Do you have a butterfly mating picture?

Pipevine Swallowtail newly eclosed. She flew to a hollyhock leaf to wait and rest.

He swooped in pretty quick here>

:-)

Cabbage Whites

Woohoo!!! Glad to see I'm not the only butterfly voyeur out there...snicker snicker!!!

~ Cat

Caught these two while hiking in the preserve. I was so excited to see them that I crawled under a barbed wire fence to follow. I may not have wings, but I don't need 'em to chase butterflies! Here's my zebra swallowtail couple:

And here's another view...

Now, what do you call it when they do it on your hand?

Orange-barred Sulphurs.

Have set up a folder just for mating butterflies.

Rod

I would call that a real piece of HANDIWORK!!!!

Here are mating Phaon Crescents.

Rod (chance encounter)

Tiger ST's, all tangled up.

Rod (Serendipity - have your camera with you at all times)

Mating Skippers (butterflies, not sailors). Can anyone identify these?

Rod

Rod~
They are Clouded Skippers (not to be confussed with sailors in an overcast, lol) ... Here is a good site you can bookmark the home page:
http://www.dallasbutterflies.com/Butterflies/html/accius.html
Nice variety you have! Were they connected before you picked them up? I do know they lock very well, often times flying coupled.

Lol wallaby.. I guess Rod was a bit tied up for a while.
When bflies hang on to me I usually hand them off to my 8 year old butterfly guy Ben.. (Though I have never had something like Rod's delima to hand him.)

ROLF Deb...

Considering all the mating photos I have taken...I also gently let some crawl onto my hand for a photo or two. Seems most times they are too enamored to even notice "THE HAND" moving in :o)

Sometimes with the fruit feaster species or blues, skippers, sulphurs and such that enjoy puddling near water or on scat I'll rub a little bit of butterfly bait or spit (yes, spit - ha ha) on my finger and let them crawl up on it.

Of course, they are most compliant when they eclose too. That helps!

Took this photo back in February after we had that Pipevine explosion. There were mating butterflies everywhere!!!

~ Cat

Deb, thanks for the ID and the website. Very much appreciated. Yes, the Orange-barred were already hooked up, but the female had been released only a moment earlier. Could just barely fly. Monarchs are the worst.

Rod

I'm the same way.. When I get deeply involved in a project it takes more than a hand to break my concentration. LOL!

What a good pic there of PVs Cat!
:-D

Wow! This thread has lasted a year! It is so neat to see all the LOVE photos! I just renewed my membership so I am back after a month or 2 away.

Ya'll are horndogs!!! What is wrong with you!!??!!


LOL Just Kidding. I got one too heehee

Cyna Blues :o)

Awwwww. LOL, I couldn't miss out on this thread for nothing. lol.

TPP, I am starting to worry about you.....hope the females got the jewelry first or at least a drink.........you could have at least put a black out bar over their faces! LOL

Ha ha!!! Too funny!!! Not my fault they are doing it in plain sight :o) Have camera...will travel!!!

~ Cat

I followed a pair of Cabbage Whites for about 20 minutes...I gave them no privacy whatsoever...LOL
Here's a series of pics...

and another...

They tried to blend in/hide here...

Then to a romantic setting...

I call this their high wire act/position...don't try this at home...LOL

Here is a pair of Common Grass Blues - Zizinia labradus from Australia, mating

Great shots!

Spotted a mating pair of Reakirts Blues today :o)

~ Cat

I was watering with the hose earlier and only noticed these because the water sprayed them when I didn't realize they were there....then they moved. But they didn't cease and desist, so I got the camera and took this.

Linda,
What kind of Fabacea are they sitting on? ( I have a couple of plants like it, without a bloom it's hard for me to tell what they are.)

They're on a Fairy Duster, Calliandra eriophylla. It has blooms now, but guess none of those were in the pic. Here's an old pic with a few blooms.

That is so pretty! I think mine might be partridge pea, but like I said, I haven't seen the blooms yet.