This one likes the passion vine, there are no flowers on it yet, but that is where its been hanging out.
What is the best site you all use to identify butterflies? Then I wouldnt have to bother you all the time with ID's. Maybe just for the hard ones.
chris
Chris, looks like a Gulf Fritillary to me. Passion vine is their larval host. We have them all over FL. I've been using a book called "Butterflies of Florida: A Field Guide" by Janet C. Daniels. It's very good, but I too would like to hear what websites people find to be the most valuable.
I used the butterfliesandmoths.org website. The photos aren't the best, bu tit has the unique feature of searcing by maps or species (listed by family). If you continually use it, you will have the families commited to memory, so that's cool. The other thing, you might find a butterfly that looks "just like yours", but if you check the map, you might find it is only indiginous to Berkely California or the Galapoagos Islands :) This would be your cue to keep looking for another, better match :)
Suzy
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/
Thanks Mellie, yep, looks like a Gulf Fritillary.
Yea! I get to write another one on the list of my visiters this year.
Suzy, that site has a picture gallery, which is the best way for me to search, I am having enough trouble remembering plant names until they get permenantly labeled.
I need to ask the kids if they have invented extra memory sticks for my brain...I think the memory part is full. :)
chris
My book is organized by color so if I see an orange one, I just go to the orange section. Butterflies for dummies!
:))) That's a good way to do it. Your book is about Florida butterflies, tho, is that right, Mellie?
Suzy
That's my kind of book! I will look in the bookstore next time I go. Hopefully there is one for Georgia or all butterfly, caterpillars, host plants and adult plants would be even better.
chris
I use 2 books for referencing butterflies. I am not always near a computer when I see one. I use these 2 books for referencing:
Florida Butterfly Gardening by Marc and Maria Minno
(because I live in Florida. lol I paid full price for it new.)
and this book. (I am sure there are better, but I like this book):
Field Guide to Butterflies of North America by Jim Brock and Kenn Kaufman
(I bought the latter one on Amazon.com for reasonable as a used book. It is organized by butterfly color for easy locating in the book.)
And I took Debnes and Cat's advice and bought a Caterpillar IDing book (used) on Amazon.com as well:
Caterpillars of Eastern North America by David Wagner.
I love all 3 books and use them constantly.
Yup, mine is just Fl butterflies. I like to hang out at Borders, and in ours they have a section called "Local Interest". I also picked up a book about hiking trails of FL, native FL plants, and other things. I would think you should at least be able to get a field guide for the US or maybe even your region (midwest, east coast).
Mellie I've got the Jaret Daniels field guide too.It's starting to ware out.
I got to say it answers most of my questions so fair. Don
