DAILY PICTURES #101

My BST cat purged on Friday but just finally made its chrysalis late yesterday morning.

Congrats Nan on the BST pupa.

I'm so looking forward to seeing some cats. Thus far, I only saw a silver spotted skipper. An American Snout (?) and no other butterflies. I'm so ready to welcome them. My Milkweed are beginning to make seedpods. No sign of Monarch yet. :((

Had an Eastern Tigertail on my feverfew yesterday. Red admirals and some cabbage whites.

Like last spring, this cool wet weather has delayed us considerably.

I was about two weeks behind on reading posts on this thread. Wow! What great pics and information.
Melanie, I hope you are feeling better. I'm just getting over a two week chest cold and finally got out yesterday looking for butterflies.

I received a special treat about a mile from my house where on a lonely orange butterfly plant was a BST and a companion, a lady Diana fritillary. Isn't she a lovely lady? Here's five pics of her for your enjoyment.

Which reminds me that the 16th annual Mt. Magazine International Butterfly Festival will be held the last weekend of June. This will be my first visit and hopefully Diana frits will be showing off on the mountain.

Thanks shorthog, I am starting to feel better. Glad to hear you are doing better, as well. LOVE the pictures of the Diana Fritillary. We don't get too many of those on the forum and they're so beautiful. So nice to see one.

I had a nice surprise myself when I was leaving today to get my hair cut (I look really cute, by the way, LOL)! I had seen a white butterfly when I went to gather food this morning but I dismissed it as a Checkered White. However, upon looking closer I could see I had a Great Southern White! This is the first time I've ever had one in my garden. As you may recall, I saw my first one in the wild a few weeks ago on that horrible hike. So now to see one in my garden was a real treat. I wonder if they're having an "up" year or something?

Photos 1 and 2 are the Great Southern White. Remember, identification of these can be confirmed by looking for their turquoise antenna clubs. You can see that fairly well in these pictures. Third is one of my ever-present Zebra Longwings. Fourth is a Monarch who is acting like a Gulf Frit on the passion vine. And finally is an actual Gulf Frit.

Melanie

I saw an Eastern Swallowtail today!!

Thanks for the introduction to the Diana Fritillary, shorthog...what a beauty! Looks like the caterpillars feed on violet leaves...do you have any of that? They say that the Diana Frits lay their eggs, not on the violet plants, but at the base of the plant. Gosh it would be fun to see some caterpillar photos too.

Nanny, did you see an Eastern Black or an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail?

Melanie

Hey everybody! I just got an email from www.selectseeds.com and they're having a major clearance sale with plants for only $4.00! I bought a Mexican flame vine (which I've been looking for), four Agastache "Astello Indigo", two Coreopsis "Ruby Frost", and two Joe Pye Weeds. The butterflies will be dining in style in a couple of weeks! I'm so happy I found that Mexican flame vine. I saw one planted at the USF Botanical Gardens and the butterflies were all over it.

Melanie

it could be a better photo , someday I will learn how to use one .
I believe this is a Sulpher snoozing in the rain under a leaf

Congratulations on the new plants , sounds like more BF fun to come ..!!!

Last year the "catnip" for night "roost?" was their favorite
I know it is actually a cabbage white , I just like to pretend they are sulphers ,. it is a lack of Butterflies thing ...

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This message was edited Jun 11, 2013 9:37 PM

vitrsna, I have some violets in the backyard but the Diana frit likes open wooded areas where Spring violets will emerge. I have as yet to see a Diana caterpillar but I saw a female oviposting eggs last September at a local park. She was nectaring frostweed then flew to the ground, opened her wings, then walked through the underbrush and pumped her wings back and forth while depositing eggs on the ground and leaves.
The male and female adults are very different in appearance. I did observe a male on wild verbena in my backyard in May of 2012. I've attached a pic of the male and the oviposting female from September'

Wow! The pics are amazing!

And thanks for the link, mellie. I'll go check that out now.

Shorthog -- great pics. Dianas are one of my all time favorite butterflies. I'm envious that you can get to see them in your yard. I have to make a major trip somewhere to get within their range and see them. It's always worth it, though.

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

Verrry cool shorthog...what a remarkable butterfly.

I known that most of you folks like cats. Well, I have this cute little calico cat that has no claws, teeth or fur. Its name is Episemasia cervinaria. It loves Yaupon holly. My front yard shrubs, which I found out are dwarf cultivars, are being devoured daily. They are such cute little cats and the mother is a lovely moth which is common in my back and front yards. Now I know why. I have a big supply of host plants. At least one plant still has green intact leaves. It has been recommended that I give these cats a dose of Sevin. Since I like these hungry little cats as well as the parents, I'm letting Mother Nature do her thing...

