Thank you for the ID of the little skipper.
The black-eyed susan is Rudbeckia hirta 'Indian Summer'. I'm surprised I like it so much and the butterflies do too. I'm going to try to divide it for more next year or maybe grow it from seed. They say it's a tretraploid....
http://www.floridata.com/ref/r/rudb_hir.cfm
I like your log arrangement for the brew. I had ours in a pretty purple-y colored dish but the raccoons got it and crashed it to pieces! Maybe change is in order!
Illoquin, we have to be patient....our butterfly season doesn't really get going until late July. Also, as each year passes you will notice more butterflies as they reproduce and as your host plants mature. (At least that's what I've read!)
Thy must not covet thy neighbors' butterflies, or something like that!
DAILY BUTTERFLIES page 8
Oh dear. Then I must be a sinner because I envy all the butterfly action most of you are getting in your yards. No butterflies. No hummers. Mama isn't happy! LOL!
Texas must be Butterfly Central! LOL If it wasn't for the folks from Texas posting all of their resident butterflies, I won't know what most of them looked like just by name.
Yep, Deb..I'm not sure I ever handle moving away from Texas again. I would miss all the wildlife too much. It would be like trying to live outside of my habitat, LOL!
Mentioned up there in this thread, I finally got a few Monarchs, and they are getting big fast.
Finally got a good fix on what kind of cages I need to use now, besides the ole faithful pop-up zippered hamper. Probably should make a new thread so more people can see how easy it can be to conserve and observe growing butterfly larvae. I will post the link here after I start it.
Kim (blue_eyes) if you're here, Happy Birthday!!!! Hope it is the best ever! Bless you!!!
Josephine, The bees haven't been a problem here so much. There seems to be a moderate amount of bees wasps and the like.. Bees are a good thing.. If it gets to be a nuisance or a visitor gets stung, you might have to do something then. With the shortages of them now bee farmers are really making a lot of $$ bringing them to farms to polinate. I suppose you've been reading about that tho'.
:-) Deb
Here is the thread for the extra cages I am using now>
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/747907/
This message was edited Jul 13, 2007 7:30 PM
Female Sachem's Skipper in tabasco's post...I agree with the i.d. Been working alot with Skippers lately.
For mellielong...here's a link to KY butterflies...it's a work in progress, but may help with what you might see in the area.
http://audubon.wku.edu/faculty/Marcus/KYLeps.html
Here's an Smerican Snout sunning near the Hackberry sapling today
Soapberry Clearwing at the Oregano.
Oh WOW, Melody! I LOVE the photo of the Soapberry Clearwing Moth!!! What a good action shot! At the right place and the right moment!
I had about 10 at one time in the Oregano today...quite a sight. Some of the seeds are starting to mature, so it won't be long before I'll have some.
I had an Admiral today too, but it wouldn't sit still long enough for a portrait, and I was in and out, so I couldn't stalk it till it finally landed.
So cute Melody! I just love those little Clearwings. They move so well.. I was very glad to see them here from my garden. From the deck I caught this one today nectaring the Black & Blue Salvias by the back fence. This year my first notice was at the White B davidii in the front yard.
The Snouts are here now too, and in fall there are lots of them.. even after all the other butterflies have migrated or hibernated I see them.
Melody--great shot of the clearwing!
...So are you working on the KY Lepidopterist site? It's well on its way to being a really great resource. I'll have to refer to it more often (since the Ohio Lep site isn't so great.) Thanks for giving us the link...
I'm contributing some images and some location info. There's very little that has been documented in my home county...not many folks report from here I guess. Some very common varieties have never been documented here in Marshall Co. I'm helping with some of that...and some high quality images....I let the real experts do final i.d.'s....Trying to i.d. some of these that are so similar just gets me into trouble.
Well your photos are beautiful and I'm sure they are delighted to have them. The location info too.
I suppose you're adding BF photos to Bugfiles, too? I've been using that as a resource more and more.
Oh yes, BF is one of my projects...I'm up to over 100 images there.
Really enjoyed this thread. Great pictures..
Elaine
Just caught this Tiger Swallowtail on my coneflowers...please ignore the ratty look to the flowers...Japanese Beetles love them too.
Love everyone's photos too!
Here's a Question Mark, a little worse for wear, but pretty.
I agree! Nice work everybody!
Two female Tiget STs came through, neither one ovipositing.... Or maybe they were one's whose taste prefer Willow to Cherry. I will have to be patient.
And little Hummer, guarding her territory from the Privit in the corner.
:-Deb
Deb - Love your adorable little hummer perched on your Privit! I am just amazed at you having the good fortune to get one to come live in your yard. Hopefully, this one will find a mate and set up house somewhere in your yard. Wouldn't that be the ultimate?!!
Saw one lone Sulphur today. It was checking out my Cassia Bushes and my Privet Cassia tree. I later saw eggs on some of the leaves. I didn't remove them because the leaves dry out pretty bad if I pick them.
What's the usual time to wait for the cats to emerge from their eggs? Is it a few days or weeks? I am thinking 3-4 days, but not sure.
We seem to have a steady stream of TSTs fluttering through the garden this week--and I am surprised that they seem to love the red daylilies...
Judy - Do you ever see hummers nectaring at your daylilies, too? I bet they do!
becky--I originally planted the red daylilies for the hummers but I have not seen them nectaring on them.
I have about 3 different clumps of various red DL cultivars none of which interest them so far. I have maybe 3 HB families living near them, too. I don't know what gives with them! ;-) The HBs stick mainly to the feeders (4) and insects as far as I can tell.
I have red daylilies too and my hummers ignore them. They like my Coral Honeysuckle best.
Mine don't even like my coral honeysuckle! I've almost given up planting hummingbird flowers, although I am starting 2 trumpet vines and I do have various shrubs and trees they like...
Flame Acanthus, Anisacanthus wrightii, and
Turks Cap, Malvaviscus drummondii are the hummer magnets here.
Josephine.
Has your Flame Acanthus been blooming Josephine, (maybe I have asked that already). Mine is still shooting up foliage and is about 2 1/2 ft tall. Can't wait to see the blooms!
I started page 9... I have been enjoying all you guys' pics so much, Thanks for chiming in!!
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/748467/