Daily pictures #97

An interesting article about Cabbage Whites and parasitic wasps. http://news.yahoo.com/plant-calls-wasps-kick-butterfly-butt-193435478.html

Thanks Malanie for sharing the educational article. I found so many Monarch cats. on my MWs, also saw so many spiders and wasps. I was tempted to leave some (cats.) outdoor....but after I read that... I was reminded that my caterpillars may not survive. So I hauled all of them inside. lol

I know Sheila and other Leps' lovers have developed methods to keep harvested Milkweeds fresh indoor to raise cats. Mine keeps wilting. I need some help to keep these cut leaves fresh longer for the cats. please. Any help will be appreciated.

I went to local nursery in search of more MWs. thinking if I find some young Milkweeds I can keep them in large cage in which I use to hold the cats. But as you know, most MWs are way too tall. While picking up new plants, I found couple more Monarch cats. at the nursery. An added bonus. ^_^

We use soda cans in our nursery to keep the plants fresh. Although I don't know how long the leaves would actually stay fresh because they eat it so fast we have to refill twice a day or more!

Thank you Bruce for the idea.

Released and tagged 16 monarchs today. Here are a few of them

Congrats Bruce, fine, fine job!!!

Thanks, just caught 2 wild ones and tagged them. 1 boy and 1 girl--a nice mix. They are all really big, so am pretty sure they are super monarchs.

They're heading South. I hope to find one of your tagged Monarchs!

Wouldn't that be cool. They are not hanging around after they're tagged like they were even a few days ago.

Jeez, still not a single monarch in my yard. I really do think it is personal! It must be something I said..!? haha I have a happy, happy consolation.. I found 5 GF caterpillars on my passion flower vine yesterday! yay! They are munching away and I am debating on bringing them inside.
Since the subject of caterpillar poop came up, i have a question...I found a large amount of large-ish frass on my driveway under a pecan tree a few days ago. There is a small area on one branch where all the leaves are gone... It is too high to see even with a ladder and my binocs are crappy so i can't see what it is.. Anybody got any ideas? I thought maybe Luna moths, but i am not sure. I don't see any cocoons yet and it is not tent caterpillars or bag worms. Who is in my tree????
In other BF news, i am seeing admirals again. Lots of black swallowtails, GF's and a few buckeyes. Several types of skippers and a hummingbird moth here and there. All of these are seen on my Zinnias. Oh, also i have 2 pairs of Goldfinches who really like to tear every petal off the zinnia i guess they like the seed and/or the insects that hide inbetween petals. The bright yellow and black feathers are lovely along with the BF's and the Zany,Wild colors of the Zinnias. Hummingbirds make a few passes over this area of the yard as part of their daily route, so next year i will try a feeder placed among the plants to get them to stay longer so i can get a few pictures. Speaking of pics, I love te pics you all have been posting! They are just beautiful AND inspire me to try some new plants. The pride of Barbados is on my "Gotta have it" list.
This beautiful monarch is from last years pictures.

Bruce, it'd be something else if I should ever find some of the tagged Monarch. I agreed. scarletbean, sorry you haven't found any Monarch yet. But having GF cats. in the garden is indeed a happy consolation. I've seen a few GF butterflies, but so far no caterpillars found. I'm so glad to hear that you've Goldfinches in the garden. That means soon I'll get them too. I've missed those golden finches since early Spring.

Back to Monarchs; they're migrating South. Even though I've seen very few of them in the garden. But, I can spot them as I drive along the roadways. I saw at least half a dozen of them while driving yesterday.

I guess we're spoiled here w/ the gold finches as we have them year round. They just turn grey in the winter. We let most of our nectar plants go to seed, so we always have plenty around.

Brand new-i will tag this one and send it south!

Bruce, your success with these Monarchs serves as an inspiration for others. It's wonderful to see you sharing this amazing adventure with others. How is your sister? And how is she doing with her own project with the Monarch-raising business? I found a couple more larger Monarch instars out in the garden this morning while watering my plants. I've yet to have a chrysalis made for this season. I'm so looking forward to seeing those jewel like thimble-shape chrysalid. And yes, to see them eclose out of the transparent membrane that houses them. Awwwwww!

