Nice photos Jmorth and Viceroy! I have only seen one monarch lately and she didn't stay long. Maybe there will be more later on.
Russell
Daily butterfly pictures #91
J. What's a glorious sighting of Monarchs!!! Wow, BCH, J also inspired me for the better days to come. Burn, I don't like it when winter is near. But frost this early? Yikes! I found myself with lots of summer longing, and a touch of 'winter blue' when it's so dreary looking out there. There was no sunshine yesterday, today ... hope it will be better.
My newly emerged BST yesterday and a dreary winter-like day.
My last Monarch did eclose over the weekend and it was another male!
Wooohooo, I just saw a Monarch, I haven't seen one since over two weeks ago!
Had three monarchs at the Tithonia today. Jack, be sure to go look for roosts!
Meanwhile, over at the bait station. Not one but TWO mourning cloaks, a red admiral and out of the frame there was a question mark.
I love the blue on these guys.
Fiery Skipper
One of the two or three question marks in the yard.
PS. check out those blasted aphids.
This message was edited Sep 21, 2011 2:59 PM
Quote from Viceroy :
Sunkissed thanks for the info too early to tell if I can make it. Glad to hear your garden is doing well! Hope it is more wll kept than mine is, let me know if you want to volunteer on a free weekend (lol)
Ha ha...I just finally had time this week to get out and work in the garden, had to cover my self in Bug Dope since the skeeters just love to munch on me while out there. Filled three trash cans full of weeds and cut backs. The weeds were really taking over with all this rain we've had. So I'm good for awhile. :)
Mrs. Ed some really great captures...my milkweed is covered with those same aphids.
BCH521 great photo of the cat...I've not seen one single one here this year, lots of BF's but no cats. They are usually on my milkweed but it took a beating during our dry months.
Jmorth...once again your photos are just dazzling.
Lily, nice shot of the BST and hope you get some sunshine soon...if not you can always come to Flor-ee-da...LOL.
These are some old photos of GF's I found in my albums from last summer in July...I still haven't seen any this year and miss them...my passifloras are looking so wonderful this year with not one hole in their leaves. :(
Guess they love my Pentas also...
They are so easy to capture since they just get so engrossed in the flowers
Nice with the sun shining through the wings...
Ok just one more and then I'm off here...
Sunkissed, thanks for the well wishes. Yes, indeed the sun shine returned after the rain. What's more my BST did weather it through and flew to freedom the following day when the sun returned. ^_^ Marna, wonderful photos, Love those Question Marks, and the M.C. I don't believe I've seen Mourning Cloaks in person before. G.Frits are seen here, though not as many as in year past.
Have a great day sunkissed and all. At the end of the day, please don't forget to bring more butterflies. lol
This message was edited Sep 22, 2011 9:34 AM
Beautiful pictures!
Two day in a row, I saw a lone Monarch. In fact I think the same one is flitting out there just now.
Eastern Black Swallowtail?
I'm getting crossed eyes, trying to identify these swallowtails. lol
Cat 1
Cloudless Sulphur...(I think)....found it munching on the bottom side of cassia alata leaves this evening.
Russell
Cat 2
Tersa Sphinx moth...(again a guess)...I couldn't figure out why my pentas were looking so bad lately...here is the answer!
Russell
It would help to attach the picture! LOL
Russell, those cats. are cute looking. I raised Tersa Sphinx cat. once, also found in my Pentas. Interesting moth. The Cloudless sulphur looks interesting as well.
Thanks Lily. The cloudless sulphur chrysalis I found the other day eclosed, but I didn't catch it. I guess I will need to find where this one ends up. I have been letting nature take her course and leaving them outside on the plants instead of bringing them in. I saw a female cloudless laying tons of eggs on the cassia a couple of days ago, so I should have plenty of cats in the next few days.
I liked the moth too. At first I thought it might be a type of swallowtail.
Russell
This message was edited Sep 22, 2011 9:17 PM
?
Yes, Russell, The Tersa cat. versus the Spicebush. Their mimicry is austouding. J. Not sure about the butterfly, an upside down Question Mark? But I know of the Boneset. lol
Yakmon great pics of the cats. I am like you, I let nature takes its course...I'm afraid if I tried to raise them I'd kill them for sure....LOL
Lilylove, I'm like you after awhile I just have to take a break trying to ID the butterflies. I'm sure the first is an EBS, I see those everyday here, the second one I'm not sure, but love the blue shading on the wings.
jmorth that is a striking butterfly...I've never seen any like that here.
This one is rare in my garden and at first I thought it was two butterflies together, but it is only one, was rubbing the hind ends together, so maybe laying eggs when I captured it. Was on my Cape Honeysuckle vine. Have no clue what kind it is...reminds me of the Polka dotted wasp moth...which I've been seeing the last couple weeks in my garden.
This message was edited Sep 23, 2011 8:16 AM
Sunkissed, you're in luck....I had that very butterfly recently identified by Marna, if I recalled it right. It's a Great Blue Hairstreak. Hostplant Mistletoes? One of my very favorites. They're so beautiful! Thanks for the confirmation on the EBST. That left the second one maybe a Spicebush?
Lily:
Actually your first dark swallowtail http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=8819848 is a Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) and the second one is a female dark form Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Very nice shots -- particularly like the pipevine as they are always in motion while feeding. Makes it tough to get a good shot.
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
Wow LL thanks for the ID, I'm so terrible at it as you can tell from lepfarmer's ID of you bf's. I do have lots of mistletoe in my oaks, so that does make sense. I'll have to look back at my photos to see if my BF's are the Pipevine, but they are always in motion and I can hardly ever get a still shot of the wings for ID-ing them, I don't have that growing in my yard, but maybe someone nearby does.
lepfarmer I think mine is the Pipevine and not the black Eastern TS....if so... I have to correct it in my journal...can you help with this pic I have?
I'm ectastic! I've Pipevines in the garden? Thanks Dale. Gosh, sunkissed, I've so much to learn! Thanks all for helping with clarification and encouragement.
sunkissed:
The image you have immediately above (Post 8820428) is a Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus). That broken band on the hind wing that has the ray of greenish shooting off toward the tail is a key.
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
This message was edited Sep 23, 2011 9:17 AM
Thanks Dale...I appreciate your help. I'm sure I have the others but they move around so fast I can hardly get a good look.
Lily I looked up the Great blue, it is actually Great Purple Hairstreak and apparently not so common way down here in Florida...so cool to get a rare BF in my garden. I love putting a new BF in my critter journal. Thanks for the help.
Ok now I have to get off here and mop floors and clean toilets...much rather be on here looking at butterflies. :)
I caught this cloudless sulphur this morning it was just hanging by a thread preparing for the next stage. By the time I got home from work, it was a chrysalis.
Russell
This is the first painted lady I have seen this year. Talk about a frantic flyer!
Russell
Russell, how beautiful is the the Painted Lady. The Cloudless Sulphur pupa is interesting. Now that put a new meaning to the meaning of the proverbial saying of "hanging by a thread". Life in the wild's indeed WILD. Thanks sunkissed for the correction on the Great Purple.
Red Admiral
