Had a Black Swallowtail (male) emerge today. A handsome fellow indeed!!! There are still numerous cats of various sizes on my rue plants and I also saw a couple of new eggs. Saw a female flitting around my yard on Monday so am thinking she left the little golden presents :o)
Here's the male.
~ Cat
..and another before I left him perched on the duranta blooms as well.
~ Cat
He is a beauty!
He's beautiful Cat!!
I caught this one laying eggs like crazy on the Parsley Monday..
Deb
Good shot Deb!!! That female's wing have seen better days. Great to know there'll be more little ones coming soon!!!
~ Cat
Butterfly identification... another thing for the list...
Great shots!
brigidlily! I usually check the site for Butterflies of North America first.. They have added a lot of new photos there, and there are several ways to search. I bought 2 bird books last year, and my son Ben, got the National Geographic one for Christmas... Now I need a few good Butterfly books, but this site really works well in a pinch.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/gallery
Cat~ I got a Pawpaw, and it is a longshot, I know.... But maybe in a year or 2 I will see some ZSTs. I said this to say that I bought a metal butterfly from Walgreen's and it really bugged me...It was painted all kinds of pastel colors, and most of all not anatomically correct!!!! tsk tsk! The shape was closest to a ZST, though not perfect, (a-hem).
So I printed a good pic from the BFNA site and painted the dern thang... Now it hangs over the Pawpaw, and no longer buggs me.. ROFL!
Now back to the Black Swallowtails, hehe! Yes we got em! And plenty of Parsley.. Here it seems to be what they like best of all the host plants, even though I have Queen Anne's Lace, Fennel (bronze & green), and Rue. I wonder if it is a regional thing as to which of the many plants they use. They sometimes travel, but usually wind up back on the Parsley here.
Deb
There has been a female visiting my yard, too. The first year they preferred parsley, the second year they really went after my dill. I have Dill, Fennel, Queen Anne's Lace, and Parsley growing currently. I'm interested to see what they go after this year! :-)
Deb...LOVE IT!!!
When I first saw that photo as a thumbnail I thought...dang...how'd she get ZSTs in her yard?! (cleaning glasses and rubbing eyes) You did a wonderful paint job on that one!!!
Which reminds me I have two plastic ones from the dollar store that were hideous colors. I spray painted them black and hung them on a fence...but haven't gotten around to painting them to resemble real butterflies. Okay, another project for my "To-Do" list :o)
I have a Paw Paw too...it's barely 2 inches tall :o) Guess I'll have to wait more than a year or two!!! And you just never know...I am a firm believer of "If You Plant It - They Will Come" - of course, gotta be in the right area...no sense waiting for one to show up in Alaska :o)
I have some odd plants that I'm hoping will bring butterflies into my yard:
Green Shrimp Plant (malachites), Coontie (atala hairstreak), Fig/Mulberry (daggerwings), Cestrum Parqui (clearwing), PawPaw (zebra st), Guava (guava skipper) and Aristolochia Elegans (polydamas st). Have the usual for the more common butterflies as well...but I am hoping those rarer butterflies will find their way here.
So far the Guava is working :o) Am hoping the green shrimp plant, fig/mulberry trees and a. elegans will show results in the fall season. Am thinking the coontie, cestrum and pawpaw are a long shot...but I can still dream!!! :o)
I did some research on this website
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/projects/hostplants/
Put in the scientific names of the butterflies that I want to attract that might stray over and I've been on a quest to obtain plants to entice them.
~ Cat
This message was edited Apr 4, 2007 3:09 PM
Oh WOW, Deb! Your painted ZST looks AWESOME! What a lovely addition to your butterfly garden!
Thanks Cat . and Becky,,
Your words were echoing in my head as I was painting it...."...Put a bit of whimsey in your garden." That's really funny since I've never actually heard you before, Rofl!
I got a cool little set of outdoor paints at WM..It has 16 colors, but for this one I only needed 3 of them..
Look out cheap-fake-butterfly-yard-art, I am armed and on a roll, hahaha!
Deb
That looks really good Deb! Sometimes Walgreens has the neatest stuff.
Thx Rox!~
For some reason, I have decided i want pretty butterflies, too.....I saw your planting list, Cat......someone tell me what to plant for a beginning and i will.
So far, I have put out 9 Mexican flame vines, Lobelia cardinal flower, Kangaroo Paws, lots of red salvias, orange and red lantana......can you add to this beginner's list? I also like to grow for hummingbirds...
gail
Betty~
You have a great nectar selection there!! If you are looking to host the caterpillars too, you could get several
1)Parsley plants which will bring Black Swallowtails really quick..That's a sure thing to start with. I was happy for many years only hosting this BST species alone.
2)Milkweed (Asclepias)for Queens and Monarchs should be available at any garden store there too, either A. tuberosa, A. incarnata, or tropical which is A. curassavica.
3)Passionvine is always a welcome mat for Gulf Fritillaries, just prepare to have a lot, (it grows very fast, especialy in your zone. Make sure it is a larval host such as: cuerela, incense, or incarnata. Some passionvines are merely ornamental, and when eggs are laid on them the cats do not complete their cycle to adult. (They get so big and then die.)
These would be a good start, and then as you go you might add more new hosts as you see what comes to nectar in your yard.
Cat please add your reccommendations also>
Deb
Here is a great website that lists butterflies and moths by state and county. Just click on any of the butterfly/moth names and you will get detailed info including host plants for that species.