She is back visiting w/ us again, as she wanted to come back for the tagging season. she is now a seasoned veteran, and will be helping us, along w/ my daughter and grandson, give the tagging seminar on 9/11 at Beach Creek Botanical Gardens in Alliance Ohio. Really looking forward to it.

I was playing with my Silver Spotted Skipper caterpillar today and took a picture. This one's really getting big; he should pupate soon. I think he's mad I keep pulling apart his house so I can see him.

Melanie

Yup, my Silver Spotted Skipper is about to pupate. I tore apart his home once again in the name of science so I could bring you guys this picture. See how his body is blushing an orange color? That means he's getting ready to become a chrysalis. Now if only that strange lady would leave him alone, LOL!

Melanie

Your SSS cat. is so so cute, Melanie. Bruce, thank you. I'll be thinking about you all on Tuesday.

Hello everyone, been a while, things have been really great in the garden this year. Numbers on all my lifers are througt the roof. Since I started raising the cats it has added a whole new dimension to what I do. Presently have 18 SB,5 ZLW, a dozen GST and 2 MEs. I have raised and released many sleepy orange, orange barred, Monarchs,Queens, and even some TST. That is me in the third pic below. Lily I use water bottles with an x cut in to the cap which will prevent cats from falling in and drowning. I am glad to see that everyone is seeing the activity pickup. Good Luck.

This message was edited Sep 9, 2012 7:26 PM

I am enjoying all of the pictures lately! Good work on raising cats too.

We had a wind shift on Saturday evening that really brought out the butterflies! Tons of sulphurs, american snouts, pipevines, GSTs, duskywings and a couple of fritillaries. I love it when the wind shifts to the North this time of year.

Here are a few of the captures from this weekend.

Russell

Sure glad to see that you all have some healthy Monarchs. Here in Michigan most of them are diseased.

Howdy, kids! My GF cats are doing good, just munching away on the passion vine. They are getting bigger by the hour it seems. They look so forbidding with the black spikes, but i think they are cute!
BCH521- Funny you mention both cardinal flower and salvia, as i was very anxious to put these in my garden this year, I have 2 black and blue salvia and i LOVE these plants! Lucky for me so do the hummers and BFs as well as some bumble bees. I tried the cardinal flower in the zinnias, but the area was not good for them, they grew but didnt flower. If they make it through winter, maybe they will improve next year. There is a drainage ditch running through mine and all my neighbors back yards. Last year there were lots of wild cardinal flowers growing 2 houses from mine. They let me collect seed and it is good I did, cuz they practically Napalmed the whole ditch, killing all the vegetation as well as frogs,turtles, snakes and evicted any other creatures using the area. *sigh* Anyhoo, i scattered the seed in my ditch and quite a few came up among the weeds and tall grass. The bright red is startlingly clear..and of course the bf's and hummers enjoy it too. Goldenrod and ironweed are pretty contrasts to the cardinalflowers. who'd have thought a drainage ditch would be so pretty?

Viceroy, congrats on your success. Nice job. Russell beautiful pixs as always. hemlady sorry that the Monarchs have some kind of disease there in Michigan. I brought most of my Monarch caterpillars indoor and raise them hoping to avoid wasps that parasitized these caterpillars and keep them safe from other predators in the garden.

Oh has anyone seen this before? It's my first. A Monarch caterpillar that has a head shape that looks like a skipper's caterpillar! And the head is vividly black and not stripped like the rest of other larva of its kind. What's your thought?

Two thoughts - either it's some kind of natural mutation or he molted and couldn't get his head capsule off. Hope it's not the second as he would have a tough time eating.

Melanie

Great pictures everyone! Haven't been on much but you guys are keeping it active...love it!

Bruce, you are doing a great job with the Monarchs and passing the knowledge on to your family as well...you go!
Melanie, super pics on the SSS, I love to look at them too.

Glad you took those pictures Lily. If you still have the black head cat, take one from the side and then separate it when it pupates too, just in case it acts or looks differently, etc.

