Sounds good Dale. I made two cuttings from my six foot Spinach Tree this last week...keeping my fingers crossed. I won't be able to get it in the shop to over-winter next year if I don't prune it. LOL!
Daily pictures #98
The weather has been cool in the Arkansas River valley for several days. Sunny and warm mid 60's today. A few freeze survivors were out basking in the sun or nectaring on either marigolds or recently planted bloomers.
1. Sleepy orange
2. Variegated fritillary
3. Cloudless sulphur
4. Painted lady
5. Dainty sulphur
Tommorrow is suppose to be sunny and warmer. More beauties should be out to greed December.
Wonderful pictures .....it has been very nice this time of year. We were out today taking pics and there were flocks of Queens and Sulphurs.
Queens are rare in my area. They are strays this far north (mid west Arkansas) but I did have a couple of sightings in late Sept. and early October on Frostweed flowers and Dallis grass. Absolutely gorgeous butterfly but all those spots make them appear out of focus.
Nice pictures everyone. I really enjoy seeing the flowers and butterflies while we are rather dreary up here. I did see a honeybee yesterday during our warmth!
9 days later.....success!
Russell
Oh wow! Russell, that's outstanding! Congrats. I planted some wild senna this past year. I saw some small green cats. on them, but never have I had a pleasure of seeing those Sulphurs larvae or pupae. I'll see about planting some more of these host plants next year. Ya, Mrs. Ed. There isn't much butterfly activity around here either. That's why I'm so glad that we've this thread to visit. Thanks all for sharing.
Lily,
I didn't notice cats on mine until the second year..this year I had quite a few. I may switch one of the senna alata to a different type (native) in the spring...if I can get the existing plant out of the ground...hehehe. I have 2 senna alata plants, and even though they are about 8 feet apart, they grow together by the end of the season. This is a very vigorous species, and I doubt I will ever be without one in the yard because of all the seeds they drop. I really tried to cut off all of the seed pods this year to prevent additional plants from sprouting, but when they get 10 feet tall, it is difficult to get them all.
Looks like another great day...lots of monarchs, queens and skippers out this morning.
Have a good day.
Russell
Today at the museum was $5 day (admission was $5 for anyone) so I decided to come in on a Saturday and help with the crowds. It wasn't too bad; most people were probably in the IMAX theatre or something. Those who did stop by got to pet a Monarch caterpillar and listen to me ramble about butterflies.
The butterfly exhibit has a literal swarm of Zebra Longwings so I went out with my net to see if I could add some diversity. I netted a few Gulf Frits, a couple Long-Tailed Skippers, a Monarch, and a Sleepy Orange (rather late for that one). Enjoy some pictures!
1. Zebra Longwings roosting
2. Long-Tailed Skipper basking
3. Monarch
4. Sleepy Orange
Melanie
Nice Melanie!
I like your sulphur, Russell. Only 9 days to emerge? Wow! I've got a Cloudless Sulphur in his sling right now so I'll have my own butterfly to show off in a couple of weeks.
Melanie
Nice pics everyone. Melanie, I love seeing the roosting Zebra longwings.
I was hoping for a big butterfly observation day. It warmed to 70 by noon but no BFs. Cloudy and very windy. The only thing moving was leaves.
Checked the flower beds and noticed a caterpillar, then several more on the violas. I assume they are Variegated fritillary since there has been many adults in the yard this fall. Since I'm in area 7b, will they pupate and survive this late in the year?
Yup, those are Variegated Frits. I never get those here, darnit. Anyway, my book says they're in larva form until the onset of winter and then they overwinter as adults. I don't know if those guys will make it; it's getting pretty cold where you are, isn't it?
Melanie
Russell nice photo of the sulphur, I'm sure then now my butterflies are from the cats on my bush, 9 days sounds about right. Mel that sounds like a nice way to spend the day, where is the museum?
Some photos from this past week in my garden, found one of those Lo moth cats...the last is in my house. ☺
Sunkissed, the museum is right in Tampa, across from the University of South Florida. Nice photos!
Melanie
Great pics!
Agreed! Terrific pics. Sherri, what's the io moth cat. munching on?. I've seen the moths in the garden before, but not yet the caterpillar. Love that set up indoor garden of butterfly and turtle elusion.
Hey Kim the cat is munching away on my Bush Clover - Lespedeza.
This time I got a really nice close up...sometimes my camera is nice and gives me a non blurry close up ☺
Actually kind of fitting with red and green coloring for Christmas...☺
Perfect Christmas present! I need to see about adding those Bush Clover into the garden. Thanks Sherri.
