Daily Butterflies page 4

I was chasing these little yellow guys around Flatwoods Park in Tampa last weekend. I saw Zebra Swallowtails last weekend and today, but they are too quick for me. : (

Mellie-
What park do you go to? Do you have any idea what that "purple thing" is?

~Adrienne

Adrienne,
After a little research, the purple thing is something in the eupatorium family. I can't quite settle on one. It is growing in Brooker Creek Headwaters Preserve. I used the entrance off of Van Dyke.
Melanie

Hi Millie! You are a real trouper!!
I love Crescents too! They look like they are embroidered with black lace...Your silver butterfly is a beautiful Ceraunus Blue
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1587&chosen_state=12*Florida

The Yellow is most likely an Orange Sulphur.. and you are really swift to chase that one around. They are very hard to catch up to...You did well!!

Here are the listings of butterflies commonly found in Hillsborough County FL:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?dc=1879&_dcc=1&si=10

:-Deb

Is your ceraunus Blue picture one butterfly or two? I have posted this before but you picture reminds me of this.

Those yellow ones were driving me crazy! There were a lot of them but I just couldn't seem to get them to stop. Kind of like the white ones that fly around my neighbors' yard and chase each other. I saw one land on a blade of grass for about two seconds and then they were back at it! Snuzer that is one cool picture. I only saw the one little ceraunus blue today. Don't you love that porterweed? It's like crack for butterflies - they just gotta have it. I planted some around my house a few weeks ago after seeing it in the preserves. I got the prostrate variety though so it won't grow so high. Plus, it's blue like the trim on our house, and it matches the plumbagos too!

So nice to hear from you! I have tons of porterweed that reseeded itself in my yard. I dug it up and moved it to line another fence. It used to be my best butterfly magnet, but lately the Chaya has been attracting more!

I also have difficulty photographing sulphurs. The only one I have was 'born' on my screen porch, after forming a chrysalis on my watering can (believe it or not!).

Here is the watering can.

Sweeeet pics snuzer!! Your pic of the 2 blues is really cool! I can see why millie's pic reminded you of them. Yours is actually a Cassius Blue:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1582&chosen_state=12*Florida

I don't ever see either of those Blues here in North Texas.. What a treat to have you guys to share your pics!!
I love the Sulphurs too, I can't keep up with them, lol! I decided to plant hosts and get them to hang in my back yard.. It works so much better than chasing them through acres of park space.. I'm getting too old to chase them, LOL! The Cabbage Whites will hang around a lot now because of the many Nasturtiums I planted this year.. Hopefully I will finally get Sulphurs when the Cassias begin blooming!

It's been raining here all day, so not much action here today. Since all the commotion with the TST the other day, I missed posting this of a Monarch literally hugging the Texas Mist bloom... He must have been very thirsty!! haha

:-Deb

Thanks for the smiles! It's nice to see a monarch with its wings stretched so tight. I tend to see them mostly with closed wings. In fact, today I had one hanging out on the duranta for a long time, and I began trying to coax it to open its wings. It would briefly open its wings and then quickly shut them...over and over...so I could never get a good picture. Finally I figured out that if I put my hand near its face, it would open its wings. Well, then I got too close, jiggled the bush, and off it flew! Maybe tomorrow I'll take a look at the photos I got of it...maybe there will be one worth saving. Perhaps it was a brand new bf, drying its wings and my 'jiggle' sent it flying off for the very first time-- like Rudolph!

Snuzer,
If you ever root cuttings of that Chaya ....would you pass one on to me?! :)

~Adrienne

I saw this guy in my yard today. I think it's a Duskywing...

~Adrienne

Sure, Adrienne!

Adrienne!
What a lovely Juvenal's Duskywing at that!! Great contrast with the orchid colored bloom. I think it is a female, bc the males are more blackish in color. Thier larval host is Oak.

We're having rain, rain, and then more rain this week.. So not as much of me going out in the garden as on all sunny days. Just when I was thinking how slowed down the butterfly activity would be, in comes GST! And a TST too... They went around and round and the GST comes back to actually nectar a few of the flowers.

At first he glided over all the plants, and would leave. Then he would sail through again gliding over every section, not lighting on much of anything at all. He would always come back around and repeat.... This went on several times until he actually began landing on flowers and drinking. I figured out that he was doing security run to see if any preditors were going to pop out and make a surprise meal of him. Once he was comfortable, even making several passes by me, he settled on Cosmos and Zinnias.
.....

He floated around the yard a couple times and then went for the Cosmos...

:-D

Then back to the Zinnias.. Didn't even nibble on the Red ones. Just back to the white over and over. Now if only the females would parade through here, LOL. (I remember thinking this with TSTs, lol! Then she came.) I have more larval hosts for this species than any other this year. I had gotten so heartsick years previous, just watching them fly past my yard completely. This year I may have overcompensated just a tad, but I wasn't going to have that happen another year. Just a matter of time now I shoud be seeing some orange dogs on any or all of the: Hops, Orange, Lemon, Rue, Hercules Club ~ 2 different kinds....Yes, again, just a matter of time..

:-Deb

Some really nice photos posted here on this part 4 thread! Love the swallowtails, Deb!

Here's a White Peacock that I just happened to get a photo of today. I've got some of the cat host plants in my yard so perhaps that is why I see them hanging around all the time They sure are attractive butterflies! :-)

Thx Becky!
We saved a spot for you! (I have really missed you.) Gorgeous pic!! Just love the WPs.. I will probably not get them this far north. So cool you have the host for them. Maybe we will see some babies before summer's end..