My suggestion on collecting MW, not in the heat of the day is #1. Then when you cut a stem, cut it in no taller than 6 inch pieces, check it for eggs and cats first, then rinse or drop in cool water to eliminate ants, spiders and etc from being in the cage. When I only need a few leaves I cut individual ones, check them and plop them in the water as I cut them. You can allow the leaves to float for about a day, but no more. Blot them with a paper towel to remove the excess water as you use them.
Always cover you water source to avoid drowning of the tiny ones. I use the "wet" floral foam and cover it with Glad Press n Seal wrap. It will last for a long time with re-wetting with a spray bottle. Jello pudding cups cut in half work for small cages I like to use.***

****I of course have not had the volume that Bruce experiences and would no doubt be unable to keep up with that demand, but this works for me. I house the tiny ones together then separate the larger ones with only three to a cage when they are big enought to pupate.



This message was edited Sep 10, 2012 11:09 PM

We also put clean fresh leaves in zip lock bags and put them in the fridge. They will keep for several days that way.

Hiya,
Anyone know if my GF caterpillars will stay close to the Passionvine when they decide to make a chrysalis? It is in a pot with 2 sticks and a bamboo stake. Maybe i should bring them inside? I am a bit worried about the wasps. Our Catalpa trees were full of those 'catalpa worms' and the wasps left many of those caterpillars hopelessly parasite-ized. I wish I could tell the wasps to only go after the caterpillars I DON'T want.
Can't wait to see these guys turn into butterflies! It will be my first time.

Gulf Frits can wander a long way from the host plant. I had one end up on my orchid house and it's at least 30 yards from the nearest passion vine. I suggest bringing them in if you want to see them.

Melanie

Yes, what Melanie said!! The ones that made on passi vines out front crawled across my driveway and up under a bench, on light fixtures, birdhouse along the fence....LOL! Look at sturdy structures up and anywhere away from the vine.

There are three on the fixture, and two on this birdhouse. They tend to follow one another sometimes, so if you find one chrysalis look around for others near by.

As for these, they don't get too much preditor action unless there is a shortage of other cats around. I think the spikes and color scare off some.

Scarletbean, it's so nice to have GF cats. on your passi vines. Best of lucks. Sheila, those GF chrysalid are wonderful. What's a find! So far no GF cats. here. I saw a lone GF butterfly here and there, but no luck on finding their eggs yet.

Sheila, thank you for the tips on keeping cut MW fresh indoor to raise Monarch Cats. Melanie, the "blackheaded" cat. appears to do find, but I heeded Sheila's suggestion. I brought it indoor so I can watch its progress in the long run.

Oh the second pix is the set- up that I used to bring in a few more caterpillars indoor. I used the water bottle and created a barrier with a ziplock bag at the opening to prevent the cats. falling in. So far it works well.

Oooops, DG loaded my photos out of sequent. It's the first picture that I've brought the mentioned special cat. indoor. The other 2 photos. I like them as they were outside in their natural habitat. But I may lose them unprotected there.

There has not been much at all here....but I did see these 2 skippers out on some daylily foliage and had the the 2 Buckeyes on the sedum on Monday. The hummer is from this morning...perched on a dead lily stalk!

Well, I gave in and brought the Monarchs in. They're so fun to watch and I was afraid they'd run out of food on the plants they were on. Also, the Silver Spotted Skipper finally pupated - so I ripped open the hatch so I could see him, LOL! And finally, a picture of my many, many Black STs.

Still waiting for Giant ST, Polydamas ST, and Monarchs to come out of their chrysalises.

Melanie

Nan. those Buckeyes pair on the Sedum are so pretty. Melanie, whoa! The SSS pupa is pretty big isn't it? I'm looking forward to seeing other eclosures.

Mom and I each found a Monarch chrysalis so we brought those in as well. So we're looking forward to more eclosures, as well. I guess the SSS is pretty big for a skipper. Maybe I fed him too well, LOL!

Nan, that is a pretty picture with the Buckeyes. More competition for the photo contest this year!

Melanie

Had two monarchs eclose yesterday. Here is photo right after taking out of cage.
Chiqui

Congrats Melanie for having found the 2 Monarch chrysalid. The skipper must have been well fed, indeed. lol. Chiquib313 congrats on your success with the new beauties! Beautiful pix.

I just went out to pick some rue and found two more Monarchs on the milkweed. I also saw flying around: Giant ST, Cloudless Sulphur, Duskywings, Long-Tailed Skipper, and one Swallowtail that was moving too quickly to be identified. I also got a nice picture of this Zebra Longwing, once again nectaring on those darn Spanish Needles.

Melanie