Wow, they're really eating the heck out of your holly, shorthog! But if you like them, keep them!

I spent today outside directing Dad what to do in the gardens. I managed to plant a few plants all by myself but the fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue were taking their toll today. The intense heat and humidity didn't help either. Now, as much as I love my Gulf Frits and Zebra Longwings, I did manage to find a few other visitors today. So enjoy!

Ok, we'll start with a Gulf Frit on porterweed. I have tons of them flying right now; they're everywhere! Then to my surprise, I saw a Giant Swallowtail! Maybe it heard I was planting rue. Oh, and when I planted the rue I found a bonus caterpillar on it! It's a Black ST. The two eggs I got on the fennel also hatched so now I have three Black STs. Third is a Phaeon Crescent; I hadn't seen one in a long time so that was neat. The fourth picture is a Barred Yellow that couldn't get enough of my new Route 66 Coreopsis. And lastly is one of the many Cassius Blues that hang out around their host plant, plumbago.

Melanie

Good for you, Shorthog! So refreshing to see someone letting moth caterpillars live!

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

Right on, Dale! We had a wasp nest in the middle of one of our plumbagos and Dad went to spray it today and accidentally hit this big moth that was hiding in there, as well. It looked kind of like one of the Sphinx moths, but was a yellow-orange color. We both felt really bad that it got sprayed. I use very few pesticides but wasp spray is one of them.

Melanie

Happy to read your Episemasia cervinaria story shorthog…and yes the caterpillars are cute and even look like they have some freckles. I have a hard time calling them “cats”, so when I want to shorten the word “caterpillars”, I use “pillars” (at my sister’s suggestion which I took to easily). I never met a caterpillar I didn’t like and I think it is very rare that they completely destroy their food sources…so maybe your holly is not landscape perfect but I bet it will return vigorously when the Epi pillars are done eating and on the road to pupation. I have found caterpillars to be the most gentle of creatures and they are babies after all. When they are sleeping at the base of their bush, on a fallen leaf, in the filtered sun of the morning after having stuffed themselves in the even earlier morning, I am simply captivated by the peacefulness. Still, their little lives are fraught with dangers, being pretty close to the bottom of the food chain. So when people give them a little help along the way, it really warms my heart. And so bravo to you, shorthog for caring about them.

AAwwww I am just feeling all sweet on caterpillars too! Thanks to all you lovers of ALL things. YAY!

Yea for all of us caterpillar protectors! My house has turned into a Gulf Fritillary sanctuary apparently. They're just everywhere! And my mutant Gulf Frit cat is now in his J position so he'll be in a chrysalis before long. I can't wait to see if he comes out normal or not. At any rate he's going to be a big one because he's one big caterpillar. Other than that, I've still got Spicebush, Monarch, Zebra Longwing, and Eastern Black ST cats munching away.

Melanie

I am still trying to learn how to pic BF's Well I got it in focus , but man is this this a lousy angle , huh lol , another cabbage white , sunning on a sunflower leaf.

I am trying to pic Hairstreaks , but those guys are tiny goodness

Keep trying, Ju. It requires a lot of skill and probably need to take twenty good ones for every one that's fit to print. :)

I agree, I shoot many, many photos that never make it on here. But I've gotten a lot better over the years and I'm pretty good at sneaking up on butterflies, too.

My mutant Gulf Frit made his chrysalis and it's a Gulf Frit chrysalis for sure. Looks pretty normal, maybe he was just a weird-colored caterpillar?

Melanie

Sure i realize that also . I was only playing along , and kind of looking for advice and tips ,
Interesting how the BF's seem to follow me around and even land on me once in a while , except when I am holding the camera ..lol

Mutant caterpillar . . adaptation and mutation is what nature does .. and it is interesting !!!

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Yay! Cats on Italian parsley. I found two today. The GST I found on my lime bush is nowhere to be found, but at least I found a couple of replacements.

Russell

Russell, your BST 'pillar' (likes shorthog would call it ^_^ ) is looking sooo purdy. I'm so fond of these thread because of the people that posting here. You guys make my day when I come across this thread. Keep those pics. coming please.

Here's one that should make everybody smile. My Spicebush Swallowtail is growing and getting bigger!

Melanie

Love love LOVE!! :)

Nice eyeshadow on that one Melanie!

"I am such a worm " You all want to turn green?




