As some of you know, I'm not exactly knew to butterfly gardening, but have landscaped this new to us house exclusively for the butterflies and birds. I was so excited today when I went to pull weeds this AM before it got too hot and I found 2 of these little fellows! Here's one on my Amsonia tabernaemontana....
And on the Asclepis verticillata
Terry, that's fantastic! Great photos, too.
Are those Monarch cats? Whatever they are, they're beautiful!
Thanks June! I'm liking my new camera, even though it sure isn't one of those that cost an arm and a leg (for me anyway).
Machidoneko, I think they're Monarch's, but I was hoping one of the more expert people would tell me for sure!
The below is a butterfly that came to visit while I was taking pictures, but s/he wouldn't sit still, so s/he was hard to get a good photo of.........
That neat! Don't those kind of discoveries just put the biggest smile into your day. They look awful fat and happy and great sots ya took too. : )
Yep, those are definitely monarch cats! :-) I just raised 8 of those little buggers indoors (the ants, earwigs, & paper wasps were getting all of my little cats outside--dang predators!). They're all in the chrysalis phase now, which is neat. They should be butterflies by the first week of August. I can't wait!
How neat junebug! Thanks for giving me a positive ID. I was pretty sure, but there's always that chance...lol.
WTG Terry!
I wonder why that one was on the Amsonia.....it looks big, so maybe it was looking for a place to pupate.
Yea!! That Amsonia is huge! And I only planted that a year ago! The Asclepis verticillata is growing right beside it (and behind it), so I don't know. Maybe you're right and it's looking for a place to pupate. How exciting. A friend of ours is the zoning officer for town. I'm always complaining to him about the plant choices in that park caddy corner behind us. I need to go get him to come see my caterpillars! That's what I'm talking 'bout baby! LOL!
You guys are infectious. Today, after reading tons of these threads, I have made a Caterpillar habitat and have 12 monarch cats and one chrysalis. I can't wait to search my garden tomorrow. I never realized how great the milkweed was in my garden. Though it looks shabby when the caterpillars on are the prowl, its cool what they attract.
Yea to you too Lifesaverlove!! I love love love all the milkweed that's in my garden! I'm by no means a neat and tidy gardener. The messier it is, the more wildlife I attract. I don't mean messy by anything other than plants that are just all over. I have what I refer to as my prairie area and I just let whatever reseed in there all it wants. I can't walk in there, but hey, that's alright by me!! Plus, it just makes more plants for me to spread around ;0)
Lifesaverlove, They are infectious. lol I was perfectly happy watching them raise cats, UNTILL.....all of a sudden, I found myself plucking leaves off of plants with eggs on them.
It was like,.... OH NO, what if a spider, or ugly bug gets that one, I can't leave it out here to fend for itself.
It all went downhill after that. : )
~Lucy
