging to plant a hosta.
Crit, meet Malanie, Malanie meet Crit. Perhaps Malanie can help with the cat. above? Thanks Melanie.
Thanks Lily ..... I appreciate all the help I can get on it.
Well, it looks like some kind of moth caterpillar to me. I wouldn't get too excited about it. Unless you like moths in which case, go nuts.
Melanie
Melanie!!!!!! Welcome back, we missed you!
Glad to be back - check out my thread here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1179546/
Indeed it is good to have a all year butterfly person on board....where were you when we were having withdrawals this winter?? LOL! Great to have you posting again.
We have another expert that hasn't popped in yet....Lepfarmer. His name is Dale Clark and he has been so sweet to indulge us since he has the Dallas County Lep. Society Website and an active butterfly farm. www.dallasbutterflies.com
Hi everyone! Hey, check out this post I wrote about getting your butterflies identified and their sightings recorded. It's also a very useful website if you haven't checked it out. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1179609/
Melanie
And happy birthday to Crit!
Like a big family, extended family reunion. I'm glad Melanie is "home" where she's so loved by us.
And a big Happy Birthday wish to Crit. Happy Birthday, hope there will be so much more caterpillars, birds, and gardening joy with butterflies fills your special day.
(My very 1st Lily of the season -- sorta-explains why my Lily-Love nickname).