Great pic's the best

Made a short trip to Paris (AR) yesterday to enter some butterfly pics in a photo contest. I was surprised to see a Zebra swallowtail puddling at the Mt. Magazine visitors center. On the way home I stopped off at the Cherokee Prairie Natural Area near Charleston, AR. Lots of beautiful flowers and butterflies.
To recall, only a year ago butterflies didn't exist; now they are my passion.
1. Zebra swallowtail ( visitor center greeter)
2. Gorgone crescent ( love the arrowhead markings)
3. Orange sulphur ( usually flighty, this one posed)
4. Buckeyes (courting pair)
5, Great spangled fritillary ( beautiful & regal)

I have seen those buckeyes in my area before .........didn't have a clue what they were called. I have also seen the orange sulfur - (don't know names for hardly any) but I don't believe I have seen the others before. You are a few hours north of me...............

I need to find out some info about the butterfly festival.............sounds like something my daughter would enjoy. If its not a 120 by then! :(

Here are a couple of pictures I took last summer............ there were just taken with my phone so they are not the best. My good camera is damaged now........ so not sure I will get any good pics this summer.

Wow, shorthog you saw my favorite butterfly - the Zebra Swallowtail! Thanks for posting your pictures; you get a lot of butterflies I don't see down here in the sub-tropic zone. It's probably too hot for them like it is for me. I just got back in from cleaning out my orchid house (I have a fungus problem that I'm determined to kill) and I am hot and tired. Saw a lot of butterflies today. I also collected another Black ST cat off the fennel I just bought, collected Black ST eggs off the rue I just planted, and had a Giant ST lay eggs on the rue right before my eyes! Oh, and I even saw the hummingbird! Didn't get a picture of him, though. It's getting busy all of a sudden. I kept saying I wanted Swallowtails; I guess they heard my complaints. Right now it's time to hit the showers but I'll post some pictures in a little while.

Melanie

Whew! Mint shower gel after a hard day's work just feels great. I recommend it to all.

I had a great day today. First, I went to Lowe's and bought out the last of the Route 66 coreopsis. Then, we hit Home Depot where I got some echinacea. We're replanting the front and I wanted something native and butterfly friendly, of course! Then, I had to go outside to clean out my shade house (for my orchids). I've got a fungus problem that I'm trying to kill. While I was out there working, I kept my eyes open for butterflies and I was not disappointed!

First up is a Zebra Longwing followed by the Gulf Fritillary. They are the two most frequent visitors in the yard right now. Next up is a Long-Tailed Skipper; I hadn't seen one of these guys in a while. Then, I spotted a Gray Hairstreak which I really haven't seen in the yard in a long time. The fourth photo is a side view; the fifth was him basking and actually opening his wings (this is rare)!

The Duskywing managed to find the one Spanish Needle my Dad didn't pull. Then, a Giant ST came by to nectar on the pentas and while it was there it found my rue and laid some eggs!!! Of course, what I didn't realize was that the Black ST had already laid eggs on the rue. In the third picture you can see both types of eggs on the plant. Black STs lay cream-colored eggs while the Giant ST has an orange colored egg. I look forward to raising both!

I also saw the hummingbird hit up my flowering maple (Abutilon spp.) not once, but twice! It was too fast for a picture, though. I love how it ignores my feeders and just goes for the plants. I guess they taste better than that artificial stuff, LOL! The last picture shows the coreopsis and echinacea I bought today. The Giant Milkweed is in the right side of the photo, too.

Melanie

I am believing now the migration route I was on for Monarchs is now gone . I live between what had been two major breeding fields that have not existed now for a decade (about that) I have tall green Milkweed over 6ft tall .Nothing has touched it at all ..
Well thank you all for pics as once as said not many around here this year The gray Hairstreak looks to be the ones playing in the backyard .
Does it really appear whitish with it's wings closed with colorful dot lines and it's open wings are Blueish in color ?
Oh well , back to cabbages it is .. once again real nice pic's all and thank you ...

Love that Gray Hairstreak! It is so cute!

What are the butterflies in my photos above? I forgot to ask. Is one a black swallowtail and the other a gulf fritillary?? I am trying to learn some of them but it is a little overwhelming!

I have some of that giant milkweed - the friend that shared it with me - hers is blooming like crazy. Mine has NEVER bloomed, and no one seems to be interested in it. :( Mine is in full sun, and she thought maybe I need to move it where it would have at least a little shade............

Genna

I don;t type like that to be depressing , it only types out that way ..

it can take some Milkweed three of four years to establish and and grow as perennial. This the fourth or fifth year for mine and it finally looks like it should .

I am browsing for eggs and or cats to re-establish if I can , the thing to that is though , I know if they hatch here they will return if they live , but the mortality rate is high and it will take many to try ..