Hi y'all!
Just had to share a humorous story with you. I had the family (both grandmas and my oldest son) visiting today. My daughter was in a Christmas performance at her high school which we all went to see and then everyone came over to eat dinner.
As my daughter and I were cleaning up the dishes, something flew between us. I knew right away what it was because it was yellow. I had the two sulphur chrysalis hanging from the cage and one fell down. So I laided it on a paper towel on the kitchen window sill to remind myself to somehow reattach it to a stick or something and put back into the cage. Much to my utter surprise it managed to emerge laying down on the paper towel on it's side. We didn't even see the butterfly sitting there drying on the window sill, until it flew past us. It was flying all over the house. My daughter and I were trying our best to catch it before it got hurt or the cat got it. Finally I managed to cup my hands around it and put it back into the cage. It is evening, so I'll release it in the morning.
I may try to get a photo of it before I release it. It is not solid yellow, but has a little bit of a what looks like a brown design on it's wings. It sure is cute ..... and fast!
This message was edited Dec 10, 2006 8:02 PM
Sulphur butterfly episode ....
So why didn't you just scoop it up in one of your red cups ?
Great story!!! Loved it!!!
Something similar happened to me...but I had opened the reptarium to photograph two pluto sphinx moths that had emerged. One got loose inside the house and I just couldn't find it. Had to head off to work so I figured I'd find it dead. Yet when I got home that night, I turned off all the lights but the living room one...within about fifteen minutes I saw it perched on a picture frame. Quickly caught it and put it outside!!!
Cat
oh yes Becky take a pic of the wings with the brown so we can ID it. Glad it is safely in the cage until mornig
LOL Becky! Been there, done that! And this reminds me...where did I put that chrysalis?!? Hmmm...if it's just an overwintering one, and not dead, I should have a BST loose somewhere in the house in a few months.
hahaah y'all..... becky what a cool story!!
What a funny story!
I've had them squeeze through the tiny gap between the bf cage door and the side, it's a 1/4" gap and they walk through it with their wings closed tight. And I'll see them on top of the cage looking all proud......well....it kind of looks like they are smiling. lol
Here's a pic of the little flying stinker that had me and my daughter chasing it all over the house! lol
The chrysalis of the one above was green. This is the other chrysalis which was just inches away from the emerged sulphur. This color is so different. They were the exact same type of cats. And they were not on anything different when they morphed.
I also read that the sulphurs eat the leaves in Spring/Summer and eat the yellow flowers in Fall. Which is why I found them on the flowers. Interesting.
mine did the same thing Becky. They are Cloudless Sulphurs
Very nice success Becky!! Thank you so much for sharing all your observations, I can't tell you how much they help me. Love you to bits Becky the noo!!!
Amazing how they eat the green and move on to the flowers for their winter stores of nutrition. Their host only begins blooming in late Summer anyway doesn't it? I see our Creators signature all over that! Great connection all the way around, and a perfect example of symbiosis. Man alive!!
I'm starting my Privit & Alatas real early next year.. hoping to see lots of yellow in my garden!
Deb - My Privet Cassia dropped all it's leaves. It had these bare branches with huge seed pods hanging on the ends. Well, leaves are growing out all over the little tree now. I thought it had died. Apparently not. I wonder how hardy they are in my zone?
Here's a photo of the Privet Cassia with new leaves.
Looks like it is pretty hardy there to me Becky!
It grows so fast that I can't believe it! When we had that cold snap a couple weeks ago, every leaf dropped off it. Which I was sweating, because I was afraid the seed pods wouldn't make it. But they did and I was able to harvest some seeds (which you know). Already the leaves are popping out on this tree again. Very rapid growing! I hope it attracts the sulphur butterflies and they lay eggs on it! It appears it would certainly recover pretty quickly if cats were eating it. :-)
Here's the other little sulphur that emerged today. They are sooooo cuuuuuttttteeee!!! Awwwww! LOL
I'm so glad that I have the yellow butterflies in my yard. Can ya tell I like yellow???!!! LOL
My garden flower colors are mainly purple, red, and yellow! :-)
And ..... yessssss, BB, the red cups are ONLY for the hummers!!! LOL
Oops! Forgot to add the photo! DRAT!
oh great shot Becky
Ta Da!!! Look what I can do!
I with you on the yellow Beckamatic! I used to think yellow was such a common garden color, now I know why I love yellow so much..:-).
It accents all the PURPLE!!, lol. Purple and yellow are opposite on the color wheel..(ie. blue-orange, red-green) Compliment in contrast.
Still packing up your seeds too Donna.. it's taking longer I know. Hope you will find it worth the wait. Anything extra, just pack and send to someone who needs them...I just wanted to include as much as possible in line with your criteria. Trying not to put anything orange in there, and some things will arrive this week that I wanted to share with you also.
This message was edited Dec 12, 2006 2:10 PM
cool beans Becky. Orange is fine I just don't need any orange cosmos or orange mariglods
This message was edited Dec 12, 2006 2:36 PM
I was going through the photos on my digital camera and forgot I took one of the second little yellow sulphur as I tried to release it. I was standing just in the doorway of my screened porch (in my PJs) trying to get it to fly off my finger to freedom. Dumb butterfly flew right onto my PJs and then when I tried to remove it, it flew into the screened porch area. What's with those crazy yellow butterflies??? Second one I've had to chase around to release! Oh brother! (sigh)
another great shot Becky
This was interesting. I kept seeing this Sulphur flying into one of my shrubs. (Copper leaf shrub, I believe.) It just kept flying in and out of this bush. Finally it stopped flying around and landed. I guess it was looking for a place it could roost in. A place where it would chamo so it wouldn't be seen by a predator. Smart butterfly! I would never have spotted it if I hadn't seen it flying in and out of the bush ..... it blended in so well.
Thanks, Donna! Glad you enjoyed it! :-) :-)