Nice pic !!! Saw a Hairstreak this morning twice the size of the third fingernail (it was a big one) lol
Great thread , love all the pics.
Daily Butterfly Pix, #102
Hello everyone, it has been way too long. Work has kept me very busy. I have managed to make time to get the garden caught back up and it has paid dividends. The garden is teaming with butterflies, so well that the NABA folks have allowed me for the second year in a row to include my yard for the local count.
The big deal for me is zebra swallowtail colonized the yard at the end of last season. This season I have raised over 20. I have about 9 left in chrysalis and have not found any eggs in a while so I guess it's winding down. That in itself made the season. I will add some photos when I have some more time.
Sounds like Florida is the place to be!!!
Zebra Swallowtails! Woo hoo! They're my favorite butterfly but to raise them I have to go cat-nap them from the local preserve which is techincally against the law. I haven't done it in a while since it's been hard to get out and go hiking - especially now that it's so hot and humid outside.
I took some photos of the butterflies at the museum so you guys could see a little more diversity. I was really "on" today and was netting butterflies like a pro. I caught about a dozen total. The flight cage has been mostly Zebra Longwings so I was trying to color it up with some other species. I got a few Gulf Frits, a few Monarchs, a couple of female Orange-Barred Sulphurs, a couple Polydamas STs (NOT easy to catch!), a Sleepy Orange, and a female Black ST. I also found about forty Monarch cats throughout the gardens!
1. Orange-Barred Sulphur
2. Polydamas ST (sorry it's so fuzzy)
3. Buckeye (I released that one this morning)
4. Sleepy Orange
Back home I had a few visitors, too. Well, the usual bunch anyway. There's a Duskywing on my Route 66 coreopsis. Then, a kind of blurry Gulf Frit on jatropha. I also saw one of the many Zebra Longwings on the porterweed. And finally, I saw that other Duskywing that's lighter than all the others. I may have to send my pictures into NABA and see if I've got two different kinds of Duskywings or what.
Melanie
We had a brief bit of sun from the dreadful Atlanta monsoon summer, and I saw an Eastern Tailed Blue, a Tiger Swallowtail and a Painted Lady - also I think a hummingbird moth. I couldn't capture a good pic of a tiny little creamy white colored butterfly (or moth) that was on the butterfly bush - it wasn't a cabbage white, smaller, and I hope to get another view and a pic so someone can tell me what it is!
Hummer on necklace pod, large orange sulphur on POB.
Brutally hot today...take a look at the salt crystals on my hat....hehe.
Russell
I spotted this interesting thread in the "Garden Art" forum by missingrosie. She "accidently" created a butterfly magnet when she made a decoration for her garden. The pic is really cool.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1321125/
My second round of rearing Common buckeye caterpillars on watercress was a success. Today both adults emerged at the same time and it wasn't very long before they were ready to fly away.
They are beautiful butterflies but are absolutely gorgeous when fresh and shiny.
Shorthog They are beautiful butterflies!!! As are your pics !!! thank you ....
I am trying to start some snapdragons to bring them back , have not seen any this year and very few last year ,, 3&4 years ago I had 100's of them flying around the back yard ..
Put this on the ID forum also . little plant , prefers the shade , will grow tearing like in the sun See the catapillar chews on the leaves ,, any ideas what it might be ,
This message was edited Jul 8, 2013 2:47 AM
The pic ...oops
Looks a bit like a pellitory to me. But does not look exactly like mine. I think that's a comma/question mark host.
Unless you saw the guilty caterpillar, I think your chewing was done by a leaf-cutter bee. They cut perfectly round pieces out of leaves (then wrap up pollen like a cigar to feed their young).
Finally!!! Watched a black swallowtail deposit eggs all over the place yesterday. Lots of dill for her, but she also put some on the parsley.
Whoooohooooooo!!! What sweet, sweet sight! Congrats Marna.
Shorthog, Buckeyes are indeed impressive when they first emerge. I got to release one yesterday at the museum and it was so pretty.
Mrs. Ed what a great photo of a female Black ST ovipositing! Congratulations on all your soon to be caterpillars!
Melanie
My second crop of Black ST eggs has hatched and they're so tiny! And they've all climbed to the top of the container and away from the food so I may have to go in there and relocate them. And give them some fresh food.
Here's a few pictures from today. A Gulf Frit on pentas, a Zebra Longwing slurping on firebush, and a Duskywing on the coneflower. I also saw a female Spicebush but she was just doing a fly-by. I'll keep my eye on the sassafras and spicebush, though.
Melanie
AH HA !!! , It started to sprinkle outdoors .. I came across the yard ,, and either a monarch or a queen was on the Milkweed , I presume even if smaller than usual , it was a Monarch .. !!! coooooool !!!
Still lovin the pic's all !!!
Well here's my flying crawdad , butterfly or hummingbird moth? , dragonfly hornet ? Little far away ,but you can see it feeding .. There is one slightly blurry not posted that shows the stripes next to this little fellows eyes ,, like she ? is wearing mascara .. lol What do you all say it is ?
Lol this is a bit blurry but shows the black stripe masked lines around the eyes and "face or head" (why they were named for Hummingbirds) There's not much there to tell ..lol Cool bug though .. unusual
Okay I am thread hogging .... Saw a large frittiliary zoom past . and this little guy came through the lens ,, Well you can tell their Butterflies , I'm still working on it ...
