Looked out the kitchen window minutes ago and I spotted this beauty in the prairie area out back. My happy dance continues!
Terry
Look what I just now spotted!
Picture perfect, Terry! Are your Bee Balm flowers pink or lavender color? I couldn't be sure from your photo.
Yes Becky..lol...they are a pinkish lavender color. They're Monarda fistulosa. The liatris is Liatris pycnostrachya, I believe.
Well, if I was a butterfly I would totally go for that, too. Of course, my favorite color is purple. I was following a Gulf Frit today when a Tiger ST flew by me and then vanished. I think it must have been the ghost of a Tiger ST because I didn't see it again. And come on, they're big and yellow! How was it going to hide when it was only a few feet away?! Sometimes I wish I had wings so I could chase them more effectively. Nice to know you have them up in IL, too. They're so pretty and they stand out from a mile away. Down here they go for my blue plumbagos.
Melanie
Great shot Terry!
Has anyone out there been successful in attracting Tiger Swallowtails to lay eggs on a host plant? I have a couple of small Tulip Poplars, but so far no luck.
Mark
There was 2 of them out there! I was so surprised when I looked out the window after lunch and I saw 2 of them. I also wanted to tell Becky that if your monitor shows colors like my monitor, the colors in my picture are darn near perfect to the actual colors of the plants.
Mellie, right now most of my prairie plants that are blooming are white, yellow, purple and the pinkish hue of Eupatorium (in that back area). I think that's why I missed the other one at first, s/he seemed to like the yellow of the Rudbeckia subtomentosa and Echinacea paradoxa.
Sheila, thanks!
Mark, I also have a Liriodendron tulipifera. From what I've read, they lay eggs on ash, willows and the wild cherries. And the caterpillars are on Liriodendron, wild cherry, willow and cottonwood,. I have an ash in the side yard, with the Liriodendron in the back side yard. It's only a matter of time till the EAB come and kill my ash tree and I hope to replace it with the wild cherry, Prunus serotina. There are none of the other trees in this neighborhood.
Beautiful pic Terry...the purple and yellow are very pretty together!
Thanks fly_girl! I like the yellow and purple together too. I still can't believe I took that shot....looks almost professional!! LOL!
Hey, you could frame that one!
I could! I'm trying to figure out how you get the photo to be black and white, but the object, in this case the butterfly, retains it's natural color. I'd love to do the same with the Monarch cat picture I took. Then again, the colors of the Liatris and Monarda really look good...lol....
I wonder if a program like Photoshop could do it, or you could post on the Photography forum....those people seem very knowledgeable. I have a hard time with that s/w, it's not user friendly at all.
For something else, somebody talked about Photoshop, but at $649, I think I'd have to pass! It would probably be too difficult for me to figure out anyway. I do appreciate the suggestion though ;0)
Terry,
What's the EAB, and why will they come and kill your ash tree???
Mark
Terry - I too am curious about what EAB is?
What about Adobe Photoshop Elements? It is the cheaper, condensed version of Photoshop. I think I got it free with my HP printer and my son uses it all the time. For a free trial, go to: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/
EAB= Emerald Ash Borer. In a nutshell, it's an exotic beetle that eats on the foliage of Ash trees, while the larvae feed on the inner bark of the tree, killing it. It's been discovered here in IL and recent reports have it 1 county over.
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:naMzt4gtUksJ:www.mortonarboretumphc.org/feature%2520articles/Insects/Emerald%2520Ash%2520Borer%2520in%2520Illinois.pdf+emerald+ash+borer+in+illinois&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us&client=firefox-a
and this one too
http://www.news.uiuc.edu/NEWS/03/0808ashborer.html
Becky, that's interesting! I have an HP printer too, but mine didn't come with Adobe Photoshop Elements. I'll check out your link, thank you!