DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 20

Continued from: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/772755/

Hi all!
If you're just now joining us, it's never too late to chime in. Show us whats going on in your garden.

Deborah (cordeldawg) had some surprises this week (from last thread), with lots of new Black ST cats when she returned from a 3 day trip. Monarchs about to eclose. It's the same kind of story here in Fort Worth. I have several Monarchs in their chrysalids now, and 6 Black STs just going into theirs. Looks like they might still have time to eclose before it gets cold.
I'm still blown away by Becky not having many butterflies ........ yet........ Last year at this time she was running a butterfly factory. I'm thinking as soon as they all hibernate or leave us here to migrate, they will show up at her place. :-SSS

Tell us where you are with butterflies at as we start a new thread.. I couldn't recap everything, lol. So y'all help me out here, :-S If you are new, or haven't joined in yet, we'd love to meet you and see what you have too!!

Love yas!

debnes

This couple has been sleeping in the Frostweed every night for a few days>

Wow Cat 20 Malachites!!!! Thats stupendous! I want to see. :-)

Here is the same couple above.... They were coupling all over the back yard all day long the other day (Sept 30th). Except when she would disappear to get away from him for a bit. She had an egg caught in her ovipositor and he was still not giving her a break, he must not have noticed her predicament. Hey, they are only obeying the law set down by their maker. Being fruitful and multiplying. What troupers they are!!
Gheese! I took way too many pictures. No I'm not warped, only documenting here, Ahem, seriously!!

debnes

Hi everyone;
I'm a newbie when come to raising cats. But a long time lover/admirer of them. These are what I've found in our garden back in August, and having seen many of the BST cats. disappearance outdoor prompted my interest to learn more about providing a habitat indoor for these fellas.

Here is one from Australia. Walking along a road in Walkerville North, I saw a Melaleuca ericifolia in flower, and wanting a photo of the flowers, I crossed the road. To my delight I found about 7 Australian Admiral butterflies (Vanessa itea) were feeding on the flowers. The caterpillars of these butterflies feed on Stinging Nettles.
Here is an Australian Admiral butterfly:

and another Australian Admiral

Beautiful!

Wow, this thread is going international! Malachites...I'm super jealous! I've been browsing through my book and I need to take a vacation to the south of the state to see what's going on down there. Plus, I have this idea about catnapping some Atala Hairstreaks and starting a colony of them in Tampa. There's enough coontie around downtown to support them. And you know every time I walk to lunch I'm looking in the coontie like one will magically appear. Then again, I stare up at the red cedars to look for Sweadner's Hairstreaks, too.

I asked my boss if I could leave early today as I had to get somewhere before dark (didn't tell him what I was up to, but he knows I raise bfs). Naturally, I had to go hiking to obtain more pawpaw leaves to feed the Zebra Swallowtails. By the way, keeping leaves in the fridge is the way to go; I can't believe how well they keep, and pawpaws dry out really fast. While I was out I found a few more cats and eggs, and of course I had to bring them home. I also got rained on (twice). The things I do for these guys... The pawpaw seedlings I have are still growing (except one I think might not make it) and all the rain we've had sure is helping. Soon, I'll have full-grown plants to tempt the Zebra STs.

Mom is enjoying watching the cats roam around the critter keeper. I really want to see these guys make their chrysallis and eclose - the whole cycle. So I swear I will take this thing to work and set it on my desk if I have to. I don't want to miss all the fun and then call home to Mom (who works at home) and have her tell me how gorgeous my bfs are.

Dad has a favorite bf now - the White Peacock. He keeps spotting them, but he is a mailman so he gets to visit many gardens daily (brought home some Starfruit from one of his customers, too - yum yum).

I saw a few more bfs today but the off and on rain isn't helping. Still lots of sulphurs, a few Swallowtails flying above my car, three Palamedes when I went hiking today, and I definitely saw a Gulf Frit while driving to the preserve. In reference to the zebra longwing talk above...I had one lay eggs on my p. caerulea but my cats didn't make it. Don't know if it was the species they were on, but I have since bought some maypop and p. lutea just to be on the safe side. Oh, and I do have a ZLW that's been flying around all week, but I think it knows my passifloras are too small to support cats. They're smart like that!

Next weekend (Oct 12-13) is the huge fall plant festival at the USF Botanical Gardens here in Tampa, and once I'm done raiding the bromeliad clubs, I plan on shopping for some bf-friendly plants. That's what I've been up to!

Melanie

here are a couple of pics from yesterdays flutterbys !!

: o)

james t

and another ..........

I just spotted this guy on my Chinese Lantern hibiscus (H. schizopetalus). He/she was right next to the crystalis, so that helped me get the pic - it didnt' move a lot.
I looked thru this thread and am 90% sure it's a Gulf Frittilary.
Pretty cool!
I work at a garden center and yesterday we must have pulled 20-30 monarch caterpillers of our parsley. We let the caterpillars go... FAR away from the parsley.
Barb

Hi Barb! Nice pic of the Gfrit! You're right! However the cats you pulled off the parsley are Black Swallowtails. Monarchs eat Asclepias, (aka Milkweed). ;-) And Monarchs have antennae on both ends. BST have no antennaes.
Thanks so much for sharing! The Black STs could make their way back to the parsley.. Maybe it would be better to cage them and get some parsley bundles from the store to feed them until they pupate. Just a thought/option for ya...oO.


