If anybody knows what kind of butterfly this is, please post here. thanks
My first butterfly pix!
That is the Gulf Fritillary Agraulis vanillae http://bugguide.net/node/view/567/bgimage
thank you. I have many of those around my gardens. BTW, happy belated birthday!
Vossner...
Do you have passion flower vines in your yard? That is the host plant for the gulf fritillary...as well as for other fritillary species.
The butterflies down here lay gobs of eggs on my vines...and the caterpillars end up stripping them completely (but the leaves do grow back out). It's wonderful to watch the female ovipositing and watching the tiny eggs as they hatch out little cats which turn into bigger hungrier cats :o) The chrysalis is quite cool looking too. I knew where most of them hung and checked on them daily until the new butterflies emerged.
Do you get Variegated Frits there? That species is supposed to be common through out Texas. It is awesome too. We get that and the Mexican Fritillary down here in the south tip of Texas.
~ Cat
Here's a photo of the Gulf Fritillary chrysalis...if you have passion flower vines around there are sure to be chrysalides close by.
~ Cat
Hi Cat. No, I don't have a passion flower vine. It's on my "to buy/borrow/steal" list for next spring. I am so looking forward to this. In the last two years I planted hummingbird and butterfly attractors (sp?) and the results were amazing. So next year I'm in a more ambitious mode and will be planting more of such plants, including a passion flower vine.
thanks
PS; My dear neighbor, a wonderful gardener, has a huge passion vines and I don't see gulf frits. I have more butterflies than she does, but then again, I don't remember seeing any other plants in her landscaping that would attract them
A bunch of them took up residence in my yard this summer - this dispite the fact that the USGS shows no record of them in my area. Here's a pic: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/549997/. I did buy a passion flower in early summer, and these guys showed up in Sept/Oct. Wondering if they either hitched a ride on the plant or perhaps strayed farther outside of their range due to weather happenings in the gulf.
I read that the adults are attracted to lantana (which I have). Also, a few years ago I "accidentally" created a small brush/leaf pile in one corner of my yard. They hang out there a lot, too. I've decide to leave the debris because so many small creatures seem attracted to it: birds, butterflies... Well, that's my excuse anyhow.
Vossner...
The Gulf Fritillary is supposed to be widespread throughout Texas. Of course, they say that about the Variegated Frit too but I have only seen about ten of those this year. Zebra and Julia heliconians also use the passion flower vine as a larval host but have seen only one Julia heliconian in my yard and it was nectaring on the duranta. Haven't seen any Zebra Heliconians here...but have seen them at the local NABA park.
Come to think of it...I have several varieties of passion flower vines growing in my yard but can't say I've ever seen the frits nectaring from them! They prefer the duranta, blue mist, lantana, turk's cap, firebush and other flowers.
...but oh boy, come time for the females to lay eggs and they are all over them! The red blooming type is not supposed to be good for the caterpillars so I try to move them to other plants when I see them.
Look for eggs and caterpillars on your neighbor's vine. Am quite sure you will find some.
Email me and I'll provide a link to the life cycle of the gulf fritillary that I photographed. From the mating dance to the ovipositing female, egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and beautiful butterfly once again.
~ Cat
I have a passi vine that the gulf frit keeps supplied with eggs and cats. The cats are always there, however, I don't know where they go to form the chrylasis. I have never seen one around the vine. Seems as if they are well hidden, or they crawl away and hide. Any suggestions on why I don't find the chrylisis????
Purple...
Look closely through your vines. The chrysalis is various shades of brown and is extremely well camouflaged. I have found a few hanging from the wire trellis but the majority of chrysalises I have seen are on the actual stem right next to a dried passiflora leaf. When sunlight and shadows dapple against them it makes quite impossible to find.
You must really look at each thing that resembles a dried leaf...chances are you will soon find a chrysalis. I tell you I can spot one then around and lose sight of it...and there I am trying to find it again.
~ Cat (south tip of Texas)
kennedyh-- that 'bugguide' site is wonderful. Thank you for posting it. t.