oh boy, look at them go!
DAILY PICTURES #108
Having a good year here. Currently have 103 monarchs in one stage or the other. Excuse the cell phone picturess
wow. look at that "assembly line". Nice going.
I seem to remember that you tag Monarchs. Do you tag all of them, or just later in the season?
This message was edited Aug 2, 2014 9:32 AM
Such fabulous setting BCH521. Congrats.
It's really quite amazing looking at all the different set-ups you all have, from very small to "factory-size". I'm totally in awe!
My biggest concern would be knowing when to add food... soon enough so the cats don't run out, but late enough that the leaves don't wilt.
We replenish food at least daily and sometimes more
You all have some great goings on here !!!
BCH - your going to be responsible for a million Monarchs or more someday ,, !!!^_^
good going !!!
I can't raise many , I don't keep up as the saying goes.
However ever few raised seems to bring more ,
I saw four again yesterday , Feeding on the Honeyvine in full bloom now , I am glad those vines do not bother a few vegetables , so I can let them grow on the fence trellis .
I change leaves every other day , only a few cats and big leaves ,
Floridagardener Keep the Cats and Butterflies coming , We are not seeing many Swallowtails here this year ..
Here's a small sampling of the Butterflies we saw at the Botanic Garden. I'll post more as I have time.
1) Leopard Lacewing (Cethosia Cyane) Original ID was wrong. Still need to find correct ID
2) Giant Owl (Caligo Memnon) - perched on the back of my husband's shirt where it stayed for about an hour, along with one on the back of his jeans.
3) Common Morpho (Morpho Peleides) - group enjoying a feeding station
4) This one is kind of X-Rated :o)...A pair of Clippers (Parthenia Sylvia) with a Common Morpho in the background (observing?).
5) Pearl Caraxes (Caraxes Varanes)
Had to edit info: pics totally switched around when they posted
This message was edited Aug 15, 2014 10:10 AM
BCH, if you could see me I would bowing in awe in your direction. Wow.
For those of newbies or otherwise challenged but still in love with the butterflies gardeners, I need some advice. My adorable gulf frit cat escaped from the enclosure I jerry-rigged. Which was one of those enclosed tents to use at a picnic. The Velcro closes just at the bottom, so she (I have no idea what sex but don't like it) wriggled out - sometime between 9:30 a.m. when I left the house and 4:30 when I returned. I finally found her - underneath the table. Do I leave her there and see if she is simply ready to make a chrysalis or do I move her back to the enclosure and secure the edges more tightly?
The incredible escaping caterpillar is making a crystals!
This message was edited Aug 2, 2014 8:26 PM
Here are a few more pics from Chicago Botanic Garden's "Birds & Blooms".
1) Common Morpho (Morpho peleides) - clinging to the white mesh exterior of the exhibit tent. The C.M. also liked to park in front of the fans. We were told they do it all the time.
2) Pink Rose (Pachliopta kozebuea)
3 & 4) Leopard Lacewing (Cethosia cyane)
This message was edited Aug 6, 2014 8:56 AM
Hi ya nutsaboutnature !!! Purrrr_teee!!!^_^
Pics of the enclosure from which 'pillar escaped and the telltale J
memays ) I would leave it under the table ,, At least until it is done with the chrysalis .
You might be able to move it when it is done , then pin it like some above
Being real careful , of course I don't know how to move them off or from a solid object , like the table.
Memays, I also think you are stuck with it under your table. Funny how we set them up all nice and secure and comfy, yet they have their own plan.
This has been a very poor year for butterflies up here in the UP. With 40 below temps and a lot of wind last winter we pulled into our cabin with poor expectations. There were hardly any of the Canadian Swallowtails puddling, no Satyrs, no Pearly Crescents en masse on wolf scat. Here are a few of the few butterflies that we have this year. If it weren't for Skippers and Hummingbirds here it would be a sad summer. Even the chipmunks are few in number.
I think the Fritillary is Great Spangled (I left my Butterflies of the East Coast at home), number 2 is a Comma, Wood Satyr (?), Admiral and the last is one of the 2 Monarchs I have had in the yard.
Usually we are overrun with Frits, only this one this year. The Comma is a rare visitor, I have never seen a Satyr in here nectaring on garden plants, our Admirals saved the day with their presence.
I will add a Buckeye later and some of the Skippers. The Joe-Pye weed is due to open this week so let's see what they draw in.
