A large yellow could be the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail but I tend to think Sulphurs when people say big yellow butterflies.
Melanie
DAILY PICTURES #101
Like viewing thought catagory of tiny. little, large, and giant , yes I understand that !!! lol
We don't get a lot of really large BF's here anymore either ..
Well, my second Monarch just emerged. I'm glad to see some of them coming out healthy. I've had a problem with those parasitic flies lately.
Melanie
I would say it was a large Eastern Tiger Swallowtail..... It was at least 4 - 5" ....much bigger than what I think the sulfurs would be.
Wish I could have gotten a picture but it was so franctic it wouldn't land on anything.........
Yeah, at that size it would be a Swallowtail. Sometimes they can be a little crazy, not wanting to land on things. But if you want a great workout - try chasing butterflies! Catching them in a net can be even more challenging. But I do it every week at MOSI.
Just think Genna, we've already taught you one butterfly. Stick around and you can learn lots more!
Melanie
Need ID! Found motionless but alive on ground near back porch.
Not sure, but with those spines I wouldn't touch it! Doesn't look like any butterfly caterpillar that I know of.
Melanie
It's fuzzy!
And sort of orange/tan body.
Too late I picked it up into a container. Wait a minute - something's coming to me from last year - a neighbor brought this giant thing to me, same coloring and fuzz. Overwinters in this stage. Escaped a container and stomped around my house for 3 days before I found it in the middle of the night.
Some kind of moth - I took it to a nature park and released it in the woods as it consumes almost anything. Sound familiar? Will have to go back and look at my posts.
Looks like a newly hatched wooly bear ? Small and immature ..
I was thinking wooly bear, but it wasn't wooly enough if that makes sense, LOL!
Melanie
IT does , lol !!!
Planting snapdragons and a few plants for cabbage whites and buckeye's , the two most populous BF's , At least they are something to look at that , even land on you , instead of flittering fly bye's .. of course , they do that too!!
Got my zinnia plants in late , they always bring bunches of BF's .
I have seen a hummingbird a BST a Mourning cloak , a white sulpher , and a couple of cabbage whites and half a dozen Haistreaks today , More than I have seen all year so far ..!
LOL, I agreed, the cat doesn't look "wooly enough" Melanie. lol. juhur7, that's encouraging. If they begin to be seen there, maybe soon they will be here for me too. I searched my hostplants daily for any sign of caterpillar, thus far there is none. :(( Oh, I got zinnias and even a pot of Asters to attract bf. Only see pesky wasps. Oh, on the positive note, I saw more ladybugs this year, and less aphids so far.
That's why I post the Spicebushies on the internet - so that we may all enjoy them, even if from afar. But they are super cute in person! With my sassafras tree and the two Spicebushes I had delivered today I'm all set to raise batches of them.
Melanie
You see ? Why the Sassafras tree has leaves like a glove ?
Because it is a caterpillar baby doctor ...lol
Sorry, but somehow ,, I couldn't resist ...
Awww...that's so cute!
Melanie
I'm bursting bubbles over on Facebook. I belong to a group called "Save the Monarchs" and this lady just posted a beautiful picture of her first Monarchs of the season - except the picture is of two Queen butterflies! *facepalm*
Melanie
QUEENS, ha. not even viceroys?
Yup, even my Dad took one look and said, "Queens". I even said I would give anyone a pass if they got the Viceroy confused - that stripe can be hard to detect. I guess we're all new at some point and it's up to us "experts" (LOL) to correct and advise the newbies. I know over on the orchid forum I get schooled all the time!
Melanie
About the only look a likes I can tell the difference about is the five Swallowtails, Even two of those give me trouble after decades (the # of which I ain't telling ) of seeing them always ,
I didn't even know what a queen butterfly was until about five years ago .,
Yep , I am on "one turtle speed" Only that is another thread .. lol
I sometimes feel like ceramic creature statues ran past me .. slow motion ..
haha. Turtle speed. i know the feeling some days
I looked at that FB picture and I could tell Queens right away, and I've never even seen one in person. ha.
Don't know if you can see it... the tiniest moth ever. May have to go edit and crop this one when I get home...
I have sassafras trees galore and I have NEVER seen a butterfly that looks like that! :(
Well, Dad and I were outside but we got chased in by a thunderstorm. At least I won't have to water the plants today! The butterflies were out and about today and I got some good ones. Let's start! First, is a Barred Sulphur which will not leave the coreopsis alone. It really likes those things; I'm glad I made the decision to buy eight of them! Next up is a Monarch on milkweed. Not very original, I know, LOL! Speaking of Spicebush Swallowtails, a male one decided to bask on my cedar tree and I finally got a picture of it. Next is one of the Cassius Blues that hardly ever leaves the plumbago, but it too, seems to like the new coreopsis. Finally, there's a Gulf Frit checking out the verbena. I could have gotten a better picture but I was tired and din't want to get up at that point.
