Love those Red Admirals, Juhur!
Good luck steady! I love these butterflies...they are so tough and so sweet in all their phases. First you might notice a cluster of yellowish eggs on a leaf (leaves) and/or stem (stems). I think it is about 5 days before the tiny caterpillars emerge from the eggs. They are so cute! While they are very young they will stay together...eat together, shed their skins together, follow each other around. Or you might first notice pieces of leaves below the vine...they do tend to throw their food around (i don't know why). Those chrysalises look like gargoyles to me :) I have my fingers crossed for you.
DAILY PICTURES #107
Thank you for that information Vitrsna!
I assumed it was some type of Swallowtail, but not sure the exact species.
Shauna
Vitrsna and Shauna -- Love those Polydamas Swallowtails! Rarely make it up to north Texas, but I've had them in the yard a couple of times. The caterpillars are so cool looking.
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
Fascinating info on Giant Swallowtails! Good thing the STs can tell the difference :o)
Beautiful shots, everyone! And so much info in one thread.
some fun happenings in the garden this morning:
1) I discovered an Opsiphanes chrysalis on the Areca palm on the patio. Hidden from the birds, but in clear view of someone moving from the house to the patio (so i can keep my eye on it). I am thinking it will be about 16 days before the butterfly leaves the chrysalis. It looks like a newly made one, maybe made yesterday. I don't know how the caterpillar eluded me because they are very large 3"+ with an orange racing stripe down the back. Well yes i do know because they are masters of disappearing into the background. Would have liked the opportunity to say hello to the caterpillar though.
2) Polydamas passing through and feeding heavily from the zinnias...moving very fast. I wish the photo were better. It looks like she is looking at the camera, but it turns out she was seeing her boyfriend coming to whisk her away, both flying past my nose at the speed of light.
3) One of two Queen caterpillars that i've found on the Asclepias. They are still very small, i am pretty sure it is a Queen but it's possible it could turn out to be a Soldier.
Love the shots, vitrsna! There's those beautiful Areca Palms, again.
While out on the Fox River Trail this morning I managed to snap a few shots of some very tiny butterflies. I don't know if they're all the same kind or a couple of different types. They were lightning fast so it was hard to get any decent pics.
I cropped some and left some as they were so you guys could see how small they were.
This last one is especially blurry, but it showed more markings because of the angle.
Summer "Blue" Azure How about you all . ?
pretty little Blue Butterfly nuts .
Agreed Juhur, Although I know there is a bunch of debate about the difference between Spring/Summer Azures. I don't pay any attention to that and just say Azure. LOL, I'm very non-commital!
Oh Virstna… guess what I bought today. A yellowish mexican flame vine. Clearly an annual here, but hope it does well for the summer.
Thanks juhur and Marna!
Marna, I might even have a picture somewhere on my computer of an Azure that you ID'd for me a year or two ago.
What really threw me was the entirely different markings depending on what part of the butterfly was showing. That's why I posted so many shots.
Here's an interesting read, though confusing. This is why I just say "Azure"
http://www4.uwm.edu/fieldstation/naturalhistory/bugoftheweek/bluebutterflies.cfm
I have been seeing the Azure all week , so it was easy to answer ,, (they come to feed on the fragrant Ligustrum .
Something flying today was interesting , it was a very small soft orange almost yellow in reflective light , Looked like a lighter photo of some of the Northern Metalmark .
First thing it goes for is the Fleabane , than it sat a few minutes on the Black -Eyed Susan , crawling to the top looking for blooms to feed on .
The field of Ragwort I showed last week was cut two days later , so maybe it is as they are looking , .
This year so far several Skippers
including 2 or 3 Silver spotted skipper
1 Monarch
1 Black swallowtail
2 Mourning Cloak slow , only good to see
Congratulations on your flame vine Mrs Ed! I finally had an arch made for mine, it worked so hard climbing that arch, i could hear it huffing and puffing. It was too tired to make blossoms and now we are having our rainy season. Still, it is crazy wild. I had to teach it to go down the other side. Yours should grow fast in the summer heat. You can grow it in the ground or a large container. Cuttings are easy to make so you can put a small plant in a container and maybe it will winter over inside to be ready for next summer. I guess you know more about how to do that than i do :). Send a photo when you get some blossoms ok?
I have spice bush caterpillars!!!