LOVE the white admirals up there! I was surprised to see a good number of Monarchs there though.
I've been seeing cabbage whites ovipositing on some weed in the yard (I have so many). I think I'll try to raise some so that I can see what the cat and chrysalis look like.
Mrs Ed - I love them too. We have Red Admirals in MD. The White Admirals love to "puddle" on the strangest places to get sodium.
ottohand7 Very nice !!!
More Monarchs . Three or four everyday now ,, ^_^
Rearing a Variegated frit that showed up about10 days ago on the passion vine. Pupated yesterday on the screen cover with a beautiful chrysalis Hopefully an adult soon.
Started a moth cat rearing which is very interesting. I found an emerald moth cat that takes parts of plants and flowers then decorates itself as a plant mimic. This one was on a Sennae plant with yellow flowers and it had decorated with yellow petal parts and other debris. I placed it on a small non blooming plant in the cat house. But it started to loose its yellow color as the petals dried. So I placed a double purslane bloom nearby. Within minutes it had moved to the flower and redecorated for "Mardi Gras".
Still wonder how and where it will pupate.
Wow, C_A_Ivy, I had no idea the Variegated frit. chrysalis is so beautiful! Never have I seen one before in person. Thanks for sharing the sequent of its development with us butterflies enthusiasts. And the Emerald moth caterpillar! Wowweee! How remarkable! Love, love its "mardi Gras" costume. Thanks again for sharing.
WOW, C_A_Ivy, what beautiful chrysalises. I've never seen this before. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos.
CA_Ivy My thoughts are similar I thought Wow !!! that is different ! Not what we see here often at all ! thank you also , very interesting !
Did not get pics today , saw silver spotted skipper , a Monarch , two Red Admirals . Lots of the smaller species also . .
Wow! I get busy for a couple of weeks and look at what you've all been up to!
Gorgeous photos, of the butterflies and moths, everyone. Thanks for the links too.
Aren't the butterfly exhibits fun? Sure looks like you got some great photos, nutsaboutnature.
The Honey B.fly weed looks interesting. I wonder if it would grow out here.
BCH, I'm so impressed with your assembly line, that I'm taking notes. :-)
I still have no monarchs. :-(
However, I have the GF's, and I've been seeing a lot of swallowtails, and today, I saw my first sulphur b.fly. Like flying drops of sunshine, they are. :-)
We had a very a tropical rain storm come through over the weekend and we got some here finally. It's so nice when it rains. It hasn't rained here since March, and it was getting pretty parched. I walked out to see if there was any storm damage, and was gratified to find lots of puddles and no real damage. I also found these strange looking cocoons on the trunks of the oaks and was wondering if anyone knew what they might be. DH is worried about the Oak Borer getting to our oaks, and I don't blame him. I don't think they are Oak Borer's but can't seem to find out any info with just this photo for an ID. Any ideas anyone?
WIB~
SW
Starting to get warm and humid with lots of butterflies about. Yesterday morn I noticed that the Variegated frit cat was turning black. A while later a newby fresh adult eclosed. Since it was still drying I placed it on a large Cleome plant until it could fly away. Then I noticed several caterpillars chewing on the backyard passion vine. More beauties to come.
SingingWolf I hope you get that identified ,
Ivy nice pic's ,, good info .
Early this morning Black Swallowtail cat on Daucus . (Queen Anne's Lace .
I have a Monarch , doing e-close this morning Another to release ,^_^
I have so few butterflies this year, thankfully the bee contingent is OK. Here is a photo from last summer of a Fritillary on Rudbeckia maxima also called Dumbo's Ears one of my favorite sun plants.
Beautiful ottah...perfect pictures of contentment
Congratulations J7...beautiful impressionistic photo of pillar and garden a la Monet :)
Today and yesterday were glorious butterfly days in Atlanta - in between crazy pop up thunderstorms, the beauties came to visit.
Gray hairstreak, red spotted purple (sharing pic), eastern swallowtail, cabbage white (I think - sharing pic).
Hummingbird wars are ongoing at each of the 4 feeders. And a hummingbird moth came through.
Still waiting to see any sign of a Monarch, and waiting for the gulf frit to emerge from chrysalis. No other signs of caterpillars although the maypop is about to take over a side bed.
Here's the Eastern TST. Love this butterfly.
Great pictures all!!
