Lots of NOID bugs here! I've tried looking thru Maryland moths, butterflies to get closer to an ID for those I've never seen before, currently a 'pink/red cat about to pupate. Better pic later.
Pic 2 might be Heterocampa umbrata...At least caterpillars aren't as fast as the fliers they become!
Check your milkweed plants as those orange aphids are starting
That Pepto Bismol colored caterpillar is amazing! Great photo, coleup.
Have you seen this link?
http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Caterpillars
thanks, Muddy! Interesting link!
You're welcome! Those links are pretty user-friendly, I think.
I saw an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on one of my butterfly bushes today, but it was gone when I came out with the camera.
yay! glad you saw one, Muddy! I know--don't you hate it when they don't cooperate with the photo opp? :-)
Saw this article today about the low numbers of butterflies this year.
http://growingsmallfarms.ces.ncsu.edu/2014/07/where-are-all-the-butterflies/
First flowers ever on my Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum)! It didn't bloom its first year.
In addition to providing pollen and nectar for pollinators, it catches water in the cups formed by its leaves. Apparently birds like to drink from them. I rescued some tiny little insect drowning in one of the cups today.
Very cool Muddy! I've been wanting that plant. I sowed seeds for it in the spring and have been hoping that the green leaves I have coming up there are it and not weeds! I may have to wait till next year to find out! :-)
Interesting article, and it makes perfect sense. Last winter, in particular, was hard on everything. I know I usually see Monarchs and Black Swallowtails by about this time.
I'm determined to get a photo of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail so I can show my DD how much it enjoys the butterfly bushes she gave me.
Here's a photo showing how huge my sunflowers are and how puny the Cup Plant (on the far left) is by comparison. And here I thought IT was going to be the monster of my new bed.
This plant grew very slowly its first year; it was in a 3" pot when I planted it and it only reached about 1 foot....so maybe there's hope for your seedlings!
I'll ask the finches to leave some seeds for you and others, though : - )
They look similar to sunflowers, even though shorter. That's good to know yours grew slowly the first year. That's exactly how these leaves I have coming up have been.
Muddy---
I can loan you a picture with a dark Swallowtail Butterfly on my Tiger Lilies.
Haven't caught the eastern yellow one yet--
Feel free to show this to your daughter...
Thanks Gita, that's very thoughtful, but I want to send her a photo of a butterfly sitting on one of the 2 butterfly bushes she sent me for Christmas.
I kept those 2 tiny BBs in pots inside until it was warm enough to plant them outside. They looked very wimpy at first but are taking off now. I never would have bought them for myself, but I have to admit that the butterfly definitely preferred them over the native flowers 20-30 feet away.
Glad to hear your butterfly bushes are taking off, Muddy! I have one but it's not my biggest pollinator draw. I think this is because it's kind of off by itself, and they seem more attracted to the larger swaths of flowers--the 'big buffet'.
Painted Lady came by and lingered in my garden this morning! :-)
Yellowish/orange skippers. Don't know which species, but they are pretty!
Cat, I think you have an American Lady rather than a Painted, and I'm pretty sure your Skipper is a Pecks Skipper.
thanks, Greenthumb! Cool! How do you tell the difference between American and Painted?
Thanks also for the ID on the skipper--I was browsing around and kept coming back to photos of Peck's, so it's good to have your confirmation! :-)
In your first photo, look on the left forewing and locate the black "?" on the field of orange. Inside the "hook" of this figure you can see a tiny white spot. This is diagnostic for the American Lady.
Well, I think I answered my own question. Found this nifty comparison of American v Painted Ladies.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/236368
Then, looked at this other photo of my Lady and found this:
Clear as a bell, the white spot and the eyespots that they use to distinguish American from Painted!
Wow, David, it's amazing you could see that from the blurry photos in my first post! :-)
Looks like in my own yard, Hollyhocks and Forget-Me-Nots are both hosts of American Lady. :-)
thanks for picking up on that, David! that is very cool! :-) Good to know that about American Lady v. Painted Lady!
CatMint - snapped this Silvery Checkerspot today.
oh, it's beautiful, Greenthumb! :-) I love their patterning--and a great photo of it, too!
American and Painted Ladies sure look an awful lot alike! I'm impressed at your ability to spot that spot, Greenthumb.
CatMint, a while back you posted a photo of what I thought was a Painted Lady, but it might have been an American Lady. If you can find it, you could re-post it so we could get a butterfly-i.d. tutorial :-) I think you posted it in the earlier Waystation thread, but I'm not sure.
Here it is, Muddy! I think this one is indeed a Painted Lady.
Yeah, the 2 Ladies sure do look similar! :-)
It is indeed a Painted Lady. Note on the inside right forewing a backwards "C" filled with orange. On the American Lady this is a "?" with the tiny white dot.
thanks, Greenthumb! :-)
I'm having trouble visualizing the "C" and "?", but I can see the spot (or lack of one as the case may be).
I finally got some photos of what I think is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on one of my Butterfly Bushes!
Muddy, I found this really helpful: http://bugguide.net/node/view/236368
Yay on that Tiger Swallowtail on the butterfly bush! :-)
This week is National Moth Week! This year has been designated the Year of the Silk Moth.
http://sciencefriday.com/segment/07/25/2014/-moth-ers-celebrate-less-loved-lepidopterans.html
Maybe I'll try 'mothing' tonite or tomorrow night!
http://caterpillarblog.com/2014/07/26/moth-week-2014-keene-nh/
Thanks for the links, CatMint and Coleup.
Greenthumb, I see what you mean by the "C" and "?" areas on the butterflies. It's like one of those Rorschach tests!
And what were they doing?
In celebration of National Moth Week, a male Imperial Moth came knocking at our kitchen window while I was having a bedtime snack. I went and captured it in a plastic container and brought it in for a photo op. About a dozen shots resulted in only one usable photo as it was in constant motion. Upon release back outside it sought refuge on the facia board above the deck, allowing me a better shot. What a beautiful moth!
Coleup, thanks for those links--let us know how the moth-ing goes! :-)
Greenthumb, what a find! Really beautiful moth!
Milkweed about to bloom. Since it seems I got the NC milkweed plugs mixed up when I planted them, I'm not sure which one this is. I had thought I was planting A. tuberosa there, but now am not sure. I'm wondering if it is A. curassavica?
A couple bees loving my Agastache 'Tutti Frutti'.
I think this is some variety of Duskywing skipper on my verbena 'Lollipop'. Anyone have any idea which kind?
A Sulphur on my zinnia. The sulphurs are particularly hard for me to photograph. Not only do they flit around a lot, but when they do land, the light really reflects off their wings, making it difficult to pick up the details.
Photo is a bit fuzzy (like most bfly photos I take). My first rash conclusion was that it might be a Sleepy Duskywing, but I really can't tell, and the link I posted did not work. Best bet is to post to the Insect ID Forum.
This message was edited Jul 27, 2014 4:27 PM
wow, thanks so much, Greenthumb! that does look like him! Checked him on the Host database and there must be some American Chestnuts and/or Oaks around my house somewhere! :-)
Guess I should not have edited my post to withdraw my guess.
:-)
Also might be a Mottled Duskywing. http://www.jeffpippen.com/butterflies/mottledduskywing.htm
Can't say for sure from your photo.
