Nice to see Lily ,, Not many here
DAILY PICTURES # 111
Ju, hopefully you will soon get to see more butterflies. I am happy they're here. Here is a picture of some BST eggs, they should hatch in a couple of days.
lily ,their around but only Two Monarchs and one BST so far this year ,
Nothing unusual unless I do not see a few dozen heading south this fall
Good luck with the eggs
Still a few butterflies in Arkansas but the heat has them looking for shade. A tattered Black Swallowtail female visited last week and hopefully she left some eggs on the backyard parsley.
This is my BSTs sanctuary, well one of them. I do not use chemical on the planting. I also try to discourage spiders away. Ah this happens to be my first time sending picture directly from my phone's camera. 😄
Speaking of butterflies - I'm seeing lots of these yellow swallowtails. They were really enjoying these tiger lilies. They seemed to be feeding way up into the bloom of these lilies.
Butterflies Love the color of those lillies , They look like spotted Turk's cap . it is a host for a few .
Action is real quiet here , saw the third Monarch this year yesterday ,a few Red Admirals a couple Pearl Crescents ,
Lots of swallowtails enjoying my zinnia. They just cannot leave them along. There are three in this picture I just took.
I have only seen one Monarch thus far. I'm seeing a few hummingbirds and what I seem them most on are the red honeysuckle and the blue cobalt mint.
Went on a Butterfly count with an Oklahoma group in Nickel Nature Preserve near Tahlequah, OK. Lots od butterflies especially Silvery Checkerspots and Red Spotted Purples. We did sight several uncommon Golden Banded skippers. In addition I sighted a Southern Dogface Sulphur and several Byssus skippers. The Pipevine swallowtails were busy nectaring bee balm and late blooming Orange Butterfly weed.
A long, tiring but rewarding day.
1. Golden Banded skipper
2. Southern Dogface skipper
3. Byssus skipper
4. Silvery Checkerspot
5. Pipevine Swallowtail
Outstanding Photo's here . Ivy,, brenda .
Mine today , a unusual here
Giant Swallowtail
How wonderful that you get to see the Giant Swallowtail Ju. Great pics. everyone. Ivy, hav you got any BST larvae? If not, I'll share. lol
I've been so busy with ... life .... and thought I'd skip raising my butterflies this year. But, as I watched them; the BSTs eggs, then 1st instars unfolding, then 2nd, and one morning I noticed a whole colonies of my precious BSTs larvae disappearance! That prompted me to bring the rest of other "orphans" indoor -- so to speak. Thus far the butterflies nursery was a delight for my little grandson when I get the joy of his company.
I've released the first two BSTs this past week. As of now, there are roughly a dozen of chrysalides and half a dozen that already curled in a j-position. Plus several dozen chubby 4th and 5th instars crawling about. I may need to plant some more dills and parsley because yesterday I found 2 newly hatched 1st instars outdoor. Oh Joy!
Lots of other butterflies, I think mostly Eastern Swallowtails, I may have seen an American Lady, numerous skippers, and Spicebush Swallowtails. Gulf Frit. and Sulphurs.
Really nice!!!) Lily ,
Lilly, all those cats can keep you busy. I only had a couple of BST cats this year and the ants chewed one while it was pupating.
It has been very hot here but still seeing butterflies. Especially at the edge of the Ozark Mountains. Yesterday, I enjoyed watching a couple of Tiger swallowtails nectaring tall wild sunflowers. Spicebush were having a butterfly weed party. The Silver spotted skippers were plentiful and then I saw a rare Lace-winged Roadside skipper. The heat doesn't seem to bother the butterflies during late afternoon but it sure knocks me out.
Anybody seeing Monarchs?
Lot of smaller butterflies here mostly Only 3 Monarchs here that I have seen this season
Thank you for the show .
Lots of butterflies today, so thought I would share a few photo's. I did see my 3rd Monarch of the season today - in a hay field.
According to C_A_Ivy (from a few posts above), the third photo is a Silver Checkerspot, which I was unfamiliar with.
Nice pictures brenda , I am seeing a few Always enjoy all your photo;s here Yours too Lily !!!
Got these swallowtails day before yesterday
Good news today. I was outside for an hour in the high heat and humidity and I actually saw 3 Monarch's today. Prior to that I had only seen 3 all this year. My count is now up to 6 for the year.
brenda That is good news !!! I saw an EasternTiger SWT and some Pearl Crescent I am still at three Monarchs .. Hope on , I will though ,
So is this a Pearl Crescent or a Silver Checkerspot? As you can tell I'm not very familiar with this one.
