Also at the NABA Park was a Violet Banded Skipper (Nyctelius nyctelius).
This one is a looker too! It's nice to see a skipper that isn't small and brown and looks like the other gazillion flitting around :o)
~ Cat
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 22
...and also from the NABA Park - a Guatemalan Cracker (Hamadryas guatemalena)
~ Cat
...and another rarity. East Mexican White Skipper (Heliopetes sublinea).
We saw four different individuals today...a couple a tad worn out and the others quite fresh looking.
~ Cat
...and there were gobs and gobs of Common Mestras (Mestra amymone). There must have been a mass emergence along the woodline.
Almost looks like a cat face design on some of these little butterflies.
~ Cat
Hi, TPP!
You saw Glassberg today?! How neat! I just joined NABA on Thursday after months and months of reading the NABA website articles! Also bought 'Butterflies through Binoculars' for the east by Glassberg this week. I really am enjoying his book.
Looks like you had a great day at the NABA Park! And beautiful photography! What a wonderful place to be able to visit!
Now the white mistflower--is that also a eupatorium 'coelestinum' or maybe a eupatorium 'rugosum'?-- The West Texas Mistflower really seems to be a ringer for the butterflies and I can't quite determine which one it is in my wildflower book....
Love all the photos...
Out here the parks are full of betony and greggi - blue mist flower. We don't have the white one out here...or least not that I've noticed. They really are butterfly magnets...too much it seems. There are so many butterflies to look at you don't know where to start :o) The cool weather seems to have pushed them this way and as soon as the sun comes out so do all the butterflies.
Glad to hear you joined NABA. Congrats!!! Our local NABA IBP (International Butterfly Park) in Mission, TX is Glassberg's baby. He comes down usually once a month to look around and meet up with folks. He's been here for a couple of weeks now since we had the butterfly festival last weekend and he was our guest speaker at the Saturday night dinner. Lots of folks are down in the Lower Rio Grande Valley during the fall season as this is our best butterfly time of the year.
Glassberg has lots of great books. I just got his Butterflies of Mexico book. Picked it up at the dinner and he personalized it. That book is awesome. His presentation was awesome too. There are soooo many gorgeous butterflies in Mexico! Lots of the strays we get here are in that book so it is perfect for our part of the country as well.
Congrats again on joining NABA!!!
~ Cat
ps...when I got home around 630pm I walked outside to check my backyard and found this little Red Bordered Pixie hiding out under a duranta leaf :o) Nice yard bug for me!!!
Great camera shootin there podna!! Cat~ What an excellent series of pics!
You guys, I think Cat is doing a great job luring us down to the Rio Grande on a trip..(it's working Cat, :-)!) ~It is definitely on my list of place to go if I can ever get away from here. There's so much to tend here, even going to NY during Christmas is a ripper for me..lol. We have to leave Itty (our chi), at a kennel to boot.
I don't see the fascination with the my garden wearing off any time soon, in other words. I have to stay close to see every little thing.
Thank's for sharing the sweet pics gf!
debnes
Don't stop posting Cat, lol. Keep right on...don't mind me.
Congrats to you Judy!! ...on joining NABA! I know how you love the butterflies, that's perfect!
debnes
Well, I'm hoping somebody has WT Mist flower seeds in the seed round robin because I just looked it up and can't find an online source for them!
OK don't laugh, I just looked up Elderhostel tours and they have one down to TX for butterfly watching there! I know you all aren't old enough but....
Also a Copper River Train tour that looks enticing for the MEXICO butterflies! See, I bet you just can't wait to get old! ;-)
Looking forward to growing old Judy.. In fact I have been practicing for it for a long time now... lol! I have some TBM Judy, not to worry. :-)
debnes
Sunstreak Tours specializes in butterfly tours. Several of butterfly book authors and photographers are the tour leaders. A tad pricey to me since I live here and it's free for me (well, aside from the cost of gas to drive where I want to go)...but if anyone has money to burn...look them up. They have guided tours down to this area as well other states, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Will just say if anyone wants to come butterflying down to the LRGV (Lower Rio Grande Valley) the best thing is to research the tours and seminars offered when the city of Mission, TX has their annual butterfly festival which is always during the month of October. Ya'll just missed it - it was last week. However, they have a website (www.texasbutterfly.com) - but they won't put the next year's festival info until around August. The site also provides information on hotels, places to eat and such.