Yea Marty! I haven't seen any of those, please take pictures. They don't get up this far very often it seems.
My Mexican Flame Vine had four blooms on it when I got it. I don't know how long it will take to get more though.
Mrs_Ed I like that vine !!! .
Caught this a while ago today , my garden ,
Oh boy, that is a nice photo of a beautiful butterfly Juhur.
Mrs. Ed...it's a beauty! I love those flowers. Are yours fragrant? Some other Dgers say their flame vines have no or very little fragrance. My flowers do not stink up the neighborhood but they do have the most delicious fragrance. My experience has been once they start to flower they just keep going, flowers and more flowers and more! It's fun. Here are a couple of pics. When i installed the arch, i had to cut back the one growing in the ground that had been growing up another type of support. I also had one growing in a pot as a precaution and this is the one that is flowering. The one in the ground at this time had been cut down to about a foot high. The long shot of the vine shows that it has been too busy climbing to make flowers but i'm sure it will because it has a really nice sunny in the morning spot. You can see in the long shot photo how when the vine reached the top it just wasn't sure which way to go and so it is going a little bit in every direction. I have it growing near the Dalechampia and there is some fraternization going on. Every now and then i sort the two vines out if i see one of them overtaking the other but they seem to be pretty well matched in terms of agressive behavior...it appears to be a friendly fraternization for the most part :-). I am sure you are going to love your vine!
Found this Swallowtail enjoying my butterfly bush.
shauna1219 Sure Brighten the place up don't they ? Yours is different than mine , your Polydamas ?
Mine an Eastern Black ? If we had the both and Mrs_Ed's and Vitrsna;s flame vine , We would have the brightest garden on the block anyway .
Guess the only way that is possible though , is this thread . lol ^_^
Wow...Mrs_Ed, I just had a chance to read that article on the Azures. Now I know why you stick with just "Azure"...Spring Spring, Spring Summer, Azure Complex...that's crazy! Thanks for the link (which served to totally confuse me).
Lots of very pretty pics, everyone and congrats on all the sightings.
Those Mexican Flame vines are gorgeous! Are they a host plant?
Yes Vit, it has a lovely fragrance. Though I had to go out and really stick my nose in it. I think i will put it in a box and let it trail over that little arbor on which I photographed it. That is for the beans and cucumbers. I was going to put it on the 4' chain link fence, but this way it will have lots of height already and I can see it from the house.
If I've confused you Nuts, then I have done my job. The flame vine is one of those super-duper nectar plants. Since I'm having trouble getting my Tithonia "torch" started, maybe this will help.
My Buffalo of the Butterfly world (Cabbage White ) Were in the garden ovi positing , their eggs on those Mustard (Brassica Nigra )
So before long, green Caterpillar photo's
Red Admirals Still happening but their summer e-closing is about to end for a while , The summer Babies are much darker , brighter color ,
Have to wait to see what the zinnia bring (I keep at that don't I ? )
Mrs _Ed Are you talking about Kniphofia , Or Red Hot Poker ? Sometime called Torch Lily .
Rain here for a few days slows a lot of Butterfly activity ,
I still have a Butterfly coming to the Fleabane Small unattractive , moth looking , with their color faded and it is difficult to tell as they are older BF's (torn up some .
I don't know what else uses Fleabane, Besides the Metalmark ,
Earlier I agree , Host plants are not always host plants and it gets difficult , guess , guess , guess ,,
No J. I'm talking about Mexican Sunflower, Tithonia. "Torch" is the big 5-6 foot one.
Mrs_E . Ah yes , I know that flower , those do not grow well for me , I have tried three or four times ,
I grow a red one once in a while , and a big one this year named Titan (regular sunflowers ,
It is raining a swamp here , !!!
Raining here too!
I don't know why, but I've had a terrible time the past few years getting those mexican sunflowers started. They always get eaten. in 2010 I had scads of them. Maybe this rain will help. I had not so great germination this year, but will put some in again.
It rained buckets most of last night. Today it was nice and cool. Would have been a perfect day to work in the yard...if it wasn't like a soggy sponge out there. I think any self-respecting Butterfly is hiding out under some big leaves.
Beautiful Mexican Sunflowers pics, Mrs_Ed. Are those yours? I thought you just planted yours.
Those were mine from years ago. August 2010. The last good year I had in the garden. It's been a struggle since. :(
Oooh...that middle shot should be on a calendar...just gorgeous!
