Daily butterfly pictures #90

Eastern Tailed Blue

I have been getting lots of tiger and black swallowtails this year, but I wish they'd stop fluttering their wings long enough for me to get a till picture. Some them are really big, a good five inches wide.

Here is a black swallowtail...these are even harder to picture than the tigers.

At least the Monarch's stay still long enough to photograph.

A nice one with the wings open.

Good pics sunkissed. That first butterfly is a Giant Swallowtail btw. Just as you said Monarchs are alway nice about being still to allow great pictures.

Nice to see more BF's finally showing up here...Great pics everyone!

Thanks for the proper ID Shelia...I see the difference now. I think I have both, I'll now know how to ID them. Yes Monarchs don't seem to mind me around them at all.

Glad I could help....keep the pictures coming!

I actually caught this BF, and was going to tag it until I looked closer--a Viceroy

So this female monarch got the honor of being the 1st tagged of the year--we even checked her and 3 others we caught for OE, and they were all clean--so we sent them south!

WTG Bruce!! Waiting to get to tag some here. I hope the heat lets up first because I will miss a lot of them cause I can't handle the heat. I went out this evening to turn on sprinkler in the back 40 and saw a Queen pair flying around, they were disturbed by the dogs I guess. They found another place to perch so I went for my camera. Twice a week watering starts tomorrow, so things may be a bit crispy by the time the Monarchs get here. We are one of about 5 houses on our whole block that even waters, and only two that has any plants in bloom.

Wooohooo, sent that lady South? Thanks Bruce. Sheila, we've got some cooler temp. as a result of Irene's tail end. Hope there will be some gentle rain for Tx. soon.

There is rain showing on the map this morning but widely scattered...none here so far, but with a chance again tonight! Yippee!!

Better days ahead. :)

Wooohooo, I think I saw two Monarch. One is a female, unsure of the other. Wooohooo!

Woohooo, how about a male Monarch?

Alright Lily! Hope you are blessed with eggs. I saw probably that same Queen laying eggs today just a bit ago. Also better than that someone in the area is getting rain this morning. We only have the clouds but that is welcomed as well.

Found Monarch cat #4 so he is safe & sound inside now!

awww, that's a lovely sight Nan. Good lucks with the cats. I spotted the pair (Monarch) in the garden, and they hung out all day long. Hopefully, I'll soon be blessed with some babies.

Sulphur

Good to see there are monarchs showing up down south now. We are not seeing many because they have started heading south--the good news is that we are seeing multiple cats on our MW plants.

There you go again J! Those million bells in the evening hours? There are many Sulphurs here as well. Bruce, they're here. It's time for me to go egg hunting. Oh BTW, the number 700 and 702, what are those meant?

Lily....That number is exclusive to that one tag and can be tracked next year. If found it will be posted as to who and where they found it. See more here: http://www.monarchwatch.org/index.html Look under tagging.

Yep, hopefully someone will find one of those tags in Mexico and report it, and they will know where it came from and what sex--or even better someone along the migration route will spot and report it, and they can get info about migration routes and time.

That's so neat! I'm contemplating getting involved in the project. Thanks to both Bruce and Sheila for the info. BTW, the pair monarch I spotted yesterday. I saw one on my garden this morning again.

Look underneath the leaves of your milkweed for a tiny white dot (egg). This is a Queen I saw yesterday...excuse the drought stricken mw. Lucky to be alive.

Thanks Sheila for the pix of the egg. So they do lay eggs singly (not in cluster)? I'll be searching for them for I saw more than one of the Monarch in the garden. This one however, was a male that finally found the MWs.

always single egg.....very tiny! But once you see one you will know it!

I'm pleased, for two days in a row, the two monarch bflies. hung out in the garden. Haven't found any egg though. Thanks Nan and Sheila.

Well on the 3rd day, the Monarch pair had moved onward further South. I was out in the garden hoping to find some of their eggs, but instead I found at least 5 BST cats in various instars on parsleys containers. Here is one of them.

Great going! The BST have all dissappeared here because of our extreme heat, and drought conditions. I still have some in chrysalis form that never emerged. I am keeping them though, just when you give up, you see something flapping around in the cage. I have it by the door of my shop since I go in there every day.