Elsewise, find a relative or friend that lives in this area and mooch off them when you're down here!!! :o)
I always like the end of October and November...and heck, even December to go butterflying. Seems as the weather cools off a bit the butterflies come out in full force.
~ Cat
ps...and although the Monarchs are migrating through here they do take time out to roost and well...do what Monarchs do best :o)
This message was edited Oct 26, 2007 10:48 PM
I hope you all remember those tour names next year when I retire in May! I just may have to look up a tour to the BF festival and meet you Cat! I am old enough I think (61 by then). Even if I don't go with a tour, I can come alone or with the DH the next year when he retires. I only have 141 "working days" left...... yes I am counting them down!!
I'm dreaming and drooling over these butterfly tours...
http://www.sunstreaktours.com/
http://www.naturetrek.co.uk/wildlife-holidays/wildlife-holidays.asp?ID=9
http://www.ss-tours.com/guad_mich.html
http://www.spatiawildlife.com/June_butterfly.htm
And the Texas Butterfly Festival http://www.texasbutterfly.com/seminars.html
WHooohooo 141 days, I will countdown with you!...I know how you're looking forward to that (:-Sheila!!
Even though I am retired from my working career, I still have the little ones to see up. It's nice to already know what to do with our "alone time" when it comes! Keeps me out of trouble these nowadays too actually.
Today I will be digging up and staging plants, and packaging my seed collections.
debnes
Another new butterfly for me!!! It doesn't matter a bit when I look in the book and it says that it's a commoner in these areas, because when I see one for the first time, it's like Christmas to a five year old. This is the first time I've noticed this pretty one, and I think maybe it's a Variegated Frit? Can you experts verify for me? He was out there in my butterfly bush and lantana, with a Gulf Frit; unfortunately the only photo I got of the two of them in one frame didn't come out too good.
I can't wait to grow some passion vine next year!!!!!!! I want to keep these beauties coming back!
Yes, it is the Variegated Fritillary , I love those so pretty!.
Yea Thea! Those variegated Frits are supposed to be in my area but I have yet to see one. Just gobs and gobs of Gulf Frits. So if you want to celebrate, I will celebrate with you. I was in my backyard today when I saw a Carolina Satyr flying around. They're common, but it's only the second time I've seen it in my yard so I was excited. I was lying on my stomach taking pictures and when I got up Mom was hovering over me and scared the life outta me! She thought I might have been hurt and I had my iPod on so I didn't hear her. At least I got a good pic!
I was chasing a skipper around when I saw this in my neighbor's yard. Is it a moth? It seems like I've seen this one before (in life and on the internet) but I just can't seem to remember what it is.
It's a White-tipped Black (Melanchroia chephise). Those guys always make me take a double look as they are day fliers - never can be too sure it isn't some rare butterfly :o) but alas, it's a small geometrid moth.
Those guys love nectaring on hoya blooms out here. Of course, they are always on the blue mist flower...like every other butterfly and moth around.
~ Cat
Congrats on the VGF Thea!!! I haven't got them in my yard that I am aware of. Loads of GFs on my Passiflora, maybe next year.
Funny story Mellie, I am sure it scared Mom a lot worse than you!
Nice pic of the moth too. You, Cat and the others down south are going to have to entertain us on this thread from here on out. Looks like we are just on the verge of cold weather now. So keep 'em coming!
I still have about 12 Monarch chrysalis that should e-close in the next few days. Will they be ok when I let them go? Or should I try and send them to someone down south? This comming week forcase is about 48 degrees at night and is 70 during the day.
chris
Just release them (after the sun warms the air up a few degrees) on some nectar plants. As they warm up, they will feed and be off to Mexico, or maybe Florida from your area!