SW look at pictures of mites on http:BugGuide.net
Ivy I was blessed in getting to raise a Variegated Fritillary once after seeing it’s cat on a Pansy one spring. I caged and fed it flowers until it formed a chrysalis, and it is gorgeous! But they don’t have to dry, because their wings aren’t wet. They are limp and have to hang straight to harden. You shouldn't move them in this stage because if the wing is crimped in a fall, it hardens that way. (voice of experience ))o: )
Oh happy day - first Monarch sighting in Atlanta - that is I am pretty sure this is a Monarch, but it wouldn't let me get a pic with wings open. Also more TSTs, a pretty dark morph form and the traditional yellow.
Sheila, how long should I wait to remove the newly eclosed Variegated frit from the pillar house ? I have a couple of new chrysalis that should be ready in a few days for emergence.
O drat and piffle! I came home today to find a Confusing Sister (Adelpha iphicleola) in the garden. I was surprised and startled it and away it flew...the camera no where close. What a beauty and this is the first time i've seen a Sister in the garden. I see the host plant is Rubiaceae. Can anyone in the zones 9, 10, 11 recommend a good Rubiaceae plant (not a tree but bush, shrub, or herb) that i can add to the garden? Something not too huge and fairly common and easy to find?
Vitrsna - Here's some caterpillar shots of Adelpha iphicleola on three different hosts. Not familiar with any of them, but maybe this will help.
http://butterfliesofamerica.com/adelpha_i_iphicleola_immatures.htm
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
Thank you Lepfarmer! Those are some ugly caterpillars! But of course if they were in my garden they would be adorable...go figure. Really interesting chrysalises, wow. The first two hosts mentioned are large trees and i don't have space for them. Unicaria tormentosa is a woody vine with curved thorns. I think it grows around here and is known as Un(y)a de gato (cat's claw). This might be a possibility for me. This is helpful because they might only use certain Rubiaceae as hosts. I also have "Catalogue of the hostplants of the Neotropical butterflies" by George Beccaloni et al that i can reference (what a piece of work that catalogue is!)...maybe tomorrow when i can keep my eyes open :)
Still no Monarchs here, but faithful in my expectation that someone will show. . .. Last year, oy. Fuggedaboutit.
i am also very p.o.'ed because my neighbor "took in" a kitten and now he leaves it out most of the day. It is hanging out in my wildflower garden taking stabs at birds and small mammals (saw it leave with a chipmonk the other day).
I caught it this morning leaping in my front yard to try to catch a skipper!!! Dagnabit. :/
All I could think about was migration and just about skin that cat if it comes near my bflies.
Deep breaths. :)
OK! BIG ExCITEMENT!!
last week I finally had a monarch in my BF garden! And a female, and egg depositing on all 3 types of milkweed! I scooped up about 6 eggs to raise inside. They hatched yesterday!!!!I have them in a container with MW and am noticing tiny holes in the leaves. Yay!!!!
Now, I need a female Black st to give me some 'pillars!
Amandaesq, I know how you feel, I am forever chasing my own cats away from lying in wait at the base of the butterfly bush. Last year I found 3 tattered BF bodies, and a couple baby bird parts and I felt terrible! I don't know how far your kindness extends to predators, but I distract the cats with a ribbon bit tied to a string. I also planted catnip far away from the BF area. ( i think that is your whole yard!) Also, If that cat is not fixed and female, you will have more soon. If a boy, you will soon enjoy the smell of cat pee. If u want to dmail me, I can find a low cost spay neuter program in your area...a gentle hint to your neighbor.
Back to checking on my baby caterpillars.!!!
Sorry all about predators issues. We all do love our domestic pets, as well as butterflies and all nature critters. Best wishes.
Scarletbean, that's sure is BIG NEWS! Thanks for passing it on. You're breaking the news; Monarch is migrating South! I can't wait for their arrival. I saw my first Monarch 'pillar, but it was in the butterfly house in Huntsville Botanical Garden over the weekend. About a female Black ST, I've several here, I wished I could send you some. My colony of BST cats is growing. I'm looking forward to some chrysalis formation on those ST cats any day now.
1. Zebra Swallowtail egg on passionflora vine
2. Monarch in the Botanical Garden
3. Zebra ST eggs on passion vine
4. THE mentioned butterfly house
5. BST cats on parsley
That's good news, scarletbean. I have yet to see any Monarch activity this year but still hopeful. We have lots of other bfs in the yard right now. Have had too much "life" going on to get many photos. Hope to do so soon.
