Daily Pics of Butterflies Pg2, 4-28-07

I'm so glad you told me about the wasps. Now I have another reason to go after them. You see, I had a huge mess of invasive plants in the backyard that I turned into my bromeliad garden. I left a huge palmetto there, and apparently it had wasp nests all in it. One day I was tying a billbergia to the palmetto trunk and I guess I disturbed thier nest because one of them got me. I had a red spot that hurt for two weeks! Since then I make sure I have a constant supply of wasp killer (just bought some yesterday, in fact). My Dad's shed out back also has a few nests on it. And for some reason. they like my bedroom window. I'll have to be extra vigilant.

Speaking of cages, when I was at Selby Gardens in Sarasota (bromeliad show and sale) I was wandering around and saw that they were raising caterpillars in a display cage. Check it out!

Here's a closeup of the monarch cat. They had the plants labeled and the a picture guide to the cats which I thought was nice.

That's neat Millie,
I like the cage a lot. I need a cage similar to that with compartments for different species and stages. See the little broom and dustpan there. They use that to scoop the frass. (Figuring it is good for a mix of organic fertilizers.) Plus it is imeritive to keep the cages clean, and pesticides far from the organic garden too. I need to get a big butterfly net to catch the wasps. They patrol one at a time for the nest, like scouts. If they fail to come back they might get a clue, to avoid my area. I'm thinking again, lol!!
I was deadheading my Moonvine a couple years ago and forgot about the wasp nest there. Right at eye level!! Needless to say they all rushed my face at once, but I only received one bite, under my left eye. Oh yea that hurt!, I relate bigtime, and it took a week for the swelling to go down.

Got a few good shots in today before the rain. I will share a couple here. This is Cabbage White>


This message was edited May 1, 2007 12:39 AM

Here is one of 2 BST cats. They are in their third instar. Enough to make a whole butterfly, just a tiny one.

Another Gulf Fritillary..

I'll post more tomorrow. Getting up early to rescue some cats....Have to be a early bird to save the cats.

:oDeb

Deb,
I've been reading your posts with much interest and am learning a lot from you. My butterfly/hummingbird courtyard garden is coming along nicely and am seeing several different types of butterflies. Haven't taken the time to look them up and identify them yet but hope to become much for knowledgeable as the summer progresses. They haven't found the butterfly brew yet but I'm sure they will. They do like the tree lantanas!

I'm interested in 'saving cats' and plan to make some type of cage for them. Other than providing host plants (inside the cage), do you have any advice? Do you keep your cage indoors or outdoors? Can't wait to go to the Butterfly Festival on Mt. Magazine next month. There should be lots of good info/supplies/books, etc.

http://www.butterflyfestival.com/

Debra

Thank you Debra!
I'm very impressed with your beautiful courtyard too! If your like me you've been planning way (years) longer than the groundbreaking. So it makes me very thankful for faith and time working together. It has been a revolutionary process.
I appreciate you watching and sharing along with me:-)

To answer your questions...In Spring and Summer I'd rather leave the chrysalids in the gh in containers I can hang them in. This way they are exposed to elements as naturally as possible. I so need to build one, but for now I have a mesh zipper hamper for live cats, and working on new ideas as I go to build one with compartments. Peggy posted a great one in her thread yesterday that is a great model.
Then there is the thread TPP (Cat) posted last year with tons of great cat cage ideas you can re-live with us.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/643281/

Going to the butterfly fest will be fantastic, be sure to share that!

Here is a pic of them this morning in the gh after hours of rain last night. There are 4 GFrits in the small one, and 1 BST just went into his and I need to hang him in the small cage with the frits. The little bag on top is a chrysalis from last October that hasn't eclosed from hibernation yet.

I don't have a greenhouse. Maybe the garage? Thanks for sharing the photos and thread link. Going there now....

Deb, this thread has been an outstanding learning tool for a newbie like myself. It would also be helpful if the description of the butterfly were to include an ID of what plant the butterfly is nectering from or oviposting on. Some of the plants I know, but some are a mystery to me. Your thread is a wonderful way for me to investigate what plants to put in my yard, and what butterflies to specifically look for.

Thanks again for starting and continuing this thread. It has improved my knowledge considerably. You should be *very* proud of your yard!