Looks like you've got a hummingbird moth there, juhur. And that little guy looks like a Crescent or maybe one of those Silvery Checkerspots.
I got another picture of a Duskywing but really I just want to show off my Coreopsis "Ruby Frost". It looked weird for the first few days but then the flowers fully opened and they looked like the picture on the website I bought it from. I'm enjoying it as much as the butterflies! Then, the Gray Hairstreak was back to visit the coneflowers. Finally, I wanted to show this picture of a Zebra Longwing because you can really see the glob of pollen on the proboscis. Yummy!
Melanie
Nice Coreopsis !!! I suppose that pollen glob reminds me of a baby eating to fast ... lol
I am pretty sure that is a Pearl Crescent in the pics above .. I use call them and another Butterscotch & Honey when I was a child , the remainder was around the wings was the topping ,, lol
Mmmm, honey and butterscotch! I actually think that's a Silvery Checkerspot. See that spot on the hind wing that has white in the center? also the forewing has less "checkering" if you will, and kind of an orange band as a result.
As for the hummingbird moth, I love that one! It's a clearwing moth and I had one lay eggs on my honeysuckle once!
Melanie, those coreopsis are beee-yooo-tee-full
Those hummingbird moths come in green, brown, and brighter yellow . Early in the week the one I saw was green , that one in the pic is brown ,
As for the Butterfly . I am not good enough to argue is or isn't lol .. All I know about the difference is one has a solid background color when the wings are closed , the other has upper difference from lower when the wings are closed , two tone under-wing ..
The one in the pic was two tone under-wing My memory ... well ....yeah it is ...
As long as I still get to enjoy them . The BF's seemed many today ..
I hear yah, so hard sometimes to know. The only way I know is because of training materials I got as a part of monitoring for Illinois. It helps to get side by side comparisons. I've actually never had a silvery checkerspot, but I keep hoping.
Apologies on the hummingbird moth, I thought it looked like the yellow and black one that makes me think it's a bumble bee. ha.
I had a pair of yellow and black ones three or four years ago . doing the mating dance as they passed through the zinnia and the neighbors honeysuckle ,, '
Maybe we can make that our favorite fun bug of the summer ? they are neat !!
I have this little hummingbird that keeps visiting my back porch in the mornings. But he keeps trying to get a drink from my little ladybug whirlybird and a night blooming cirius that has a leaf that is turning red. He just can't seem to figure it out. Poor baby! But he does seem to eventually find the Mexican cigar plant. I have a Mexican sunflower that is finally growing, but not yet blooming. I started it from seed early this year, and it has taken its sweet time even growing a little bit. I can't wait until I have blooms to show! It was my best butterfly magnet at the old house.
Ok, here are a few recent shots. The blues and peacocks are in huge showing this season. And I have had a breakout year with the Zebras.
I am currently raising Monarchs,BST,SBST, ZST, GST, and a few Queens. I am glad things are happening for everyone.
Great shots there Viceroy! Zebra STs are my favorite but I get to see them so rarely. I have to go to the preserves where the pawpaws grow to spot them.
I, too am glad that things seem to be picking up for everyone. It took a while, but it seems the butterflies are starting to visit DGers throughout the nation!
Melanie
juhur7, thanks for the nice comment on my pics. They have improved considerably since I started photography and butterfly observations last August. Since Buckeyes migrate, hopefully some will be visiting you soon. It is really difficult to get pics of clearwing moths since they move constantly. Your moth with the black mask is a snowberry clearwing which is named for one of its host and the other host plants are dogbane and honey suckle.
Today, I saw a couple of new butterflies for me this season, a flighty Red spotted purple and a fresh Viceroy as well as a Red admiral oviposting on pondside nettle and a question mark mineralizing at water edge.
1. Red spotted purple
2. Red admiral
3. Viceroy, below view
4. Viceroy, above view
5. Question mark
Love the Red spotted purple..very nice!
Russel
Pondside nettle? Do you have more information on that plant and how you are growing it?
Mrs_Ed, the nettle is the stinging variety at a local county park pond but the Red admirals love it. But I "Ouch" avoid it. The picture that I took of the female Admiral was when she finally took a break and rested on a green briar leaf.
ahh, i was hoping it was NOT a stinging nettle and some awesome pond plant. lol.
Eeeek!!!
I just saw a Gulf Frit in my yard!!!
It flew right through so fast, then when I turned around it was on a coneflower. No pics, naturally, but had to share. So exCIted. :D
yay!
Had a BST visiting the phlox this morning. I am watching the fennel for cats!
Glad everyone is starting to see some action! I stayed inside all day today (went to the movies) and played on the computer. Too hot outside and I figured I needed a break. Chasing butterflies at MOSI the other day wore me out!
In a completely off topic story, I was approved for Social Security disability (I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue among other problems). At least now I'll have an income and health care. So that's made me pretty happy.
Melanie
This morning an Eastern Swallowtail ; A few minutes after I took that a smaller EST appeared ,after that the moth hummer browsed through .
Fun to see !!!
This message was edited Jul 10, 2013 11:23 AM