This is the site for the state of Texas:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?x=141&y=184&_fc=1
Thanks Deb.....I forgot that i did buy 5 of the Asclepias curassavica and haven't put them in the ground yet...I am positive I can hurry and get parsley plants in the ground...good list and appreciated...
Thanks for the site beckygardener, but you don't understand that i don't even know the name of a butterfly...just want them to come around and 'hang out' here. (LOL)
Excellent, as usual Becky! LOL I have been perusing from the main site all this time.....duh :-/. (I forgot it narrows down to counties.)
wtg!
betty - If you use that site by county, you can find out what butterflies frequent your area. And if you use this site to make a list of the host and nectar plants, that will help you decide what future plants to add to your garden. :-)
Here you are Betty this zeros in on your county, thanks to Becky, lol!
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?dc=5882&_dcc=1&si=44
Deb
gee, what nice people!!!!! thanks
gail
awesome site....I bookmarked it!!!! have to pass on to my family around here...
This message was edited Apr 4, 2007 8:55 PM
That's a great link...I've never seen that before...thanks Becky and Deb!!!
Betty,
You're in a great location for butterflies.
That butterflies and moths website Becky listed is excellent. It used to be managed by the US Geological Survey then it changed to butterfliesandmoths.org. I frequent it as well.
Another good site is Dale Clark's Butterflies of Dallas site:
http://www.dallasbutterflies.com
This one has a link for Butterfly Gardening on the left side of the page...just click on that and you can search by host plants listed by butterfly, host plants listed by common plant name, host plants listed by botantical plant name and nectar plants listed by botanical name.
There is also a link for caterpillars on the left side of the page too. Some really excellent caterpillar photos there!!!
Another good idea is to visit your city's local butterfly gardens. Look at the nectaring plants there...get an idea of what size they'll get and how well butterflies are attracted to them.
I don't have a large variety of nectaring plants in my yard. I've stuck to mass amounts of firebush (hedges of that on both sides of my driveway) and duranta (several growing in the back yard along the fence). Other than that I have a few salvias, cannas, hibiscus, cape honeysuckles, lantanas etc.)
The duranta is my best butterfly magnet. I enjoy sitting out in the backyard and just watching those bushes. The butterflies are concentrated on those bushes. No need for me to be walking all around the house checking every plant.
Now I do have lots of larval hosts!!! Butterflies come to nectar on the duranta and find their way to the larval host plants to lay eggs. I plant the larval hosts close together. Seems easier for a butterfly to find what it needs if there is a nice big clump of it growing together or I'll plant four or five in a large pot - as opposed a butterfly trying to find a single plant. I move the pots of larval host plants close to the duranta whenever I see a butterfly of interest. Once they get a whiff of it or lay a few eggs on it I can then move it back to where I had it. The butterfly "knows" or can sense the plant is near by and will find it again :o)
~ Cat
I forgot that I have cape honeysuckle, too....thanks for your lengthy help....I will go to that site....Durantas grow beautifully down here....just haven't planted any yet (first year in this house and zone)....I also have lots of cannas in the ground and more coming plus I do have lots of hisbiscus....coming along slowly...thanks again so much for both of the sites given...
gail
Gail,
Do you get Brazilian Skippers on your cannas? They really chew the leaves on mine. I did get them for the butterflies...bad thing is I have a large clump growing at the end of my driveway on each side. Am sure my neighbors think I'm crazy for letting them get so chewed up :o)
This is a Brazilian Skipper.
~ Cat
Cat - That's an amazing shot of the Brazilian Skipper!!!! They look very similar to the skippers I get in my yard. I wonder if that's what they are? I wonder if they can be found in Florida?
Looks like they are all over Southern FL peninsula, Beck>>
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=2169
More Black Swallowtail antics... She deposited over a half to a dozen eggs on the Parsley, and one on the Bronze Fennel... The Parsley is so huge and bushy that I haven't really seen the cats yet.. This is good, bc the birds probably don't see them either...:-)
Deb
I tried Parsley last year and they didn't go for it...same for fennel. Picky buggers. They always come back to the rue...which is a good thing as it is always sold down here at the local flea markets.
This female emerged yesterday while I was at work - by the time I got home it was dark and there was a cool nip in the air. I brought her inside and released her this morning. She's a lovely lady! I like it when they turn out to be females - hopefully she'll stick around the yard and if she does fly off to find a mate she'll also find her way back here to lay eggs.
Don't know why I want more eggs...there are gobs of little cats of all stages on the rue plants already!!!
~ Cat
..and another of the side view
~ Cat
She's beautiful!
They are such beautiful butterflies! I'm seeing a female around my parsley, but haven't seen any eggs or cats yet. Which is fine as I only have the one small parsley growing at this time. I have dill, fennel, and more parsley seed sprouts coming up.
Great photos, Cat!
What a vision Cat!!
Had another male emerge today. It's 46 degrees outside. That butterfly is nuts but I guess you can't stop Mother Nature. I put him on plants inside a small greenhouse and left the flap open in case he decides to fly the coop.
~ Cat
a big thanks for all your knowledge TPP!!!
gail
Arggggg...42 outside....now a Checkered White emerged! I decided to bring the reptarium inside as it is warmer. Cut a few racemes from my duranta bushes. Not sure they'll nectar from them...but I'd be crazy to turn them out in this weather. They seem to know the weather is disagreeable and are tucked into the corners of the reptarium.
The poor little Checkered was so cold. The daylight is there but just no sunlight coming through the clouds.
~ Cat
This message was edited Apr 8, 2007 1:20 PM
I am planting all kinds of cannas this year....I will watch and see ......I had some last summer but didn't look as "I wasn't into butterflies" at the time.