For the month of August, we've had terrible drought here in our region. July was pretty good with rain which relieved us from some vegitation loss. I was admiring my passi flower and fruits. Then I discover one lone G.F. cat. on the vine. Wooohooo.

Sulphur on Turk's cap.

Hey guys....here is the text of Dale's article. Can't see the pictures but the article is great!

"Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask me about this summer’s scarcity of butterflies. Gardeners have set out flowers rich in nectar and plants specifically chosen to host different species’ eggs and the hatched caterpillars, seemingly with no takers.
Weather is one of the greatest influences on a butterfly’s life. The double-whammy of a drought and a record-breaking heat wave has caused native butterfly populations, in general, to tumble. While this is disappointing to gardeners who have struggled to keep their butterfly banquets green and flowering, it is a natural response of the insect to these cruel climatic conditions.
Butterflies, however, have adapted numerous strategies for survival. As a species, this is not their first drought.
While you may have had Eastern black swallowtail caterpillars consuming dill or parsley in your garden in early summer, you probably have noticed a drop in visitors since the mercury hit the area’s long streak of 100-plus temperatures. If conditions are too severe, a swallowtail chrysalis can go months (or even years) before a butterfly emerges, a survival technique that also applies to pipevine, giant and tiger swallowtails.
The bordered patch butterfly, and other closely related species, can wait out the drought in the caterpillar stage. When the quality of their host plants (sunflowers, ragweed and cowpen daisies) begins to falter, they stop eating and go into estivation, a sort of summer hibernation, and wait until the rains rejuvenate the plants they live on.
One of the most reliable butterfly host plants a gardener can cultivate is passionvine (Passiflora spp.). This is the only plant genus on which Gulf fritillary butterflies will lay their eggs. Usually by August homeowners are complaining that their vines have been stripped bare, but not this year. Trellises and fences are enveloped in lush growth and gardeners are enjoying plenty of the exotic blooms. So where are the Gulf fritillaries?
The natural life history of the Gulf fritillary is that it immigrates to our area each spring and summer from more southerly locales. Instinct drives this journey because Gulf fritillaries cannot tolerate extended periods of freezing temps and because our native passionvines usually die to the ground in winter, so the insect must recolonize its range every year.
However, with the popularity of butterfly gardening and the increased use of one passionvine in particular —‘Blue Crown’ (P. caerulea) — a slight wrinkle has developed. ‘Blue Crown’ is semi-evergreen in North Texas; in mild winters the orange-and-black fritillary can survive and continue breeding, withstanding brief spells of freezing temperatures and giving the butterfly a head start in spring reproduction.
However, this past winter’s single-digit temperatures killed overwintering Gulf fritillaries and many ‘Blue Crown’ passionvines. That, coupled with the current drought, has greatly reduced the numbers of this particular butterfly.
Once the heat wave breaks and rain occurs, the numbers of butterflies will increase. Mother Nature has done all of this before and, in the long run, butterflies know how to cope and survive. Keep tending those nectar and host plants; eventually, they will be needed and appreciated."

article by Dale Clark (co-founder of the Dallas County Lepidopterist Society)

His last statement is why I am continuing to water when I can....I am keeping the faith they will be here and need me.

Such nice article, thank you Dale for writing and thank you Sheila for taking the time to share that with other butterflies enthusiasts like myself. Keep the faith. So far I've found but one G.F. caterpillar. It's now in my custody so I'm hoping for the best. I've one of those semi-evergreen passi, a whole lot of the native passi. plus a another tropical passi. which has yet flowered, so I don't know what its true identity is. So... I'm keeping the faith.

Thanks for the article.

Glad to be able to share. Great article Dale.

Now, that is a great article to read!!! Drought here also( not as bad as Texas) I have had a wonderful growth of passion vines this year, but no butterflies until the past 2 weeks. And now the vines are covered in caterpillars! Also,,, I took pictures of a black swallowtail and I'm sure she was laying eggs in a moist area next to the sidewalk. She was there for almost 2 hours.

It's so nice to hear things are picking up there EFG.