Nice Giants James!
Thanks for the update Mellie, you sure have been busy!

Wow Ken! What a lovely Vanessa!, I am so glad you shared what we can't see here. I love seeing all the butterflies from places around the world. Thanks!

debnes

Barb, that was mostly likely Black Swallowtail cats you found on the parsley, as Monarchs don't use parsley. I wanted to ask a question here. Do you think that nurseries would appreciate people who raise the cats checking with whoever is in charge of the nursery? Maybe an arrangement could be made where the nursery could call a person with lots of host plants or maybe that person could come in from time to time to check for cats. I hate to hear of cats being dumped somewhere or even killed. I did hear of one butterfly-friendly nursery that does that. They have someone who regularly collects what she can and they're happy to have other customers take them also. I've taken cats off of plants to take them home at that nursery and one other. The last time was just the other day. I went to the other nursery that has cat-safe milkweed and picked up a large plant to try and feed the Queen and Monarch cats that I have left. While I was there I got some cats that were on the pipevine plants to bring home...I've done that before and since this nursery has some plants completely defoliated by the cats, they're happy to give them to anyone that wants them. It's a win-win situation. For some reason, the PVSTs are not coming by and laying eggs on my pipevine plants this year.But I'm not sure about "regular" nurseries that aren't especially catering to the butterfly people like us, how they'd feel about it. BTW, I've got tons of parsley! But alas, you're too far from me!

This message was edited Oct 4, 2007 1:29 PM

My little ZL babies are really growing! Such cuties! Now a couple are taking on that typical white/black polka dots/spiny look.

Debnes and Linda,
Thanks for ID'ing the little guys. I do like to get these things right.

Linda,
That is good idea. I have thought about having one area with parsley that we let cats munch away on. I bet my boss might go for it. Since I know cats can be very particular about what they eat, I wasn't sure how "successful" our letting them go will be.
Right now red cats with black hairs are munching away on my passionflower. They come this time of year and pretty much defoliate the vines. I don't mind because the vines are going crazy around now and this way, they're kept under control and pretty butterfly's are the result!
Barb

Aww Linda!! Very cute!
I actually saw a ZLW here in Fort Worth last week.Josephine saw it first and if she had not said something I would have missed it. ~I like the way you think about the offering to pick up cats from nurseries. We could make up a little flier that says something like:
"Will come pick up your caterpillars on your host plant stock!!
...........................Please call> xxx-xxx-xxxx"................................
(in big letters on bright paper)
Pass them out to our local nurseries we go to. :-)

Barb, Ask your nursery if they would do that. Then make a thread in the North Carolina DG forum and ask if anyone near you raises cats.
See if they would put up a bulletin and find a customer who raises cats.

If Linda or I lived near there we would be right over.

debnes

Linda - Love your little ZLW babies! I am sooooooooo jealous! No cats here at all. Nadda one! :-( Though we did find 3 Queen chrysalises in the garden at school. So we collected them and brought them inside. One eclosed today. Our students got a big kick out of releasing it! Some of our new students were quite thrilled to see a butterfly up close! :-) We are working on this next generation of kiddos! :-)

Oh Barb,
Those red/orange cats with spikes are Gulf Fritillaries. They will devour the plants and make them unsellable. They definitely need a separate area with plants like you're saying. The new plants have to be checked daily for the little cats daily. The females are very busy and prolific once they find a good host plant. Don't kill em, lol!

What you said would work, see if you can do it.


Gulf Fritillaries are beautiful, They are Heliconians like the Zebra Longwing up there Linda is raising and in my pic. The both use Passionvine,

debnes

Gulf Fritillary>

I've finally seen a "Black" Black Swallowtail cat.
I've seen a few pictures posted in DG of black cats, (most all of the are green)
Well, here's my black baby munching on some fennel.
I've rescued up to five cats lately that are hiding on the carrots, and put them into my pen with Fennel. I'm trying my best to deny those dang wasps from doing their jobs.
I hope to have some new BF in another week. (debnes is right - they better hurry before we have our first cold snap)

I had another Pipevine Swallowtail come through today.
This one looked like it had been around the block a few times.
It still had enough wing left to stay away from me, but it cooperated long enough to get a few good pictures.

To all my Butterfly Friends - from Catbird's mate:

Have been out of pocket for a few weeks - taking pictures in Roswell, NM. I will share them later.

Attached is a shot taken yesterday, here in Houston. A very, very large Giant ST nectaring from a hummingbird feeder. I had mentally encouraged this and it happened, with camera at the ready. The GST was larger than any of the resident hummers, so they left it alone while I took some 40 - 50 shots.

