Daily pictures #99

I grow bronze fennel too and always get cats..though last year was not very goo due to the drought. It comes back every year and I find baby plants now in the spring. But they are easy to remove if you don't want them. I have never had any eggs on my dill and the dill has gotten almost invasive in my garden!! Still want to find some Rue...not sure where I would put it tho!!

Oh thanks Mrs. Ed for the clarification. Hi Nanny, you and me both. We are running out of room... Especially sunny location in my case.

Just throwing in my two cents about rue. I've had great success with it attracting both Giant and Black Swallowtails (sometimes at the same time). It's a stinky plant, but I guess it has to attract the butterflies somehow. Mine is in mostly full sun, in sandy soil, and it managed to make three more plants for me this year. This is definitely a plant I would keep in a butterfly garden. Oh, and mine never gets all that big (which can be a problem when you have to feed 20 caterpillars), but would be good for container gardeners.

Melanie

Since we have an interest in propagating Rue, please be aware that Rue contains photosensitizing substances which can cause severe skin dermatitis with burning and blisters when the skin is exposed to sun light UV. Minimize skin contact from the Rue and sun by wearing appropriate clothing, gloves, hat, and UV blocking agents.
Like poson ivy, not everyone will become sensitized but with each skin exposure the possibility of becoming allergic increases especially on hot bright sunny days.
Caution in mind, I plan to add Rue to my backyard BF plants.

Hey, I saw that on Downton Abbey. Ha! I have never had any problem with it, but I've heard of this before.

Thank you shorthog and everyone, shorthog with your words of caution. I'll be extra careful. I'll plan to add Rue to my BF garden as well.

Well I think you helped solve a problem I had a couple years ago. I had a rash on my chin and cheek that wouldn't go away. It got so bad that my primary doctor sent me to a Dermatologist. He said it was oral dermatitis, and couldn't tell me what may have caused it.
I changed my whole life at that point, I didn't want to leave the house. I read on the web, not to use flouride toothpaste, dryer sheets, stay out of the sun, no make-up unless it is mineral based, and I had to use 70 UV or above sun blocker. I also still use a mild cleanser to wash my face no scrubs etc., blot dry. It stopped and slowly went away.
I have added most everything except the dryer sheets (liquid now), back into my life over this past two years. I still wear hats and gloves more than before. I have the medication handy and now with what you told me I think I can relax a bit more. Thanks!

wow, that's news to me Shorthog and Sheila, and good to know. i've had rue off and on in the garden for a number of years and have always worked with it bare-handed without problem but you never know.

Hopefully my advice will be helpful. I was a toxicologist for a major consumer products company and evaluated the irritation and sensitization potential of many old and new substances prior to my retirement. I miss being a working scientist so I'm studying plants, bugs, birds, butterflies, and fishing.

These studies should keep you occupied and fascinated for a number of lifetimes shorthog :-D

Loved the posts.. very interesting about Rue. I will plant some in our butterfly garden this year. I need to go fishing....sigh.

I have had Rue for five years or so with no problem, but like shorthog said, I may have been one of those that has become allergic. We had a drought the last year or so, which means plenty of sun in Texas. I also have gone from two Rue to about 8 in the last couple of years. I get both the BST and the GST through here often.

As for the question someone asked about where to plant....mine get only the morning through 1pm sun. But in Texas "full sun" here is too hot for almost any plant that isn't native.

I have about ten BST chrysalis that are caged but out in the weather to over-winter. However, I had one emerge last weekend a bit too early. I didn't notice it until late in the evening of a very cold night, so I brought it inside the shop. We have pentas that are blooming inside now, so I placed him on them. I have spritzed them a bit with water and even took a ripe banana inside there with no results. I took him outside for about an hour today but even though it is 70 degrees, the south winds were really blowing and it is overcast with no sun. So in he goes again. It's wings are perfectly formed, so if he should die before he can fly....I will keep the wings to repair others with. I have a partial set of Monarch wings that were from one that fell during eclosure. Never tried to repair wings before but looks like it is possible.

Sheila — Butterfly Plastic Surgeon!

I've got a Monarch and a Zebra Longwing out front laying eggs on my plants. Here's to caterpillars in the near future!

Melanie

Sheila that's fantastic. I hope that your BST heads off, but s/he will be like an organ donor and could live on. Almost poetic. And i thought i was the only bug surgeon around.

I read about the rue last year before planting it. Sounds kind of scary and does not comport with my hands-on style of gardening. Maybe someday I will get some sense knocked into me. I hope it's not by the rue, though.

Now where is Russell with some butterfly images?!

Here's a pic I got of a Monarch that was laying eggs all over my milkweed yesterday. While volunteering at the museum, I captured a Gulf Frit, Monarch, Long-Tailed Skipper, and a Zebra Longwing. Beautiful weather here for butterflies!

Melanie

Oops...hit the wrong button...here's the photo.

Haha Amanda!

I haven't seen much of anything around, it gets dark so early that everything is gone by the time I get home. I have spent the last month trying to get in shape. Instead of chasing butterflies, I have been walking, kayaking and bike riding. 89 miles so far this month! The weather here was great over the weekend, but I saw very few visitors. I pulled up a Mexican oleander last night because I just couldn't stand the mess from the satin white moth larvae that plague the plant. The moths are unremarkable, and the cats drop TONS of frass and make webs on all of the leaves, preventing the plant from blooming, so it had to go! I thought about spraying, but decided just to rip the thing out of the ground.

I planted Rue, Fennel and Italian parsley in the hopes of luring some Swallowtails to the garden, and all of the nectar plants are poised for a Spring flurry. Compost is ready to spread for the Spring and the Mexican flame vine I plucked from a neighbor's fence is covered with tiny blooms waiting to open. Come on Spring.

