Just thought I would share a picture of a flying flower that graced my greenhouse today. I really enjoy watching the butterflies and this Swallowtail had a blast going from hibiscus to kalanchoe and back again.
Dee
Flying Flowers
Cute pic of your friendly swallowtail. My swallowtails ignored my hibiscus. Yours must have some good nectar! Thanks for posting! And show us some more please!
Dee,
Actually I believe that's a Pipevine Swallowtail....beautiful picture! If you have any more pics I'd love to see them. I love your Hibiscus too!!
See what you think after checking this:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/gallery?f=14&_st=1
Deb
Thanks folks. Glad you enjoyed it. I will post some more soon.
Dee
Here is a picture of the snoutnose butterfly that Texas has been invaded with three times this year. This is in the back of my greenhouse. There are probably a thousand or more of these.
Dee
Good shot, Dee. They can really stick their head on there. lol
Andy P
Here is a close up of the dragon tree with the butterflies resting for the night. It is just amazing to see so many.
Dee
Tabasco
I just saw that you live in Cincinnati. My daughter moved there last May and works over the bridge in Kentucky at Citi Corp. We helped her move. Cincinnati is a pretty big city. Whew!!
Dee
Absolutly enchanting Dee!
Wow!
Deb
Wow, Dee, there's so many, I haven't noticed them here.
That's really awesome! What is the host plant for the snout nose butterflies?
The Hackbeery tree is the usual host. We have so many that grow wild here. They are considered invasive. I have 11 acres and right behind the greenhouse is several big ones. I think I might need to remove them and put in an oak or two.
Dee
Wow!!
I had some more flying flowers today and couldn't resist this yellow on yellow. She wouldn't open her wings for me to see her markings but I am pretty sure it is a sulphur female Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe).
Oh Deeeeeee,
That's just the livin' end girl! Yellow!! Yes! Beautiful!!! I am stunned!
It's a Male Large Orange Sulpher:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1442
Here is what it looks like with the wings open:
http://nitro.biosci.arizona.edu/zeeb/butterflies/figs/Butterflies/Pieridae/Coliadinae/P_agarithe.jpg
What a great place you have there Dee!
Deb
Dee - Love those Sulpher butterflies! I'm adding cassia to my yard now and I hope I get more of those yellow beauties in my yard next Spring or maybe even now (though I doubt it)! Lovely photos! :-)
Thanks for the info Deb. I am still new to the identifying of butterflies. The book I use only covers a few of each species. I need to find something better. Do you have any suggestions? I will continue to get more pictures, I sure love sharing them with all of you.
Dee
Well Dee,
The link there for North American BF works pretty well, http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org -though the pics aren't near as good as yours and mine, they work. Then I do get carried away in research even after identifying. I like to substantiate even info from them through numerous searches.
Deb
I got this pic this summer.
Dawn
one more
Beautiful pics Dawn! That is a very large BF actually!
Dee~ Another site people here at DG like to use is http://bugguide.net/node/view/1 .. pretty good lil site!
Deb
pdoyle23323 - Love your photos of the Sulpher butterflies! How cool is that?!!!
This message was edited Nov 2, 2006 1:43 PM
another one
I SO wished i was on the other side of the screen when I saw this one. First time I ever saw one like this. Does anyone know the name?
Dawn
Well suppose I was holding out.. going through some pics I found one...unfortunatly the camera focussed more on the Oxalis than the BF... but I got the shot b4 it flew away..:o)
A bit harder to ID because the pic isn't super clear, but I'm thinkin it is a Cloudless Sulpher.. definatly a female.
Deb
ok, one more
Red Spotted Purple Dawn!! Beautiful!!
edited to say > And.. Tiger Swallowtail Again!! Beautiful shots Dawn!!
Deb
This message was edited Nov 2, 2006 1:08 PM
Deb, that is pretty with the BF in the background. The color of the Oxalis is pretty
Red Spotted Purple?!? There isn't a sopt of purple on it. Imagine that
hehe it seems so, yet thats what it is... I think its also called a White Admiral... lol funny again huh?
http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=red+spotted+purple&search=Search
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1785
Deb
This message was edited Nov 2, 2006 1:13 PM
You ever wonder what the person was doing or what was going on when a they "discovered" something and gave it a name?
Definatly yes Dawn!
Two of my favorite things to do to understand this world: etomology, and entomology...
Also if ya investigate the RSP BF it is facinating to see how they are began as a itty bitty egg, and though they look like a chrysalis making BF, theirs is more similar to how a moth morphs.. By spinning silk on a leaf and rolling themselves up inside like a lil waterproof sleeping bag. Maybe one of you will find one next Spring in the leaves of Cherry or Poplar etc. (more) and take a picture for all of us to see it.
"Limenitis arthemis astyanax ~~Although most of North Carolina’s common butterflies overwinter as pupae, a few pass the cold months as caterpillars. Among the easiest to locate are larvae of red-spotted purple butterflies. Black cherry trees are the primary host plants for these caterpillars in the Southeast. The fall generation of caterpillars eats cherry leaf tips on either side of the midveins. Using silk, they then curl the leaf base into a little tube and attach it to the twig with silk reinforcement. This tiny caterpillar “sleeping bag” is called a hibernaculum and provides larvae a cozy home until new leaves emerge as food in spring. " FROM: http://www.naturalsciences.org/funstuff/notebook/inverts/redspottedpurple_h.html
Check it out, it is a study binge once ya get started...I love these flying flowers!! Great thread Dee!!
Tobasco shared a pic she took, and I made a lil clipart out of it: http://www.theletteroflove.com/wallpaper/wp-content/photos/redspotpurcut.jpg
and a lil Sulpher:
http://www.theletteroflove.com/wallpaper/wp-content/photos/sulphercut.jpg
more> http://www.theletteroflove.com/wallpaper/
I have got to get me a good book on this and this and this and this. I already have a dragonfly book and a bird book. This year (since Dave's) I have paid more attention to what I plant to attract BF's and hummingbirds. I was surprised at the ones that I had seen that I never noticed before. I have to get me a book on BF's now. AND I have paid more attention to the eggs I see on things. What I eggs I find could be something good. Gotta get me a book on that too!
Can you believe ALL the different kinds of butterflies here just in the U.S.? They are just amazing in color and life cycle.
Some great website -Deb! Thanks for posting all of them. I have to ask you .... did you create the "letteroflove" website? It's very nicely done! If so, what made you decide to do such a website?
pdoyle - You might do what I do ... check out books from the library first to see which ones I really find useful and then I buy them at a discount on amazon.com or wherever I can get them cheaper! :-) You posted some photos of butterflies I've never seen where I live. What is the "yellow" flower that the sulpher is on? Beautiful! I didn't know that the Scarlet hibiscus attracted butterflies. Interesting! I just got my first scarlet hibiscus this year (to attract hummers) and I'm glad to see that it is also used by the butterflies!
Becky~ Thank ya! Great advice for Dawn too! I should probably dmail you about it so as not to bog up darlin Dee's lovely thread.
:oDeb
Becky, that flower is a day lilly. I could not tell you the name but it is a stunner. My MIL's neighbor has them and she offered me some last year (before I got into DL's) so now I have to go over there and beg for some. I didn't know that was called scarlett hibiscus either. We call it swamp mallow here.
Dawn
I call it Texas Star, it is a Native plant here :o)...Beautiful!
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/528940/
Deb