Great info Cat~
Yeah, I didn't take any in until last year. I only entertained the bf in the yard and studied them. After finding out all about some of them we learned that to have the butterflies hang around, (like all day)... larval hosts would be called for. After that you go out and watch, keeping track..and when some start dissappearing, ya want to place some in a safer place. None of this happened to any of us overnight, but once you look that far deep you can't help being hooked. I have learned so much about life from these morphers. Each species has a story, and some are very compelling!
Do you have Passionvine Lucy? Several cultivars are host for Gulf Fritillaries, then for Zebra Longwing a different cultivar is used for host, but it is a Passionvine. The Gulf Fritillary has an awesome story. I explain it on a journal somewhere, but this year I have learned so much more it is amazing! Some of it I had read before, and some I have never read anywhere before. I haven't added those yet. Time for a revision already!!
Not to mention the good company when your out gardening..Butterflies are cool people, lol! It makes you feel like nature is less afraid of you, that you are welcome and necessary in their world. Something everyone can benifit from by being even slightly exposed, especially children. It has become an major occupation for me, (an obsession even). LOL! No one has complained around here, what with all the more enchanting activity going on... and me keeping so busy and out of trouble..haha!
Deb
Daily Butterflies (page3)
Thanks for all the good info. : )
You asked if I have a passion vine. I have a huge one, but it is not a food source as far as I can tell. (picture below)
Most of the activity here is on the 2 different cassias, the lantanas and milkweeds.
I just started putting in a few herbs, but planning on getting some more.
I'm kinda starting over with alot of my plants, those 3 hurricanes, a few years ago, crisscrossed right over me, and alot of stuff was buried under huge trees, including my house. The heavy constuction equipment got alot, also.
Anyway, things are getting back on track. : )
I really love all the birds and butterflies. They are so interesting to watch. : )
~Lucy
Great info Cat~
Yeah, I didn't take any in until last year. I only entertained the bf in the yard and studied them. After finding more about some of the other species learning to have the butterflies hang around, (like all day)... larval hosts would be called for them too. I lost cound now. I went out and watch, kept track..and when some started dissappearing, I saw they needed a safer place. None of this happened to any of us overnight, but once you look that deep you can't help being hooked. I have learned so much about life from these morphers. Each species has a story, and some are very compelling lessons!
The Gulf Fritillary and it's flower has an awesome story. I explain it on a journal somewhere, but this year I have learned so much more to add to that. It is flat out amazing! Some of it I had read before, and some I have never read anywhere before. I haven't added those yet. Time for a revision in the logs already!! We share a whole lot of it here at DG HB&BF forum on the fly so everyone else can read about what has worked, and not worked in practice. Fabulous support here!
Not to mention the good company when your out gardening..Butterflies are cool people, lol! It makes you feel like nature is less afraid of you, that you are welcome and necessary in their world. Something everyone can benifit from by being even slightly exposed, especially children. It has become an major occupation for me, (an obsession even). LOL! No one has complained around here, what with all the more enchanting activity going on... and me keeping so busy and out of trouble..haha!
Do you have Passionvine Lucy? Several cultivars are host for Gulf Fritillaries, The top 3 I have used are: Passiflora caerulea, P. incarnata, and P. incense.. there are more. There are so many passifloras it is good to be sure before you spend a lot of money. Zebra Longwing oviposit on a different cultivar (Passiflora suberosa), is definatly one certified host (I learned from someone who has the suberosa..I think it was snuzer.)
The most vulnerable stage for Gfritillaries is the chrysalis stage. If you ever cut flowers and brought them inside to enjoy.. You can easily cut frit chrysalides and hang them in a box. They eclose and you let their wings dry ..they only need room and something their new legs can climb on if they happen to fall when opening. Birds will eat 98% of these, I've seen them. If you entertain in your back yard, it is an awesome thing to occasionally have some butterflies to release. there is no big mess when just saving chrysalides. That would make it a good starter butterfly anywhere around the Gulf, and southern Atlantic coasts.
I began with Black Swallowtails and as I went, I found the birds can find the chrysalides, but it is harder for me to. So it was best to take those in when the cats were visible on the parsley, fennel, dill, qal, or whatever carrot family plant they are eating. I was delighted to see a BST female a couple days ago laying eggs on the ground at my son's school. After the crowd was gone we went back to find it was a wild carrot family weedily growing in the grass all over. The downside is that they mow that grass regularly....yikes! I will have to check for them right before they mow to find small cats now, lol. To offer them parsley, etc. back here at my place. To keep them flying in the texas skies is the least I can do.
Every time I am out and see a butterfly, I am glad for being a little (2%) part of it in this town. The number Cat gave is correct. She is always scouting for stray cats, and has host plants at home for many different species! Becky released over 300 different butterflies, (correct me becky, I know it was more.) Karen and snuzer released a lot there in FL too. Still with the perils of the wild the numbers can only increase if we just offer a refuge and their larval host.
~rambling on Deb
Keep rambling, Deb. : )
Very interesting.