A couple of photos today - a Cloudless Sulphur on firecracker fern and a Zebra Longwing on Jatropha.
Melanie
We've had cold nights and sunny windy days for about a week. The flowers are all gone except for marigolds, blanket flowers and pansies. Only a few butterflies each day. Most are basking or looking for flowers.Here's some from this week.
1. Phaon crescent
2. Horace's duskywing skipper
3. Little yellow
4. Common checkered skipper
5. Common buckeye
Others observed, were the usual Gulf frits, sulphurs, and mating variegated frits.
I have a Carolina praying mantis in the marigolds that catches any slow BF or bee for food. I'm surprized at the number of insects here for this time of year.
This message was edited Dec 6, 2012 8:25 PM
Looks like the warm weather is keeping the butterflies around a bit longer. Great shots everyone.
I've had two Zebra Longwings emerge today. Here's one of them. The other is still drying its wings.
Melanie
1 little yellow?
2 ceraunus blue
3 and 4 common mestra...not all that common in my yard!
Lots of activity today, but they are mostly small blues, hair streaks and skippers.
Russell
A few of the smaller visitors enjoying the new potted ice plants.
Russell
Great pics. shorthog, Russell and Melanie. Russell those last few are outstanding. Melanie, it's so nice to have butterflies that eclose this late in the season. Congrats.
Yes, it's nice to have butterflies year-round. At the museum we always manage to have something flying in the enclosure even if it's "just" Monarchs. Then, I run around with my net and try to capture whatever else might be out there. Last week I wore myself out!
Melanie
I enjoyed reading all the posts since November - been finishing up my semester, and look forward to starting to play with seeds for next season. :)
All I have flying around lately are honey bees from the neighbor's yard a couple of blocks away, but they're enjoying the camellia bushes now.
Later!
A.
I just got back from volunteering; I mostly watered the plants but I did get to release six Great Southern Whites. I also netted two Barred Sulphurs, a Long-Tailed Skipper, and a Gulf Fritillary. So there is still some diversity around these parts. Found three Monarch caterpillars, too!
First picture is of the Great Southern White (which I've never seen in the wild; my boss trades her friends for them). They have turquoise antenna clubs which I find super cool. The second picture is a Julia cat getting ready to molt.
Melanie
Hiya Amanda, hoping you and yours the best for the Holidays and the new year to come. Hurry back with news of your garden next season. Like your garden, there isn't much activity here. I'm observing a pretty moth on my Peach tree, but that's about it.
Melanie, the Great Southern White is so very pretty. Thanks for sharing the pics. Great photos!
A couple more small ones today.
Hard to get a good ID on these, but I think the first one is a Mallow Scrub Hairstreak on potted ice plant and the second is Ceraunus Blue on Hummingbird Sage.
These guys aren't shy and let me get very close with the camera on macro setting. I am always surprised by the detail on the plants and the small butterflies when seen on macro.
Russell
I broke my camera last week! Dropped it while the lens was extended and now it's stuck there. Automatic Canon A-590. I will have to have it looked at. Broke the LED display a few years ago and we were able to find the part on Ebay cheap AND the seller even accepted my camera in shipment fixed it and returned it to me.
Need it bad! ;)
xox
My Cloudless Sulphur emerged today. Then, the usual suspects were out in the yard - a Gulf Fritillary and a Zebra Longwing.
Melanie
A lovely cloudless sulphur. I've been into butterflies for about six months and I am still wondering why they are called cloudless?
We've had two nights of freeze so butterflies are gone except yesterday, I saw a basking buckeye along side a dirt road at 38 degrees.Brrrr!
No more Gulf frits. During July and August, the Gulf cats ate all my huge passion vine in less than a month. Then I had swarms of Gulf fritillaries. So many that I had to rent a special transport vehicle to get them back to the gulf. LOL!!
Hahaha...nice pics and story.
Russell
Not much going on today, but I did catch these two after work.
Russell
Nice pics Russell. I have never seen one in the real but I'm assuming that your no.1 butterfly is a Brazilian skipper.I've heard that they rarely migrate north to my area. Looling forward to getting a close up but for now the flowers and green plants are gone until spring. After three subfreezing nights on a cool sunny Thursday at noon, I did see several clouded sulphurs darting about and lateral basking in a picnic area near the Arkansas river.
I have about 10 cats and chrysalis of Monarchs.. Found them out at the butterfly garden last week on milkweed which is still growing. Have them in unheated garage. I hope we have some warm weather when they hatch so that I can send them on south to ya'll.. :) Not sure what they would have done if I had left them alone. ?
You are correct with the id. I couldn't believe how long the proboscis was!