Rod (Butterfly Whisperer)

Hey pford nice to see ya! Yes, your BST cat looks like its almost ready to make a chrysalis. Sure they aren't bothered by a cold snap.. they just remain in their chrysalis for about 5 months if it gets colder. The cats can vary in their dominate color quite a bit. Some more black, some more yellow, and some more green, etc.. So far in my experience, the ones still left inside by the end of October will hibernate the whole winter.

Hiya Rod! Nice pic of GST! Can't wait to see those pics from Roswell!

debnes

Oh! Thanks for that bit of info. I just figured that if a cold snap came, then they were just gonners. I will definitely keep an eye on them. I suppose then that I can keep them in a protected area outside to keep them in hibernation, and just look for new butterflies in the early spring.

Different subject. As I was driving home yesterday, I had a strange question pop into my head that I couldn't put away. Are caterpillars either Male or Female, or does that happen in the chrysalid? I know that's a wierd question, but I'm assuming that yes they are either male or female from the time they hatch from their egg.

Different subject. I had several whoppers of Tomato hornworm. I've still got a monster tomato bush that I'll tear down in another month, but what I really can't wait for is to dig around a bit in the soil to find those big cocoon's from the hornworm. I suppose that they are just below the surface waiting for the spring. You can also verify that for me. If I do find some in another month or two, I'll be sure and post some pics of those too.

later.

O.k., not my garden. I have a new plant I need in my garden. I stopped at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin as I was passing through and this plant Conoclinium greggii (Eupatorium greggii) was mobbed with Queen's. It was amazing.

Hi p!
If the hornworms have already been inside a while, they could eclose this year. If not they will likely overwinter. I have seen them out as late as the end of October. The Quick & Easy cage http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/747907/ is a good way to save them. Just put a folded paper towel in the bottom end so they can make it to the fabric cover to climb up and dry. Not only can they walk on the paper toweling better, it will absorb the (after eclosure) liquid that would otherwise pose a hazard.

Caterpillars are not sexed. That is determined inside the chrysalis.

debnes :-S

Yep border!
The Texas Blue Mist is the Queen's favorite flavor. I planted mine right next to the Milkweed patch...brb....
I just went outside, and in 15 minutes I was able to shoot all of the following pics

There were 3 Queens in the Mistflower and Milkweed, 2 males and 1 female

Male Queen on Tx Blue Mist>

Zooming in

btw this is the E. greggii

Here is the female possibly ovipositing on the A. curassavica (Milkweed).

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4051629

This message was edited Oct 5, 2007 11:05 AM

There were a few more different butterflies out there flying around too..

Red Admiral on the Zinnias
This one was particularly larger than most that I've seen.. With a 3"+ wingspan, where they are commonly around 2-2 1/2".
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/debnes_dfw_tx_1191599712_85.jpg

This message was edited Oct 5, 2007 11:06 AM

Probs with posting pics

This pic goes with http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4051606

Here is the Red Admiral that should have posted in http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4051611

Here is a little Clouded Skipper

More egg laying (or ovipositing),... This is a Gulf Fritillary on the Passionvines..

That's it for the 15 min on the fly.

They all like the E. greggii...
Border~~ If you don't have any I can send you some. I have tons of this one. It spreads very rapidly!!

debnes

Oh I need some! Deb, let me know the postage amount please!

Alrighty roo Deb!! Hey, remember the Magnolia you sent me? Forget the postage gf!

debnes

Sista, when I get Gulf Frits on your passionvines, I'll send pictures so you can see how your work as a butterfly angel spreads across the country!

Here's another Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor).
Hadn't had them all summer, until just this month.
Any way - this one was huge!!!
Lovin on the Zinnias. Yes, the Zinnias are as tall as the 6' fence.

Nice pretty bright Yellow Sulpher - On Zinnia.

BEEUTIFUL Butterflies, especially the pipevine, 'cause I have never seen one up close in my garden. Six foot Zinnas, who knew? I didn't know they'd grow that tall. That will get the butterflies attention for sure. Great pictures, pford!

Well, last night I thought one of my cats was up to something and sure enough he was. He made a chrysalis! It was so much fun to watch even though I missed the good parts. He had been hanging on the side of the cage for about a day. When I got home from work he was a brighter green and looked smoother. He was also scrunched up so that he looked a lot smaller than he had been. Oh, and he had the sling around him and seemed to be attached at his booty, too. I fell asleep watching football and woke up about midnight and he hadn't changed. I do remember hearing something hit the bottom of the cage during the night but I just thought it was one of them pooing. But now I think maybe it was his head coming off. When I woke up this morning (about 6:00) he was fully enclosed. He's shaped well and has good color - I'm feeling really good about this one! The little ones have been hanging out next to him all evening; maybe it makes them feel safe?

Rod (Butterfly Whisperer), your picture of the GST at your hummer feeder is award winning worthy. You've got some great pictures of butterflies this summer, please submit them to Dave's photo contest.

Melanie, what kind of cat formed that crystalis, a BST?