DAILY PICTURES #108

This is a butterfly ? Tiny ,,once again ,,lol interesting looking ... the antennae say Butterfly , Only not showing in the pic ,
I don't have the any idea as to this one's ID ,
The brown jagged stripe coming together , above The Thorax ? between the wings , looks like a little skull face or Alien looking back at you ,, I thought that might be a clue . maybe a skullcap common name , but I get nothing there ,, Anybody ?
This message was edited Jul 6, 2014 3:27 PM

This message was edited Jul 6, 2014 3:52 PM

It seems to have the large eyes that are common on skippers and if a skipper it would be one of the ones who typically rest with wings spread. Most skippers rest with wings together. I could not find any pix with any butterflies with such geometric looking markings. That seems more typical to me of a moth. Moths also rest in that position often. The fact that it is so tiny would make it fit the skippers as well. Most are small.

yes indeed , as close as I can see , one of roadside skippers ,but no match ,, this has four winged flight , resting with the top two wings , pressed against the bottom two , it is about half the size of a dime ,,
it's interesting , that wing coloration .. the squared off geometric pattern of the resting of the rear wings is not common to moths .
I would really like to see a pair of these .. unusual anyway .

It is not hairy as most skippers are , but the Black dots or rings on the abdomen and thorax , match a few in the family ,

This message was edited Jul 7, 2014 3:41 AM

J7, looks like one of the Petrophilla aquatic moths, My guess would be Petrophila fulicalis - Feather-edged Petrophila. http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/7150/
They are very common in and near small streams that I fish in NE OK.

Ivy that is close , I'm not sure though ,, I do have those here , it is difficult to tell ,, Moth possibly flying happily in the daytime ,, What next ,, it' was confusing enough .as it was . lol

Swallowtail and a Monarch today , This season I am seeing them but they won't let me near ,,
Is this a :Good Thing , Bad Thing) cartoon ? reminds me of that sometimes ,,^_^

J7, I agree that this years crop of butterflies seem extra flighty and cautious. A means to survival. A positive for the butterfly but a frustration for me in observation and photography. But always an exception, I had a nice friendly, posing Silver Spotted skipper on the pink coneflowers this morning. A real beauty.

Wow, look at all the beautiful photos, you've all posted. :-)

floridagardener, I know it's not timely, but use a spray from the hose to get rid of them aphids. That's all you need to do. I'm rooting for you.

It's really hard to get photos of the butterflies, but I just got lucky with this photo of what I think is a Gulf Frit feeding on one of the Butterfly Bush flowers.
Hope you enjoy it.

WIB~
SW

Oops, I guess the photo didn't load right. My bad.
Here we go again. :-)
WIB~
SW

Singingwolf, thank you. That's just what I did, used the garden sprayer. Along with a little squishing got them off. I'm really becoming addicted to these caterpillars. I now have 6 Monarch chrysalis and about 7 Monarch cats. This is my first time doing this and I'm really excited about it.

I was really surprised last summer when some showed up on my MW. I went online and looked up what the Monarch Cats look like. I was so disappointed. I just used a strong stream and my fingers gently rubbing to remove them from the MW.
I haven't had but one Monarch visit me so far this spring, but I'm hoping!
In the meantime, I'll enjoy whatever butterfly flitters my way. :-)
I'm doing pretty good with the GF's, and am trying to increase both host and nectar plants for all the native butterflies. :-)
So right now, I'm really enjoying seeing your photos, and reading about your experiences.
Truth to be told, I might just be a tad envious. My turn will come. :-)
WIB~
SW

Great site for you Dale! 108 is impressive for sure. You are in a great location and have beautiful varied gardens.

J7 - That is indeed a tiny winged creature. Maybe Dale can confirm the ID for you. I am with Steadycam the eyes look like a Skipper if it has clubbed antenna. Or if feathered it is surely a moth. Pretty which ever it turns out to be.

I saw my first Queen of the season yesterday, it was on Purple Coneflowers.
Three Pipevine still munching inside but I have several I didn't bring in on plants outside. I find it very strange, but guess it is the weather, that I haven't had but a couple BST cats so far. Usually in early spring they are loaded on my plants. This year we went from fall to summer skipped spring I think.

Finally a black swallowtail laying eggs on dill then visiting the butterfly bush. Hopefully cats soon but lots of wasp buzzing around to worry about.
Hot day but a variety of butterflies were attracted to Rattlesnake Master.

I spoke too soon on my BST, I was outside and found when checking my Rue plants I found at least 10 or 12 first instar cats!
On the PST I lost one tiny cat. The two others one made a chrysalis and the other is in comma position. Having viable leaves in the cage, I went out and got three PV cats and brought them inside.

I got some interesting photos today.

1. Hummer perched on the Coral Vine in the GH. This is one of the babies that hatched out in the GH this spring.
2. I forget the name of the flower, but it has a butterfly shape in there.
3. A gift from a gardening friend. A Blue butterfly weed.
4. A Bumble Bee that flew into my shoulder and fell down on the ground. He's a bumbler!
5. Some white butterflies. I don't know what kind. I see them all the time out in the fields. They seem to like mustard weed, and any pincushion type bloom. Does anyone know what they are?