I'll have to venture out farther today (where the swamp milkweed is) and look for more Monarch's after seeing the three yesterday.
I would say Silvery Checkerspot . The white dots on the wing are how to tell
i also believe the Pearl Crescent is smaller
Thanks juhur7.
I've seen another Monarch this morn on my zinnias - so now I'm up to 7 as my total for the year.
Nice report on Monarchs in IL. They should be heading my way in a couple of weeks But very little milkweed in my yard with the current hot dry conditions but plentiful along roadways. Also flowers are scorched an wilting.
Please be careful being out in the heat.
I had seen my 4th Monarch yesterday ,
Got this today
An Eastern SWT
I will likely see a few more , Only not the thousands I saw last year ,,
Hi everyone, no Monarch here yet, I did see some Guft Friterary butterflies. A Question Mark, various others. But my most proud moment I had was that I released my 5th BSTs this evening. Thus far I think I have a total count of 9. Still couple more dozens waiting on the wings.
Hi everyone, no Monarch here yet, I did see some Guft Friterary butterflies. A Question Mark, various others. But my most proud moment I had was that I released my 5th BSTs this evening. Thus far I think I have a total count of 9. Still couple more dozens waiting on the wings.
Congrats Lilly on your successful BST rearing. They are so beautiful and fragile when fresh. Thankfully we have folks like you and others in this forum who are caring of nature.
Happy to see most of you are having BF activity. We haven't had much so far. I saw an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail a few days ago, but we mostly have Cabbage Whites.
I saw a great news report on TV earlier today. Because of the declining Monarch population in Illinois they're trying to get a vanity license plate approved for Monarchs. The proceeds would be used to plant Milkweed in fields and preserves all around the state. I've never had any interest in vanity plates before, but this is definitely one I would buy!
This message was edited Aug 12, 2016 9:50 AM
NAN, it is inspirational to have people around us wanting to do something to help aid the survival of the beautiful Mornach. I myself have transplanted a tuberous MW in the garden and hopefully I'll find some more native MW to add. Ivy, thanks. Rearing butterflies has a special meaning to me.... 😄
Post note: 1. picture of new BSTs' egg on dill's flowers. These apparently were laid by the very BSTs that I released in the garden the past few days. Thus far, I think I've over two dozens that were released. I still have another dozen or so in chrysalides and a few final instars getting ready to pupate. Lots and lot of flowers in the garden for the butterflies when they pass by here. :)
Swallowtail on a Mexican Sunflower in my garden.
I've seen enough Monarch's that I have lost count, but if I look hard I can usually see at least one each day now. They are way more elusive than the swallowtails. It seems they are on a mission, then they are gone.
Ironsides - Wish the deer would leave the Mexican Sunflower alone here, but they eat them right up. They are great for the pollinators. One year I had so many Monarch's on the Mexican Sunflower it was unreal - guess that was before the deer decided how well they liked the plants and before the big decline.
I did see #7 Monarch today , A couple of Pearl Crescents Mating ,
A few others Little Blues and such ,
Lily and
Ironsides
Really nice the photo's
brenda , the critters love the flowers , too many critters love them ,,
I thought I saw some Monarch flyby, but actually they were these Gulf frits. I also saw some of their cats. I am pleased.
Ooops! Last pix was my newly eclosed BST, Then the Guft Friterary caterpillar. Here is pix if the mentioned butterfly.
I've been seeing a good number of Monarch's on a daily basis (maybe 6-10). Mostly on swamp & orange milkweed.
I am still waiting for my first Mornach sighting. Meanwhile I collected half a dozen Guft Friterary cats. They are from 1st instar to 5th instars. My BSTs cats the 2nd generation: Those of which I have released returned to the garden and deposited several dozen eggs. Now they are mostly 3rd instars and bigger. I'm really having a big year with butterfly raising.
Way to go Lilly. I've had a terrible time with raising BST cats this year. I had 3 in the pillar house on the back porch and the ants killed and ate them.
A few monarchs in the area but not my yard. Maybe I need more flowers and milkweed. At least they are here so I should be happy.
Lots of Pipevine ST, Variegated Frits, and finally one of my lifers, a Great Purple hairstreak, at the Papilion Gardens in Muskogee, OK.
Beautiful Photo's Ivy !!!
Great flutterby pictures. I'm still seeing the Monarch's - maybe 3 today without really trying to spot them.