Finally, I found a Zebra Longwing on something other than porterweed or jatropha! Shocking, I know - but it was checking out the coneflower. I also got a picture of both a Zebra Longwing (white) and Gulf Frit (orange) caterpillar on the same passion vine leaf. I started singing "Ebony and Ivory" to them which Dad found amusing. And finally, there's a look at the sky about ten minutes before we had to come in. Did you know Tampa is the lightning capital of this hemisphere? There's one place in Africa that has us beat but otherwise we get the most lightning of anywhere on this planet! So we're taught from young children to go inside and seek shelter when storms get close. Plus, there's snacks inside - and I'm going to go eat some now!
Melanie
Love the pic on the coneflower! NICE! I knew Florida got lots of lightening and has more deaths from lightening than any other state because my brother lived near Orlando for several years. I was struck indirectly by lightening at around the age of 11 and I am deathly afraid of it! I try to avoid being out in thunderstorms if at all possible.....
I checked out my large milkweed (the only milkweed I have) to see if I possibly had some eggs - but didn't see anything. :( I have never seen a butterfly or any other insects messing with it - and never a sign of a bloom. Strange.........
Whew, it's hot out there! We're back inside and cooling off with A/C and nice cold drinks. I saw a couple more butterflies this afternoon. Ones I didn't get pictures of include the Giant ST, Checkered White, and Great Southern White. But I did get pictures of two of the smaller butterflies. First is one of the Duskywings (I get Horace's and Juvenal's and they're very hard to tell apart). I was glad to see these guys checking out the coreopsis. I thought Dad had ticked them all off when he pulled up all the Spanish needles. That's their favorite nectar plant, but they seem to like other daisy-type flowers, too. Then, my brother spotted a little butterfly that turned out to be a Phaeon Crescent who was also enjoying the coreopsis. I'm really glad I bought them!
Oh, and when I came back inside I saw one of my Monarchs had emerged! Lots of butterfly action today but now I'm tired. Time to relax.
Melanie
Melanie, you're among the land of butterflies is for sure. Thanks for sharing the pleasure of watching them. This evening I finally caught up with my Red-spotted Purple bf for the first time. I was so excited!
Those are so cool! Definitely on my bucket list. Gfs have located my passion flower. Several cats spotted today. Still not much flying around lately. Keep those pics coming! Russell
I went fishing today at Little Lee creek near Nicut, OK. It was difficult to fish with all the butterflies fluttering and zipping around. After seeing an eight foot blue indigo snake swim across the stream, I decided to sight butterflies instead.
I saw my first Southern dogface but it stayed only a moment before flying away. A Pipevine ST, crescents, and satyrs were more photographic. Note that several butterflies were nectaring flowers of water willow weed in the stream which means that I was knee deep in the water.
1. Dogface sulphur
2. Pipevine ST
3. Gorgone checkerspot
4. Gemmed satyr
5. Little wood satyr
Glad to hear some of you have good numbers and also good to see butterflies that aren't in this area.
I love Red-Spotted Purples but I hardly ever see them. I have a cherry tree that they use for a host but it's gotten so big I can't find the caterpillars anymore. But earlier this year I did see a RSP butterfly circling the top.
Great photos and diversity shorthog! I like the Gemmed Satyr; never seen one of those.
Melanie
I've released three Monarchs (all boys) today and I've got a fourth that looks as if it could come out any minute. Also, my biggest Eastern Black ST cat molted into its final instar. Not much butterfly activity lately due to a thunderstorm that just came through, but at least I don't have to get out and water the plants now!
Melanie
Still not really much here but I am surprised at all the Mourning Cloaks I keep seeing! Still have my BST chrysalis. It should be any day now that I have a BF!!!!!
Keeping fingers crossed for your soon to eclose BST Nan. Good luck.
I think I saw an American Lady bf darting wildly outdoor today, but not sure for it was frantically darting about. Also saw some white looking butterfly about the size of Sulphur. But that's all.
The third Monarch I released today turned out to be a boy, as well. I felt like warning the girl Monarchs out there! Here it's been the usual Gulf Frits and Zebra Longwings but when I went to walk the dog (we're dogsitting today) I saw a Spicebush ST fly by. There definitely seems to be an uptick in Swallowtail activity. My boss at the museum had 35 Black ST cats on her dill at home that she had to bring in to the museum! I don't have quite that many, but I have a few. At least I have enough rue and fennel for everybody.
Melanie
I am working on plants and ideas , as have said before , it will be a while , only some nice milkweed mostly , The interesting thing I thought I saw a northern metalmark real early , (discovery being) that's why I have that fleabane weed.
They were (the metalmark) coming to the yarrow in a real rainy year , a few years before the drought ..
They must actually colonize someplace by the river near here . and they tend to hop glide , flapping , rather than the Butterfly float type of flight ,
Other than that today's sulpher ,cabbage, and hairstreaks , that seems to be about it ..
This years new spicebush and rue, if they establish should help immensely ..
Still trying to re -establish as before , the Snapdragons , redundant now aren't I ? ..
Monarch Milkweed (you all already know the rest ) perfume !?
Nice stand of MW. :)
Thank you ..I am looking for advice about the rue , what it will grow next to and ideas about location in the garden ?
Any advice ?
Sorry for thread stray ,, Melanie ...