Look at was on my milkweed today ! Been a long time since I have seen any of these here .
Smaller but delightful What say , Monarch ?
Oh At take a Look !!! At Pollengardens post on this Forum . The First Pic of A Karner Blue Butterfly !!!
Oh yes J7...Monarch indeed...you have waited awhile for these...congratulations!!!!! How many do you think you have plus or minus? Smaller? They will grow...nice and chubby.
vitrsna)This is the only one I saw , I see no eggs , no smaller caterpillars or any larger , only this one .. I have a lot of small frogs , toads , and a black spider that are predators of caterpillars . Frogs and toads have probably gotten full on Cabbage white larvae , leaving me this Caterpillar from the Monarch .
So this one is in an Ice Cream bucket , with a screen tied over the top , so lots of air and light ,
hopefully we will see this grow and become a butterfly
3 days ago two large orange butterflies flew past quick and at distance , I thought they were both Question mark when one returned and that is what it was , Evidently the other was a Monarch ,,
Good old fashioned Syrica Milkweed with a Caterpillar is a delight to see here , The old times it was common everyday ..
This message was edited Jun 14, 2014 10:47 PM
Yay juhur...Congratulations!! That one sure is pretty.
Congrats Juhur. From what the other Illinois butterfly monitors are saying, they are seeing significantly better monarch numbers this year than last.
Mrs_Ed Better #'s being seen a few places , here also in Indiana ,
After only 1/2 million last year of migrating Monarch , only extinction or upwards of #'s is al' there was that could happen ,
I found another small Monarch cat this morning A toad was watching from a few inches away . So I may of made off with it's breakfast . lol . . So way head of last year here .
One from yesterday ate all night and got large , So transformation is not far away ,
Hoping for the migrators , looking better , maybe 3x as many this year ?
We are finding cats here too! Didn't see any until September last year, so this is good news. Have found 7 so far
Wow, great news and photos from everyone!
I have a bit of good news, My milkweeds are flowering like crazy, especially tuberosa. This is the first year i have gotten flowers from my a. incarnata. After 3 years of waiting, I am happy!
I am seeing several Gulf? Fritillaries lately but nothing else. The tigerstripes and pipevinests and red spotted purples have just disappeared. My butterfly bush and zinnias are about to bloom and the "becky" daisies are opening, so I should soon be seeing BFs. My 'gateway' supposedly dwarf joepye weed is full and will be loaded with blooms (and hopefully Bfs of all types) soon. It was an afterthought type purchase, and is a great addition to the butterfly garden, becoming an anchor plant. I plan to take cuttings, and put it in some other places in the yard.
I have been checking the dill, parsley and bronze fennel for eggs and cats. I check the Milkweed too, but I think it is just wishful thinking on my part. I have not seen a single monarch yet this year.
What is the goal , 30 million ?
BCH521; I only saw 7 adults last year (not that I usually see them all ) after usually seeing dozens .
Seems the plains and midwest are already seeing three x's as many as last year ,
Beginning to believe replacing some of the host plants after a Stadium here in Indiana and two industrial complexes in Ohio , Destroyed the Habitat of approx , a million .
The interesting thought is , if the milkweed had been planted around some of these places that are not mowed , high dry ditches and such , many of the Monarchs that did not exist these past few years , would of , and building all these places for people (us) would not of effected the Monarchs at all ,,
Well the school projects and youngsters had a bunch of us planning old fudds , that never gave any of it a thought , Business can an environmental gun , have to watch over necessary .. Get them all youngsters !!!
I have had monarchs laying eggs since last November and they are here daily. It's looking good from where I sit but that's not scientific at all. Congrats Juher7 on your baby cats. You're being a good Butterfly father on this Father's Day. Hat's off to you and well done.
Thank you all ,and steady , your efforts to keep a species diversity is also very important and you have done that nicely ..
Up north here (sort of) we are trying to create some pod cells (milkweed , pollen rest areas )so the migrators can survive .
Mine are still alive and okay so far , They seem slower than usual when you keep them ,
#1 (a bird missed lunch ) seems to be
about ready to Chrysalis , #2 (a toad missed breakfast) is still growing and will for a few days if all goes okay ,
I'm old , I'm allowed to have a little fun ,,lol ^_^
The gals named them (oh yuck) and (a green worm) , I like mine better ,