Lovely photos C_A_Ivy.

Sheila, one day, I hope to be as knowledgeable as you are. You have already taught me more than you know. A big thanks to you, and to all of the other contributors to the stickies on this forum. :-)

WIB~
SW

SingingWolf #5 Checkered White ,, Host Brassica family , Favorite Mustard , Wild Black , similar here Cabbage White .
Great photo's
I got a Frit and an Red Admiral Today ,, Transfer cord to my camera broke so later I will show them I guess .

When one breaks transfer cord one should remember to put memory card back in Camera ,, Duh ,,,lol

Red Admiral, their almost here 24 hrs a day ,

Lots of butterflies in the yard today. Several were surprises. A large female Monarch and a small plain Swarthy skipper nectaring purple coneflowers. While a female Hayhurst's was busy nectaring Blanket flowers. A Question Mark stayed busy laying eggs on elm sapling leaves and a female Fiery skipper loved the butterfly bush and showed her fiery colors.

juhur, Thanks for the ID, and for naming the host and nectar plants. :-)
DH says they aren't rare, and up where they grow alfalfa, they are considered pests. I just know I see them flittering all over the farm.

Glad you found a way to work around the cord. I like the photos of the Red Admiral. I wasn't sure the butterflies liked the Zinnia, since I've never seen one land on mine yet. Seeing the Red Admiral on yours reassures me. :-)

C_A_Ivy, wow, your garden must be a butterfly magnet. I can aspire to do as well as you are. I really like your photos too. I wish I didn't shake, so I could get crisper photos like yours. Butterflies are so hard to get photos of. They move worse than a little kid getting his face painted. Your photos are beautiful. :-)

WIB~
SW

Hi SW! ((waving)) Thanks but I only passed along things that others have taught me. Good to see you posting, love the baby hummer!
Great pics everyone!

One of my escapees, black swallowtail, has emerged from the chrysalis and is in my pool enclosure. How can I get it out??? Is there anything I can do??

Best photo I could get. One my fist releases.

Not the best photo cause it's at the top of the pool enclosure. But, this is the one that's trapped inside.

pot of flowers near the doorway , when or if it is on the flowers ,, see if it will fly out ?

otherwise , Pin board bait ..

Sheila, that may be true, but it was still appreciated more than you know. :-)
You were one of the first to send me seeds and encourage my Memory Butterfly Garden in my yard. I posted photos on another thread I started recently here, if you are interested in seeing what I've been up to. I've been trying to post photos there and explain what I hope to do with my Butterfly Education and Exploration Site. Could always use your advice and experience to make it a great place. You know that there is really nothing like it out here. Yeah, the zoos have a display once a year, but I hope mine will be open at least 9 months of the year. And I want to emphasize the native butterflies. Although I love them all.

floridagardener, the BST should be able to find his own way out of the pool enclosure. Like juhur said, place a potted nectar plant near the door to entice it outside. The ones that have found their way inside my GH, seem to find their way out. I have rescued a couple from the pool and once I rescued a Giant Swallowtail that got hit by the sprinklers. Once he was dried off, he was fine.

BTW, it's still a better photo than what I could get this morning. I think it's one of the reasons I like taking photos of them. When you finally get a good photo, you really feel a sense of accomplishment.

Too hot outside right now, but I'll try to get some photos later. I did get a photo of my red earred slider this morning. I suspect she's looking for a place to lay eggs. Silly turtle. I left her alone for a few minutes and she disappeared. I like to know where they clutch so I can keep an eye out for the babies. I know they have hatched out in the past on their own, but it's nice to know where they are.

WIB~
SW

SingingWolf we have the orange barred Sulpher here that is also known as the Alfalfa Butterfly .

I was seeing a few today ,, this little moth looking BF looks about the size of my previous .
it had Manilla wings that when they came together in delta position made a brown heart encompassing over half the wings.
landed on my hand while I was trimming asters , No pic , but I hope too . More of my tiny BF antenna Moths ....

C_A Ivy So many nice pic;s Big Sigh ,,^_^

floridagardener ,, Keep on going ,, Yea !!!

SingingWolf Great going ,, best of hope and want to you with the BF project

Got my escapee out of the enclosure. Used a butterfly net, once he came down from the top... piece of cake. Juhur7 thanks for the advise, never thought of that. I'm learning. Love?? y'all for the great advise.

floridagardener ) LOL my joking of Pinboard bait made you think of Butterfly nets ,, I thought about saying that , but I did not know they even existed anymore LOL ,, it has been 40 yrs or more since I have even seen one !!!
Did you lure that BF with any food treats ? just wondering ,, or did it get hungry on it's own and came down searching anyway ?

here's one of a few today'
Big Eastern Swallowtail

Collected three eggs and a 1st instar of a Monarch today , last eggs did not hatch , the one little whatever was not there the next day . oh well , if this cat lives I've added three Monarchs , grinding it out ,, but a lot of progress to be satisfied with compared to Zero !!! lol
Beetles , Grasshoppers , Ants , Spiders , Wasps , Hornets , all competing around the cats on the Milkweed .
But maybe when I see the Monarchs ovipositing , I'm a little better with my chances , 7-8 days ago I saw that Monarch exactly where I got the little cat ,,
Perhaps; it helps to what you are doing ? lol

This message was edited Jul 11, 2014 6:52 PM

Juhur7, found butterfly net at Gander Mountain sporting goods store. Also want to mention have 12 Monarch chrysalises with 2 more on the way. Read an article that Monarchs are an endangered species. I id not know that. Really glad I can help another generation survive.