Carla

Thank you Carla,
Anytime I can help ya with anything, or make something clearer, just ask or dmail me. There are great resources online, and with this Community here, we are all learning so much from the research it requires! This interactive is an excellent classroom, even more when people chime in and get involved.
After lunch I went out and 2 of the 4 Gulf Frit chrysalids had eclosed, so I released them as they were ready to fly. One came back about 15 minutes later laying eggs all over the Passionvine to begin another generation, lol. Right after that I noticed another one eclosing and hanging to dry, hidden down on the lattice behind the P. incense. A total of 3 Frits flew out of here today, they will most likely be back tomorrow.
Then, the BST that I said was still in hibernation since October began moving around, plumping up and turning darker.. I hung him in the little container with the 2 remaining GFrit chrysalids. By tomorrow we will have another Black ST butterfly. Meanwhile I set up a cage for the 2 BST cats into their 3rd instars.
Finally Ben found a green cat about 1" long crawling on the ground. At first I thought it could be a Hackberry Emperor.. I will look again in the morning to be sure.
It's getting busy around here now, I hope I can keep up with these prolific little rascals!

:oD Thx again!!
Deb
Here are the two frits that eclosed in the small container they were hung in last week>

Here is the one I missed, which was obviously alright not being caged, but he had found a better place to pupate. Even I couldn't locate him on regular patrols of the lattice.

Good job little frit!! Ya did it all by yourself, and avoided all the perils without me, LOL!

Congrats on repopulating the your little neck of the woods with more butteflies! That's so cool, Deb!!!! :-) :-) :-)

Wy thanks Becky! I wonder if the BST has eclosed.. Even so it would need to wait til tomorrow to be released.
I believe I saw a tiny CabWhite cat on the Nasturtiums today too..
Will go out and check in the morning.

Nothing like a brand new pair of bright red-orange wings... This one might be a male, all he wants is the nectar out of one of the blooms.. Can ya tell by the dots Becky?

Got another new face in the garden now...and what a beauty! I like the way this little thing twirls around the center of the flowers like a balerina.

Checkered Skipper

Also the first American Lady of this year...yesterday....

I got a Wild Cherry tree too.. Don't know where I'm going to put it yet, but it's 4' tall and has lots of beautiful soft leaves. I hope to see RSP or TST cats, we shall see!

I've been lurking here for a few months now, gathering information and enjoying all of the pictures. I'm also in the process of getting my butterfly nectar and host gardens together, so soon, hopefully, we'll have some great guests.

I did want to show this picture that we took last year. It's not the best of pictures, but it's a hummingbird moth resting in my daughter's hand. That was her mission last year -- to hold one. Anyway, here it is....

Deb - As always, your pictures are stunning! We so enjoy seeing them!!!

Felicia - Welcome! That is such a cute photo of your daughter holding a hummingbird moth! How did she ever get one to sit in her hand like that? They don't even stop long enough for me to get a blurless photo! LOL How wonderful to have another DGer here growing a Butterfly garden!

Thanks for the welcome, Becky!
Actually, I think Cori (my daughter) wore the poor thing out. She followed him all over, and I think he simply gave in. :) Maybe she won't have to try so hard this year!!

Oh, I cannot believe I missed this picture!!! Here's a better one.... She definitely has the "touch." :)

Felicia - LOL! That Cori wore him down to get him to land in her hand. Too funny!!! Only the energy of a child could do that. Not ME!!! LOL!

(BTW - I have a son named Cory. lol) Your garden from last year looks great just from the small amount shown in the photos! You'll have to show us more!!!

Awe Felicia what an awesome capture! Like beck said, they are way too fast for me to even snap a pic, let alone hold. How old is Cori? She seems a lot like my Ben, he's 8. He studies wildlife really hard, and loves all the creatures. I am so pleased with getting him involved early on in a real working garden. Conversing with the gang here has made a big difference in what I can do and share with him. Your Cori sounds like real people to me!! Keep her! lol

Earlier today we were out back and one particular Red Admiral took a shine to him. He held his hand out and it was if the RA could see that Ben wanted it to land on his hand, and the little guy was playing so sweet with him.. very cooperative :-)
I did see a new one today too, it was a ...