;-S

Four hours I spent hiking through Brooker Creek today. I meant to be gone awhile, but got a little turned around and spent a bit longer than anticipated. Luckily, I brought plenty of water. Now that I'm home with my feet up and some lunch in me, I can share my pics! I saw many butterflies, most of which tormented me by flying away. Here's the first one that stopped to pose; I believe that's a Spicebush Swallowtail. I've seem them before in this preserve.

Next up was a very nice Zebra Swallowtail. These guys are all over this place. There are lots of pawpaws around (their larval host) so I'm sure that's part of it. I want to get some pawpaws for my yard! I did check many of them for larva or eggs or anything, but no luck. I did see a ZST land on a pawpaw, but it flew off and I didn't see any eggs. Maybe it was shy with me watching?

Not sure which guy this is but there were a lot of them flying about.

I had to run around so much to get this photo. There were people walking their dogs and one guy asked what I was taking a picture of. I told him a butterfly and he was like, "Oh, I thought it was something bigger than that". I just thought, who cares how big it is, this is pretty! Oh, and it's one of those Buckeyes. First photo of one for me. They're too fast and I'm too slow.

Edited for spelling

This message was edited May 27, 2007 2:27 PM

I saw so many of these flying around but the only one I saw that landed was this guy missing half a wing. I think this is a Palmedes Swallowtail, but it's hard to tell in this condition.

I knew somewhere in Brooker Creek was a big stand of lantana and porterweed. I'd seen it before, covered in Zebra Swallowtails. I got a little turned around looking for it, but I think this is it. No porterweed in bloom today, but the lantana seemed good enough.

Here's two of them on the lantana.

Of course, life likes to mock me. So after I finally made my way back to my car, stopped and got lunch (supersize drink of course), and pulled into my driveway, this guy was hanging out on my Tampa Mock Vervain (glandularia tampensis). I spend four hours chasing butterflies, and here's one at my front door. Sigh. I planted some passion vine, so maybe this Gulf Fritillary is moving into the neighborhood. By the way, Tampa Vervain is an endangered species. I planted it in front of my house and out by the fence in front of our street. The lubber grasshoppers hit it pretty hard, but it's a tough native - and I figured like any verbena (true or mock) it would attract butterflies!

Edited to say that the verbena is the little purple flowers. Those big things are silver Tidal Wave petunias - highly recommended - I grow them from seed.

This message was edited May 27, 2007 2:24 PM

Great photos, Mellie! Thanks for sharing your walk with us. :-)

I'm glad you got pointed in the right direction eventually... but sometimes getting a little lost can bring some bonuses into your day!

Great pics Mellie! I especially like the Buckeye!

Me, too! Those eye spots on the buckeye are beautiful! Loved all the Tiger Swallowtails! Looks like you had a lovely walkabout! Thanks for sharing all your photos with us! :-)

Great pics millie!!
You definatly are dedicated... I know we will be seeing a lot more from you in moths and years to come! Your pics have been great! You remind me of myself and a few others here ^^^.. (I even have cats and butterflies in my dreams.)

:-D

Thanks, I'm glad you appreciate them! Start getting excited because my favorite place, the USF Botanical Gardens, is having their butterfly and herb festival next month. All these vendors come in with butterfly plants - it's crazy. The gardens have a butterfly garden section which is generally very effective. But when those vendors bring in all the butterfly favorites they just fly around like crazy! Also, they usually bring in a tent where you pay $1 and there are all sorts of butterflies flying around. I've been too scared to enter, but this year I'm gonna do it!
Melanie

Deb!
Thanks for id-ing that Duskywing for me. Neat! I also love all those pictures from your gardens! Interesting, that they paid more attention to the white flowers !

Mellie- thanks also to you for those brilliant pictures! I'm dying to see those Buckeye's! They are so beautiful! We need to get together and go on a Butterfly hike!

~Adrienne

Those buckeyes are quick! I'm telling you I chased that one into the brush and everything. It was the thrid one I'd seen and I wasn't going to let it get away!

When I look up things for people I learn so much for myself too. Besides when I see a new bug or butterfly I must know exactly what it is. Whether it's for conservation or protecting the conserved. I love seeing the pics of the butterflies you get in Florida. Y'all get both kinds of Buckeyes over there, whereas I only get the common. They are a favorite of mine too.

Here today it is still a bit rainy, but it didn't stop the Pipevine Swallowtails from eclosing. The last two of my captives. One was a male and the other was a female... I was switching them into a different cage when the male got loose... He was rring to go. He didn't try anything while they were in the cage together, she was barely drying when he escaped.... Well he came back a while later and just flitted like crazy all over the back flowers, not lighting on any of them. He zoomed by the cage a couple times too and stayed nearby. I opened the cage and let her out. She emmediatly flew to the Hollyhock and landed on a rainkissed leaf.. She just sat still there while he flew around the yard a couple more times...

Then without further adu, he headed straight for her.. so I kept the camera snapping. And so begins another cycle... There were about 5 blurry but ledgable pics before this one, but no need to post them all. Everyone will get the general event from this one. I've never seen a live butterfly so flat on it's back like that. Pretty amazing!

I also manged to collect 8 Gulf Fritillaries out on the fence, and other places they had wandered to.. I took the 2 smaller (2-3 instar), PVSTs and set them loose on 2 different vines I have going pretty well.

One to the A. macrophylla...

The other one to the A. fimbriata... They need to be out in the garden for the birds to get a good respect for all the other caterpillars. I had caged them to record the stages and get good pics of them. I am satisfied with what I have so these can be a cat I don't have to cage now.

Whew!

:-Deb

Look what lingered on the mulch, posing for a picture-- I believe it is an American Painted Lady. This is the first time I have seen one of these in my garden. It seemed to like my pink pentas, but sat still on the nearby mulch for the photo.

This message was edited Jun 5, 2007 7:25 PM

Snuzer - Uh? No photo! lol