I think this is a Gulf Flitarlly - (sp?) - which I've never seen here before...but I don't get many butterflies......
Just took these a while ago
I do believe that is what it is. I have just taken to mommying some gulf frit cats and today momma was back laying eggs all over the place on my passion vine. I told her to quit because I did not think I could handle all those babies but she just kept going. I was about 1/2 foot away from her and she did not mind me being there at all. Just kept going on with her business. The picture above is exactly what she looked like. Beautiful aren't they?
Leslie
That's a gorgeous shot, Betsy!! Congrats!!
WOW, BetsyBug, that is one incredible photo! What kind of camera do you have, if you don't mind my asking? I need to get a new one soon.
~Kris
edited for punctuation
This message was edited Aug 5, 2007 5:49 PM
I just snapped a pic of a Gulf Frit this afternoon too (not as clear as yours though Betsy). I've never really seen them land and stay still on passion flowers, but this one stopped at the 3 Incense and 1 Blue Eyed Susan flowers I had today. This is a cropped shot, so its a little blurry. It is so hard to get good pics of the Gulf Frits--they rarely stay still.
Mark
Their cats are another story though!
IrisLover - I have a Canon Powershot S2 IS.....here's another picture - durn thing wouldn't sit still long enough - LOL!
Great photos Betsy and Mark!
Wow, another amazing shot, BetsyBug! Thanks for letting me know that kind of camera you have. I'll have to mark that down. Hey Mark, you pix are great, too!
~Kristy... so has camera envy right now, lol! ;P
Betsy and Mark,
Your photos are great!! I have only been able to attract one lonely frit to my butterfly garden. It seems to prefer my heliotrope instead of my red passion flowers. Will frits lay eggs on red passionflower vines??
P.S.
I decided it was time to stop lurking and start posting!! :)
Hi CrystalIP,
The Gulf Frits in my area lay eggs on my Lady Margaret--the catepillar above is on a Lady Margaret vine. I don't know if the Gulf Frits get up your way--yours looks like maybe a variegated frit. Anyway, the Gulf Frits usually have 3 generations in south Louisiana, so they are getting more numerous. I have more eggs than my vines can support, so if anyone wants some just let me know.
Mark
Hi Mark,
I am having a lot of trouble with ants on the passion vine. The plant nursery said that they are attracted to aphid feces; but could they also be eating the eggs?? I just checked my vines again and they're aren't any eggs. Do your blossoms last longer than one day?
Hi CrystalIP,
Most passion vines have small nectar secreting bumps on the stems and sometimes on the leaves. I can't remember the technical name for them. These attract ants, which help to keep other insects off the vines. I have ants on most of my passion vines, although certainly not in large numbers. The ants on my vines are the little black ones, which are pretty harmless. Fire ants are not attracted to passion vines as far as I know. Some ants tend aphids, but if you have aphids, you should be able to see them. I'm not sure if aphids lay eggs--I thought they gave birth to live young, but I could be wrong.
All passion flowers that I'm aware of have flowers that only last a day--2 at most.
Mark
Hi CrystalIP,
I was out looking at my Incense vine this morning, and saw something I've never seen before. It was a lizard licking the little nectar secreting bumps (I looked it up, they are called extrafloral glands). I went in to get my camera, and it was still there when I got back.
Very interesting!
Mark
Greetings to one and all.
Attached is a shot taken yesterday afternoon - late sun shining on the often neglected ventral side of a Gulf Fritillary. Shot taken from about 10 - 15 feet away.
We aren't getting very many Gulf Frits this year. Can't complain as we are getting loads of new butterflies. Must be all the rain.
BTW - I am on my 2nd Canon S3-IS, after going through 2 Olympus cameras (3030-Zoom and 5050-Zoom as I remember). The Canon telephoto units are great for my major interests - birds, dragonflies and butterflies. What I can't get close enought to for enlargeable prints, I can get documentation good enough to confirm the sightings and or determine what specific bug or bird had been seen. And, with the macro settings and available close-up attachment, plus available teleconverter adding 50% more power, the Canon is a hard camera to beat.
Rod
Here's one that I took last week. A side view of a Gulf Frit that had just eclosed. This one was still drying its wings, so I was able to get real close.
Mark
catbird--thanks for the good camera info. I have an old Canon digital that I love, but replaced with a Nikon Coolpix. Will take your advice and look at the Canon S3. Can you tell why you are on your second? Did your first stop working?
Nice pics of the frits, everyone-- I don't think we get the Gulf Frits either, but I'm guessing this is some kind of fritillary--maybe a 'great spangled frit'...?
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1675
So, what are the fritillary's hosts plants again? I thought they were violets, but maybe that's just the GSF. I am not familiar with the "Lady Margaret" vine either...but perhaps should have one....
Lady Margaret is a passion vine. My favorite so far. It's not hardy in our zone, though, so you'd have to overwinter it. Here's a picture of her...
Tabasco, I'll bare my secrets and tell you why the 2nd S3-IS. I take my camera with me everywhere. I was working in the back yard - hung the camera on a limb of a good shady shrub. Got hot - went in for a beer. Sat down. Went to sleep. It rained.
Sent the camera in for check-up - it was going to cost more than what I wanted to spend for repairs, considering that the S3-IS has come down in price. Review in detail the new S5-IS. More pixels and larger screen, but not that much more to spend an extra $200 for. So, got the old one back - now working real good - but bought a new S3-IS in the meantime.
A lot of good feedback on the Nikon and on the Kodak. I am conservative in the sense that I want to stay with current software and cards. Already have Olympus and Canon loaded on the computer, didn't want to add another, plus didn't want to buy new cards.
Don't get me wrong - the Canon isn't "perfect". But is does very adequately fill my bill. Excellent close-up work - excellent telephoto.
My hands are quite large, so I do occasionally hit buttons that don't need to be hit at that time. But that is no big deal. Love using 2AA batteries. And, I shoot enough to rotate a set of rechargeables. And, I can easily carry a set of 4-AA's for back-up.
OK - hope that answers your question.
Rod (butterfly whisperer!)
Error in above message - love using AA batteries. It takes 4.
LOL well, so sorry to hear about your camera mishap! And thanks for all the details about them. (-:
Great pics everyone. Those are the babies I am raising right now and am very excited. Don't think I could have gotten a more beautiful BF to bless me with her eggs.
Thanks for the info on those sap dots Mark. When I first started this thing I thought those might be eggs. Have since learned that all the little cats show up and those are still there so they must not be eggs. Love the shot of the lizard licking them. Is that too cool? How does he know what those are? lol. Anyway, great pics, great info. Loving every minute of it. I tell you when you look at the gulf frit opened up she is a beauty but when she closes those wings, stunning. I would have never guessed those were the same BF.
Leslie