Woo hoo FG! Way to go! Keep up the good work and keep us posted.

Russell

Question, will a larva die inside a chrysalis?? I have a chrysalis that should have released already. Should I just wait another day or two. Thank you.

Florida , I have heard that they will , here it happens with winter chrysalis , that is a question of whether that is suppose to happen at all , (Winter Chrysalis)
I would leave it set at least a month , That's me though .
I have one little Monarch cat , that should be finishing right about the time to join the Southern Migration ,,
Always enjoyed seeing the New England Monarchs migrating south , but, they are saying no eggs up that way this year .. not good ...
My fennel rotted out from all the rain ,, A swallowtail shortage , Keep hoping to see them on Dill or Ammi (Queen Anne's Lace ) .

What a bunch of beauties you you have all been posting! I am sooo green with envy, but I can always lurk a bit here.

So far I have no butterflies...just some Cabbage Whites, a few Azures and the occasional "flash" of Orange that goes by at lightning speed.

But today I saw my first Hummingbird Moth of the season. YAY! I've only seen them on my Monarda. Never on anything else. They seem to like it best when the blooms are fully opened and almost waning.

I did manage to get some pics. These next 8 are some of the better ones along with a couple of Cabbage Whites.

And the rest.

I always have trouble trying to get pics of the whit BF's good pic
Nuts) Grrrreat !!!! pics !!!! My favorite Bug of all time A Flying Crawdad !!! lol LOL
and really Clear pic's too !!! ^_^

Here's tiny (from egg) and a Big Fellow ? I found today about ready to Chrysalis
Two for the Migration ?

oops I saw a Monarch flying around the yards here today also about 13 flying and these two make 15 ...




This message was edited Jul 13, 2014 7:36 PM

Nuts! great photos of the hummingbird moth! I've never seen one in person so i really enjoyed looking at your photos. Maybe you would like to add some of your photos to the bug files?

J7! You have had a really good crop of Monarchs and Admirals, congratulations! Aren't you glad you planted all those Zinnias?

Yes Vitrsna ; I always have fun with the flowers bringing the BF's , The Cabbage whites are still eating my Kale this year though ,,
1 the weed look
2 9 or 10 ft tall milkweed
3 new row beginning to bloom
4 a closer look
5 the same as 4 from farther away There is another row not in bloom running the length of the garden So Bf's and Bees will stay fed for a while ,lol

I will be waiting to watch to do a drifting migration count of groups of monarchs when they pass , usually a couple to three groups of either side of a dozen come through here .
Last year ,I saw zero . I don't expect to see as many as numbers from New England are still zero this year ,,
But , I know where a couple Migrators will be coming from .. lol

Beautiful garden J7...It is a lot easier taking photos of things with roots than things with wings, yes? Be sure to tell your migrators to stop at my garden come October. I'll be ready for them. Right now i have approx 25 - 35 Queen chrysalises, 2 Giant Swallowtail chrysalises, 3 Giant Swallowtail pillars wrapping up their summer visit after 4 generations. That's just what i can see. My garden is a jungle and who knows what all is going on in there...lots of amorous skippers for sure.

That is a bunch of BF's vitrsna !!! . I am not seeing the above average amounts of any BF's ,
I can remember when a Giant Swallowtail really was a Giant , Extinct now but there was a Swallowtail that looked similar to the giant Swallowtail except it had white like a wide stripe on it , It was Big !!!
A larger than the largest Yellow Swallowtail , it was ,
I have a Baptisa I am planning on planting , hoping to bring more silver spotted skippers , A few others use the plant also ,
Still trying more Rue , and I have several citrus I am trying , two of them grow wild here ..
Those zinnia and milkweed up above are surrounded by Marigolds that are not blooming and the Cosmos in there aren't either as it has been cloudy and rainy here most of the time ,,
Thank you about the flowers , when I feel well , an easy to do it is , it could look a lot better , but I don't know if the look would change the results I am after ,,probably not ,,lol
The few plants I have trouble with getting them to stay are mostly Snapdragons ,,
seeing lots of Pearl Crescent the BES are in bloom ,, always causes that ,
Trying to establish a clump of alfalfa for Orange Sulpher also , I lost the first attempt sooo, another potful shortly ..
There are a few bean plants in there with the zinnia also ,, not much attention to those so far though .
Well keep at it and lets not let them go extinct with no word given about it .. I will say something to the migrators , but it's up to them whether they listen or not lol .. much easier with plants than critters that fly ,,pic .. pic , pic , lol
False nettle I think another month in a pot before I try planting them in the ground