Deb, I don't have any Huisache planted as yet (this is the first year for my full-scale flowerbeds, so almost everything is new). I'm just proud that I even knew it might be a Huisache Daisy! :-) I'm a relative plant newbie. If we meet up at the October swap, I would love some seeds or seedlings.
Carla
Carla, I'm proud of you, too, and if you know how to pronounce it, I'll think you are a genius! I have never heard of it and now that I see it I have no idea how you'd pronounce it.
Suzy
No, I have no idea how to pronounce it, Suzy. :-) It's a fluke that I knew what it was. I guess the name, Huisache, just stuck in my poor feeble memory, for some reason.
Carla
Becky,
I don't have any huisache daisy in my yard...but will keep that in mind when I'm out at the ranch...that place is full of native brush and wild flowers. Ya'll are welcomed to drive down and scrounge around :o) I get some botantists from Austin that come down to look for native plants...and take some back with them to study in their labs.
Must save that photo for reference...since there is no interenet connection out there!!!
Cat
I cut some stems with spent flowers that have been spent a week or so. I took them apart nd it looks like the seeds are going to be good and there are lots of them. I want to germinate some and make sure. I put them in a baggie today. Shouldn't take long to see. I kept most on the plant just to be sure if I need to wait longer to harvest them.
Finally a friendly TST... and lingering on (guess what), for about an hour. It was very difficult to decide which photos to delete.
This fella was some kind of beautiful bfly!
This message was edited May 11, 2007 10:26 PM
That is one wonderful photo, Deb! Seriously!!!! I really love the look of the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly! One of my dream butterflies for my garden. Lucky you!!!! :-) I hope you get cats soon!
I hope your seeds germinate! Those are definitely flowers for a bf garden!!!!! :-)
If Huisache is a Spanish word it would be pronounced
"wee sau chay" with the stress on the last syllable (?). But that's just the Spanish pronunciation. It's prob. some variable of that. I'm up waaayyy too late tonight. lol
This message was edited May 11, 2007 11:00 PM
Yes! I bet that is it! Very cool, Anne.
Thanks,
Suzy
What a beautiful TST! Is it on the Huisache or Coreopsis? Are they similar looking?
Thanks Becky & Roxanne! He is on the H Daisy.. Maybe a female will come by now and use the Wild Black Cherry, (Prunus serotina) I have as a host. We shall see!
The GFrits seem to lite on the H. daisies less, but the Zinnias have just began to bloom and they like them l lot.
I wish I could plant Zinnias now, but they just get eaten up by red spider until about Sept, they truly are a bf magnet!
Great pic!
Smiles @ Rox! I threw these seeds for Red and a lot of White back in late Feb. They came up pretty quick. Think after all these years of trying I can finally get some. I am surprised you can't get them to grow for ya there~
This Pearl Crescent always goes for the lupine.. Not sure what it's doing there, just tasting with it's feet.. ?? They also like Hibiscus I've noticed.
Great picture! Maybe I'll try it again, with seeds.
I saw a really black butterfly today. I couldn't tell if he had any other colors or not, he was flying and zipping around too fast.
He flew across the yard and towards the road. I saw a car coming....and you should have seen me with my hands over my ears, and my teeth clinched. (Like I was gonna hear a big crash)
He lifted up just in time to clear the car.
I laughed at myself when it was over. I hope no one saw me. : )
Still nothing here :( I am sure I had loads of butterflies by this time last year. The only hting I can think of it when we had the 3 weeks of 70-80 degree weather in March and then a full week in the low 20s in April. I'm wondering if they got frozen outor something.
I did see a dog-eared butterfly at the garden center. It looked like a very small Painted Lady, but without the eye spots. I looked through all the butterflies of Indiana, but I didn't see an exact match for it. It must have been some sort of Vanessa, though, except it was very small.
I bought a dozen parsley plants...and 8 cabbage plants. Not that I want Cabbage Whites, but golly!, anything with wings would be welcome at this stage! BTW, I got 8 curly parsely and 4 Italian parsley because I wasn't sure which they'd prefer. :))
Suzy
There was a big party at the brew log today... First good dose of sunshine for several days too. Several species all at once.. Red Admiral, Mourning Cloak, Hackberry Emperors, and others, all around it.
:-)
Deb,
Tomorrow can you take a pic of the whole set up you have there? It looks like the log is just a little piece of branch (as opposed to a stomp or log) that is hanging from a post and secured with an eyebolt. I'd like to see the post and know how tall it is and get an idea of how far up in the air it is. I thought the log was supposed to be on the ground, so that's where I put mine. It weighed about 10,000 pounds. Yes, the ants are having a field day and my dog can smell *something*, he's just not sure what and where it is sinceit's off limits with the invisible fence.
Also in the picture it looks like you've hung a round piece of metal? A giant dog tag? Or is it a piece of round glass filled with water. Oh, or a hummingbird feeder and we can only see the top of it?
