Daily Butterfly Pix, #102

Great Tiger ST there, Juhur!

I've still got the female Spicebush ST hanging around the yard. No eggs, though. I checked the sassafras and the spicebush. Then, I have a Duskywing on coneflower and one on coreopsis. And finally, the Gulf Frit was checking out the jatropha.

Sadly, one of my Black STs didn't make his chrysalis and another one stopped eating for some reason and died. But I still consider this crop a success. Should be a week or so before the first one comes out.

Melanie

Seeing Tiger ST's more often now....this one is on a lily called Blood Tiger.

I was deadheading flowers and a Ruby Throated Hummingbird came right down beside me having A tuberosa nectar for lunch , first time I have ever seen one at that plant ..

yay! That's always fun when they come up close

Melanie since you like Zebra swallowtails, I stopped off at Devils Den State park on my way to visit a sick relative and took these shots of Zebras on a roadside orange butterfly weed for you.
Both Zebras and flowers were lovely.

Both of the flowers and the butterflies are lovely indeed! Shorthog, on the one before the last pic. I spotted two smaller butterflies in the background. American lady bf? Or Painted lady bfs.?

The Black Swallow Tail eggs that hatched July 1-2 are already large enough to pupate - that was fast! less than two weeks!
Several years ago I had one make a chrysalis on the front door. I researched and found where it should have emerged in about 2 weeks. It took over five weeks - I had given it up on it, but fortunately hadn't removed it.

Love those Zebra Sts, Shorthog! I think the little guys in the fourth picture might be Buckeyes but it's hard to tell.

I went out yesterday and picked a whole bunch of rue for my Giant STs. I have two and they get big and eat a lot. So my rue is down to almost nothing after I cut food for them. And wouldn't you know they both went and gut purged right after? Hopefully, the rue will recover quickly and I can have more caterpillars.

One of my Black ST chrysalises is looking darker; I guess it's about time for them to start coming out.

Somehow the museum got some Mourning Cloaks in the flight cage (manager must have been trading with friends again) so I'll get to see my first one in person this Sunday!

Melanie

Finally saw my first Monarch for this summer this morning on some milkweed down the road. Maybe I will check later for eggs.

Only the Silvery Checkerspot , a Frittilary that zooms through. Still a bundle of Hairstreaks and Cabbage whites ,
Only hey , the BF's are here .. The BSWT was nice yesterday ..

Melanie, there were several other butterflies on the road edge orange butterfly weed. Also, an orange sulphur visited but refused to get photographed.

1. Pair of pearl crescents
2. Zebra and a buckeye
3.Spicebush ST
4. Pearl crescent
5. Zebra ST

Love the pics SH ,, Keep em coming !!!

Great photos! I always tell people that milkweed is a great nectar source as well as a host plant.

Melanie

Just cabbage whites in the yard here, so keep those images coming!

Here is a little visitor to the garden today...not sure what it is though and it wouldn't give me a peek at the outer wings. I did see a bit of blue near the edge of the outer wing. Maybe a metalmark, maybe lots of things. Photo is sitting in the ID forum with no response:(

Resembles the Checkerspots more than the metalmarks . to my eye , only your a long way away from me and I know you have many metalmarks, and rare BF's that I will never see or know of possibly
Nice little pic though ,, thank you ...

I think it looks like an Elfin, but I'm not finding a match.

Thanks juhur and Mrs_Ed for your thoughts, i'll look at Elfins and Checkerspots in my Mexico/Central American butterfly book and see if i can find a match there. July is being such a busy month for me, i didn't have much time to search before the post...maybe August will be more calm...i'm craving some hammock time, but it seems so far away right now :-)

GST on Pride of Barbados...finally got one to cooperate!

Russell

Ooh, pretty! My two Giant STs just made their chrysalises. My first Eastern Black ST emerged today! Also, the usual butterflies were around. I got a Gulf Frit on the verbena. A Duskywing was on my "Ruby Frost" coreopsis which I am really liking! And finally, I caught one of the Cassius Blues on the jatropha. Those guys are little!

Dad was out doing yard work this morning and spotted Monarchs and Spicebush STs. When I was turning onto the street I saw an orange-colored sulphur on the firebush. I haven't checked the senna in a while; might be time to do so!

Melanie

Melanie,

Does the Ruby Frost Coreopsis seed as freely as the lanceleaf or grandiflora? I would like to add some of that for contrast with my yellow varieties.

Russell

I've only had it for about a month so I have no idea but I'm hoping it does. I have it next to the "Route 66" coreopsis and it looks quite nice so I think your contrast idea is a good one.

Melanie

I am using red Gallardia next to yellow Coreopsis for the time being ,, lots of bees ...Not as many BF's

I have some small blanket flowers, too. They haven't been blooming too much (they're really small) so it's hard to judge the amount of activity on them. Dad spread fertilizer everywhere today so hopefully my little plants will grow!

Melanie

Vitrsna -- that looks like a Lantana Scrub-Hairstreak (Strymon bazochii) to me.

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

Thank you lepfarmer! I will take a look at some photos and compare the S. bazochii with the S. cestri and see what i come up with. Don't you just love those legs? :)

Visited my son today in NE Oklahoma on Caney creek. Lots of butterflies sighted at least 20 different species. Most were looking for mates or chasing mates or oviposting on their host plant. Pics of the unusual or prettiest are attached.

1. Zabulon skipper
2. Clouded skipper
3. Silvery checkerspot
4. Red spotted purple
5. Goatweed leafwing

More NE OK butterflies.

1. Red admiral
2. Hayhurst's scallopwing
3. Least skipper
4. Phaon on frog bit
5. Spicebush ST

What a glorious day! :)

Beautiful pictures shorthog! I like the Goatweed Leafwing. We have Leafwings here in FL but i think they live elsewhere because I've never seen one.

I'm off to the museum to take care of the caterpillars and educate our guests. Plus, I want to see those Mourning Cloaks we got in!

Melanie

Geez Shorthog, you sure do get a variety there!

Proof that my butterfly bush is doing it's job!

Thanks everyone for the compliments on my pictures. August will be my first year of butterfly watching and husbandry. For 70 years I only saw a few butterflies. Now I see them in my dreams. My new motto "Look and you will see". My passion has consumed me.
I agree Melanie, Goatweed leafwings are lovely but with their wings closed they do look like a dead leaf. I seen them often on wet gravel or road edges puddling. The males perch in trees and zip down in a flash of orange to check out passer bys then scurry back to their perch while waiting for a mate.
Additional views of yesterday's leafwing.

Hey guys! I started a new thread and I have lots of pictures to share. Let's go here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1324957/

Melanie