Funereal Duskywing

Thanks Becky & Deb!!
Cori will be 10 (GASP) in August. And, it does sound like Cori and Ben are a lot alike, Deb. Cori is very much a "nature" girl and tells me facts about animals, insects, that I didn't know before. The cutest thing though, is that in the summer, she and her two friends from down the street, sit in the back yard and bird watch, and try to come up with ways to get the birds to land on their hands -- they'll do this for hours. I guess I'll keep her for a while -- well, until she goes to college to become a vet. :)

Becky, I just started the butterfly gardens last week. :( In the back of my yard the host plants I have are: Dill, Bronze Fennel, Passionvine Incarnata and incense, and I've got quite a few milkweed seedlings. I should pick up some parsley this weekend. Hopefully, that's a good start.

I just had a friend build a raised bed for the nectar plants (8' x 8'). I've just planted coral bells, lantana, two cross vines (Tangerine Beauty & Shalimar Red), blanket flower, red hot poker, mealy cup sage, navajo pink salvia, hollyhocks, and if my butterfly bushes don't come back to life soon, I have to buy a few of those (I didn't quite get around to planting them last year). Once everything gets going, I'll defintely take pictures and post them.

Again, thanks much for the welcome, and this should be a really fun summer here!

Hi Lily!
Sounds like you have a lot of super plants in your selection. You've done your homework. Nice to have you aboard!!
What a blessing Cori is, tending to the wee creatures. I wonder who instilled that in her.......humm...LOL!

:-D

Yesterday we had lots of BFs, and Ben was getting them to land on him.. Here is a not so good pic of a Red Admiral on his shoulder. He picked up a piece of bark and held it out and the RA kept landing on it. He will probably be spending a lot of time out back this summer connecting with the wildlife that comes.
You've heard of a flea circus, well..I think we have a butterfly circus here, LOL!

Oh Deb! What a cute photo of Ben and his new little friend! Love it when kids and nature bond! :-)

Too sweet, Deb!!
I completely agree, Becky. It's great to watch the kids enjoy nature, be able to identify butterflies, plants, etc. Now, if Cori would just enjoy digging, I'll be all set!! ;)

Thanks y'all! That makes 3 of us lol!

:-D

Deb-
Your Butterfly garden must be amazing! You're so lucky to have attracted so many species! Good for you!! I notice in alot of your recent pic's the Butterflies are on a yellow flower. Can you tell me what it is?!

Thanks!

~Adrienne

Looked like coreopsis to me. Am I right? Do I win a prize, lol?

Thx Adrienne!
I figured people would be asking, so I put the information at the bottom of this page:
http://www.theletteroflove.com/wallpaper/

Have to let some buds go to seed and when I get them and germinate some to make sure they're good, I can share..

:-D

Deb!
Thank you so much for the link! Great info. I wonder if that flower will grow here...gonna try!
Itty is so cute! That baby looks so happy just letting the day pass by while lyin' in the clover! :)

~Adrienne

Today I found these caterpillars. I think they are baby zebra longwings.

This message was edited May 5, 2007 5:56 PM

Here is a close-up.

Hard to tell what they are yet, but this link on DG bugfile shows how Zebra Longwing cats look as they are into later instar stages.
http://davesgarden.com/bf/showimage/678/

Good guess Millie, lol!
This is the (mouse eared) Coreopsis... a brand new GFrits that we released a couple days ago. It is very similar, I agree. I got the daisies at a DG swap last fall. I thought they were Shasta Daisies until they bloomed.... imagine how delighted I was to find out what they actually were.


;-s

Snuzer29- they do look like the Zeb's that I usually get.

~Adrienne

Ah snuzer!! Lucky you!
Says I should get them here too on the BF&MofNA site:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1670&chosen_state=48*Texas

Maybe if I can cover the back fence with different PV they are bound to get here someday, LOL! It is growing very fast and bushy even with all the frits.

Check this out from that page:

Hum.. what kind of PV do you have there snuzer? (Maybe I need another cultivar to get the zebra h.)

Oh snuzer...you lucky dog!!!! They look like little donuts with icing on them! I wish I would see some here!

Deb, love the Duskywing and Ben's so cute!

Great stories about all the kiddos loving the bfs and moths!