Thanks,
Suzy
Suzy, That sounds like some goodies! I never tried the Italian parsley, just the curley. That's the only one I used at first. Then I expanded to more, and Bronze Fennel comes in a close second. I have heard where they rather have Dill, Rue, qal or other hosts besides parsley, guess it depends where they came from and other factors. I am glad they use so many!
;0)
Yes, I have fennel, but it's so small I'm unsure whether it will grow enough to be useful. I am VERY glad you mentioned it though because when I planted it, and this was just a couple weeks ago, I just slipped it in willy nilly and just now read PF to learn it gets tall, very tall. Ooops, better move that one tomorrow! I have started so many htings form seed that I've never heard of and forget which ones need which conditions...and I have so many plants! I have just been putting them in anywhere just to get them planted!
My Queen Anne's lace comes and goes. Some years I have it and some years I don't. It comes up whereever it wants to and I leave it. Have you ever seen a carrot that wasn't harvested for the carrot root? It supposedly looks just like Queen Anne's Lace and will come back year after year....I do have some carrot seeds here and might try that to see if it's true. I also have dill seeds...I tried to wintersow it, but it didn't come up. I was surprised the garden center didn't have it.
My shopping list is down to passiflora and Rue now. Today's trip didn't yield either one, but hopefully this weekend I can run out and find those two things.
I found a gigantic sheperd's crook in somebody's trash last Sunday night and brought it home. It is very, very tall! If I hung a piece of tree limb on it, it would still be very high in th air. I need to figure out a way to make it shorter so I can reach to hang feeders and the like. I need to cogitate on it.
Suzy
If you don't have tree stumps...a small bait log works too. Here's a bunch of Tawny Emperors feastings.
~ Cat
This message was edited May 12, 2007 10:32 PM
...as well as a simple piece of fruit. These guys share very well.
~ Cat
Oh Cat! I was looking all over DG for that pic with the WPeacocks on the log!! Thanks for posting it! I was meaning to ask ya.
The log I have came from a tree that was cut down in back. The diameter is about same as the one Cat showed above and it is about 14" long. There was a cut groove in the log, so I placed it at the top to make a cradle to hold some brew in, besides painting it all over with it.
I figured hanging it would be better bc of ants.. I drilled a hole and put in a hook at an angle so it would hang down straight. I think I will make 2 more smaller ones, and hang the HB feeders somewhere away from the log.
Great find on the Shepherd's hook Suzy!! Yes see carrot family things all over. I am sure BSTs use it as they fly along. The Fennel is a rich plant, they seem to eat it rather slow. I had one plant about 12" with 6-7 frons on it, and bought a couple more when I saw them at a local Native Organic Nursery.
Also I bought some fruit wash in the produce section of the gro store. It is made of citrus and non toxic surfactants. If you buy the herbs at HD or commercial nursery it is good to wash and rinse them verrrrrrry thoroughly before offering them to BFs to oviposit on, bc they could have BT or things that could kill the cats. (Ignorant ppl think the cats on these herbs are pests!!!) They like to sell pretty uneaten plants.. duh~
(When we see it eaten, we say, oOO wonder what kind of flying pretty that will morph into, oOo LOL!)
BT= bacillus thuringiensis, aka Caterpillar killer
Here is the log set up Suzy.. I decided to move things around a bit.. I got a lone Shep. hook for the log.. I placed the hummer feeders away from it on the double hook I had been using.
Couple close ups on the log for today~
There was a lot of glare out there right before the quick thundershower..
My DD Jackie was out getting the Q marks, Red Admirals, and HBEmperors to land on her hand and feeding tiny sips of brew..
Emperor nectaring some pink cosmos!! Sweet?
Nice contrasting colors in that photo, Deb!
Do you ever get any enlarged and framed for the walls inside your home? Many of your photos are worth framing and hanging, ya know!
Great pics Deb!
No pics of bfs today, but one of a Darner (I think). It looks like he's scratching his back with one of his legs.
Saw this little guy on the blanket flowers (gaillardia) today. Think I know who he is, but I'd appreciate the experts' opinion.
Millie~Very pretty!! Nice soft brown..It is one of the spread winged skippers aka duskywings. I was leaning toward Juvenal's Duskywing, but you can go through the pics here.. Certainly narrowed it down some, LOL!
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?x=288&y=200&_fc=1
Spreas-wing Skippers are about halfway down this page^^
Deb
I was between that one and Horace's Duskywing. I'm sitting here with my book "Butterflies of Florida" and it even has hints about how to tell similar ones apart, but it's still tough.
Roxanne! That dragonfly is so cool! Looks like it has a glass head..and the wings, WOW! I have never seen one like that! I love it! The pic is very clear.
Deb, I meat to answer and respond with a "thanks for the pictures, now I get it", but I think I ran from the computer to get Mr. Clean to help me install the Shepherd's Crook I pulled from a neighbor's trash. LOL. I think I left the window open on the computer and everything. Ooops!
Suzy
how funny suzy! lol
Thanks Deb!
This male Pipevine St had the most beautiful iridescent wings! I took this pic from the shade and you can't see his other markings but the blue is so bright!
