wild butterfly weed doing it's job
Host
Great looking monarch cat! I haven't seen any monarchs around here. We have plenty of queens though.
Is that a hairstreak butterfly on the blooms too? Looks like a butterfly but I can't tell for sure?
~ Cat
Awesome! Love the colors of the butterfly weed!
great pic Jacki. Cat it looks like a hairstreak to me too.
yes...........hairstreak.......I had tons of them this spring, they are soo fun to watch
Oh my...would you just look at all those butterflies!!! Are they Gray Hairstreaks? I can't tell from the photo but they remind me of the Gray Hairstreaks we get back at the ranch on the orange blossoms. That area has been in a drought for so long and the only thing blooming for miles around are the citrus trees. Nobody plants flowers as they dry out with the 100+ temperatures before they even grow to a decent size.
As soon as the citrus blossoms open it seems butterflies from all over the county show up for the nectar! That is really a lovely sight :o)
~ Cat
yes....the wildflowers here are drying out before they make seed.....my little valley has had 9 inches of rain so far this year and only 15 last year and my "soil" is pure alkaline sands...no dirt and not even a pebble unless it is imported...where is Edinburg? I am due north of Dallas 80 miles on the Red River
Edinburg is at the south tip of Texas...about 15 miles from the Mexico border. Very hot summers with no rain in sight.
I live in an area consisting of four counties called the Lower Rio Grande Valley - this area is famous for having a large majority of the United States butterflies and birds. Our butterfly season really starts in the Fall Season and numerous cities put on their own butterfly or birding festivals.
Texas as a state is #1 as far as having the most butterflies. Arizona and New Mexico are #2 and #3...then this quad county area is listed at #4...not bad considering we beat out all the other states :o) just wish it would cool off and rain!!!
~ Cat
what's rain?