I packed some for a BF tagging and the lady had me put them in the frige, so they can stand the cold, but just can't fly in it.
Ok, that makes me feel better. I hope they come out soon!
Have they turned black and transparent yet? Like this? If so, it won't be long, they are pretty on target with their timing.
No, they are still green but It should be this week.
The night before they will began to get very dark, and by morning they have the full coloring in their wings and body. Look out on the bug files database and you can see one where the orange of the wing is visable. They will not feed immediately, so you can wait until after noon to put them out when the temps have warmed up. They know what to do from there on. Good job!
Yeah!! Great job Chris!!
Sheila I just saw the pic of your truck, ... Great packing job! I'm about to get out there and pack mine. See ya at the swap!
debnes
Soon as it warms up every day, they're out there in force. The VFs are here today.
The ZLWs are here...including a few new ones I released yesterday. I have a few itty bitty cats and two possible ZLW eggs. I swear it looked like one of the butterflies was looking for a vine to put eggs on today...hope not, getting pretty cool at night.
This message was edited Oct 28, 2007 2:39 PM
Nectar, nectar, nectar! Oh, this one shows how LONG the Julia's wings look!
Was out butterflying again today. Got to add another butterfly to my life list. A
Red-crescent Scrub-Hairstreak (Strymon rufofusca). Tiny little bugger...so cute!
~ Cat
Also saw a few Tropical Buckeyes (Junonia genoveva) amongst the dozens of Common Buckeyes. The area at NABA IBP was filled with American Ladys and Painted Ladys. It was nice to see so many of the two species nectaring on eupatorium.
Here's the Tropical Buckeye.
~ Cat
These butterflies are a joy to see. Great Southern White (Ascia monuste) - female.
~ Cat
Also saw two female Silver Emperors (Doxocopa laure) feeding at the ground beneath a fruit basket. I'd placed some frozen bananas and a mix of guavas, strawberries, melons and peaches in a hanging wire basket we use at the park to feed the brushfoots. Seems the juice from the thawing fruit dripped to the ground and the Silver Emperors decided it was easier to feed this way than hanging upside down clinging to the underside of the basket :o)
~ Cat
Cat, thanks for the moth ID. It seems like I remember seeing them as a kid, but hadn't seen one of those in a long, long time. I love that hairstreak! They're so cute. I know I give a lot of attention to the swallowtails (don't we all) but when you see some of the smaller bfs up close you really appreciate their details.
It was pretty quiet here today, but it was overcast and kind of windy (for the Gulf side of FL anyway). I went out to pick food for the zebra STs and all I saw was a Gulf Frit. Dad was working outside today and saw a Gulf Frit, too. Oh, I forgot to say yesterday that when I was lying on my stomach getting the Carolina Satyr shot, a zebra longwing flew over me. They've been regular visitors; Mom thinks they come to see her since they stop at the bougainvillea in front of her office everyday. I also saw a Palamedes fly by and I've been seeing either a Tiger ST or Giant ST around. It's so quick all I can see is big, yellow, and swallowtail.
Mellie...lucky you! No Palamedes Swallowtails down here. Send a few over :o) I'd like to see a huge butterfly without having to upload the photo to my computer to see all the details - like in those little cute butterflies :o)
We don't get Tigers either. Although we had a rare Viceroy earlier in the week at the NABA IBP I haven't seen it myself.
Saw a fresh Zebra Longwing chrysalis today. Still very pale in color with the shriveled up skin attached. Way cool! I hadn't realized how ferocious they look!!!
~ Cat
another view.
~ Cat
Ferocious is THE word, lol. I swear, I'm going through my 2nd childhood. I just love those chrysalises and butterflies! Thanks all for sharing those wonderful photos and informative datas of the beauties.
Kim
p.s.
Congrats, Sheila, on your up coming retirement.
Thanks Lily!
The N. TX Round Up in Arlington was today and I am so tired this has taken me about six tries to complete. I keep falling asleep....gone to bed.
Some type of little Orange or Little Yellow.