Melanie, I am glad you are having good weather! Thanks for sharing.

Russell

Can this be done? What kind of adhesive would you use?

Thanks everyone for posting, the only activity here are the BST chrysallises on my porch.

Bruce

Yes, you can! Here is a link to a video that Live Monarch Foundation has on the web. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah0SBALIc0o I bought the cement and have it ready for when it is needed. Too many times I have put down a perfectly healthy bf just because it couldn't fly. I will try this in the future.

Oh and btw, we had a day or two with 70 degrees and my BST took off and flew two houses away before I lost sight of him. We have some weeds and other early bloomers around, so hopefully it will make it. I will save wings another time!

Just a couple of pictures today. I have a Long-Tailed Skipper who lost his tails and then a Zebra Longwing on the jatropha (as usual). Also saw a Gulf Frit and Cloudless Sulphur flying around. It's very warm here (mid-80s) and perfect butterfly weather, but we're supposed to have a cold front come through tomorrow and knock us back down to around 70 degrees for a high.

Melanie

Lovely!

Had a variegated fritillary eclose in my cool garage. I was hoping eclosing would be delayed by the cold temperature until Spring, Now I have a cute little frit with no flowers and it is still freezing outside at night. What do I do with it?

Oh mine! Hang on I've some info. to share from the expert.

I'll share the instruction how to care for your butterfly ....

One can get this info. from www.insectlore.com.

But here is a quick tip:

Feeding your butterflies is fun. Mix three teaspoons of sugar into a cup of water and stir. Decorate the floor of your Butterfly cage with a bouquet of fresh flowers (such as carnations or mums). Use the dropper to squirt the sugar water mixture directly onto the flowers like dew.

An alternative is to wad up facial tissue into 2 inch-balls and soak them with the sugar water. Set the balls on a paper plate on the floor inside the habitat. Butterflies also like to drink from slices of freshly-cut oranges....

I hope that will help, until you can find an opportunity to release your butterfly back to the wild.

Thanks Lily_love for the info on how to feed a new butterfly. So far, it has been a success. It looks like it will be awhile before I can release because of cold weather and lack of food sources. This is a new exciting learning experience for me.

Well one of the VF's host plants is the pansy, not for sure they use them for nectar. I would imagine up where you are like here, stores are selling them now. I would give them a try.

Oh...this one in the picture is nectaring!!

Thanks Sheila_FW. I have some pansies in bloom which I can use. Send up some warm weather soon.

It is cold at night here, but up near 75 during the day....daffs are blooming, trees budding. Crazy winter for sure. Praying we don't get a hard freeze to knock it all back.

No pictures today, but at the museum I saw four Monarch butterflies (caught two of them) and captured three Monarch caterpillars. I also caught a Gulf Frit and saw a Duskywing. It's still a little cool and breezy for them so there wasn't too much activity, but I was glad to see all the Monarch action going on.

Melanie

Good news on the Monarchs. I have seen three BST in the yard lately. They are nectaring on the early blooming Narcissus, and flowers on yard weeds. I also have released two that I over-wintered. Our trees are budding out and everything looks like spring will be early. But we usually get a late freeze before Easter, so afraid it might happen this year. We only had one or two short freezes that I remember this year, so the bugs will abound next year. I am already seeing the water striders on the pond surface.

Good day all, nice to see some of the butterflies are returning, periodic visits here and there in my garden, I don't realize how much I miss them until I'm watching one flutter around.
Mostly zebras, sulphurs and a Gulf frit the other day. Haven't seen another TST since the one I photographed a couple weeks ago. But temps did drop back down for a bit. Warming up again so maybe will have more visits in the garden from them.

Really beautiful photos sunkissed!! Is that Jatropha they are nectaring on?

Warm weather here in north Texas has brought lots of butterflies out. This Mourning Cloak came out of hibernation and was sipping on some rotten bananas I set out. Made for an interesting head-on shot.

Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com

vitrsna, sunkissed may not have seen your question. The plants actually are Pentas. A hostplant for the Tersa sphinxt moths cats.

Dale, that's one interesting close up shot of the butterfly!

Dale, I thought I saw a glimpse of a Mourning Cloak the other day, but was headed into the sun and lost site of it. Good shot, but a bit creepy looking too! LOL! Really looks hairy from that angle.

Thanks Lily!

Well, I forgot to take my camera to the museum today, but it was mostly Monarchs anyway. I found nine cats and captured three adults. I also saw Long-Tailed Skippers, a Silver-Spotted Skipper (rare for this area), a Cloudless Sulphur, Gulf Fritillaries, Duskywings, and what I think was a Polydamas Swallowtail. It was moving really fast but I didn't see any tails.

When I got home I went to water my orchids and found a surprise in my butterfly garden - a Giant Swallowtail! Good thing my rue is ready! I guess the Swallowtails are starting to emerge due to all this warm weather.

Melanie

Polydamas Swallowtail (Battus polydamas) eclosed today, still pre-flight and just below the vacated chrysalis. This is probably the last of the Polydamas' for maybe three months...they disappear for awhile so i can work on the battered and mostly eaten Aristolochias so there will be abundant food for them when they next pass by. This one will not show me the top side of the wings which is velvety black with yellow markings around the edges. She is busy holding on.

Nice shot of the Polydamas Swallowtail, vitrsna. One of my favorite species, partly because it is so rarely seen in north Texas.

Here's a little day flying moth that's on the wing right now in our area -- the Grapevine Epimenis (Psychomorpha epimenis).

Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com