DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 29

Continued from: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/809023/ Which was getting way too full!!

WOW! Looks like we're all getting very busy with planting and preparing for the Butterflies of 2008! Some of you are already off to a great start.


I was out planting and weeding yesterday and caught a Gulf Fritillary ovipositning on the Passionvines!!! They may not hatch right away as we are expecting more cool weather this weekend, and maybe a wintry mix. When it warms up they should hatch out.

See here she is laying eggs on a dry browned part of the vines.. :-)

Glad I'm entertaining everyone! Yup, my family is a little crazy. And I do have to yell at Mom when she gets too close to my plants or when she plays too much with my caterpillars. Mom has a black thumb and really only has success with African Violets and gesneriads. It's funny, she'll have "her" plants in the yard which means the ones she bought and I take care of. Like right now her Meyer Lemon is blooming so I took her outside to smell the flowers. I love citrus season! Even downtown today I could smell orange blossoms.

And while I was downtown today I went across the street to the little park/square across the street during my lunch. It was so nice outside I just sat and read the paper. Whie I was doing that, a bright, medium-sized sulphur flew by. It was almost neon-looking! I checked around the house tonight after I got home and the Sandhill Crane is still there, but no butterflies today.

My three GF cats are munching away. I love the little holes they eat in the leaf - so cute!

Melanie

Aw Mellie! Very cute lil cats!!

My Meyer Lemon is blooming too.. It's inside the back mudroom with a few other citrus plants/trees.

Becky~ I finally figured out what the yellow flowers that attracted all the butterflies last spring... I was selecting seeds at Target and came across a package of them. After I bought them I opened the pkg and the seeds are identical to the ones I have. By the way I found another baggie of them in the kitchen. I knew I had more of them!!

Mystery over.. They are "Coreopsis, Tetra Giants ~Coreopsis grandiflora". I will have to see if the PF has a place for them.. Nope, there isn't.. No wonder I couldn't find them!!

Anyone remember these?

Tetra Giant ... The bloom a long time and re-bloom.. Every nectar butterfly within several miles flocked to them last year... Everyone in here in this thread should have some of these. They are frost hardy too!!! A real sturdy perennial!

writing this one down. getting rid of the little grass I have in sunny area. Going to plant more flowers. I have some coreopsis and they have already turned green.
Elaine

Deb - Is this the plant that you were calling, "Butterfly Daisies"? Very cool that you discovered what they were!

I was at Wally World today and found packs of seeds by American Seed Co. for .30 cents per pack! Bought several of them. One packet was called "Hummingbird Wildflower Mix". And then there was "Shade Wildflower Mix" and "Cottage Garden Mix". Can't beat the prices if the plants actually do sprout and grow! :-) So I bought several different packets. We may be doing another garden at the school. I have an idea of the perfect area that is not being utilized and would make a fabulous garden area.

BTS - Glad you received the Bacopa in good shape. I mailed it out Tuesday and you got it pretty quickly. They should root pretty easily and then they spread. Be sure to transplant them to a bigger pot outside when the weather warms up. It's sure to bring the White Peacocks to your garden! And these plants look nice in pots! Just make sure they don't dry out. They have to always be in moist or wet soil.

This message was edited Feb 15, 2008 9:49 PM

Also, forgot to add that your photos are great!!! As is Melanies! I just can't seem to make the time to photograph more often. But I sure enjoy all of your amazing pics!

Debnes, I was wonderingf about what happens to eggs when there's a cold spell. I saw a Polydamas laying eggs on my pipevine a couple days before our coldest night, it dropped to 32, but I never did see any cats. Mabe it was too cold or maybe a predator got them??

Melanie, those little tiny babies are just the cutest!

Becky, great score on the seed packets, I'll have to check our local WM for bargains too.

Elaine, here's your birthday bf- she hatched out today and zoomed out the door, while I was opening it- I'd only pushed it open about 4 inches and whoosh- away she went!

Wonderful Elaine,
Coreopsis is an excellent choice for the spot. I think the height and color makes them a pretty special butterfly staple. Do you have a Target where you are? Check and see if they have the seed rack up yet. The brand on the package is Burpee. C. ~ Tetra Giants
And Thanks Becky~
I put an entry in the PF, the pics wont show up until sometime tomorrow. This is just one more exciting thing about gardening. Those plants that take a while to get the exact information on, When it finally gets solved is a very exciting moment. .

To catch everyone else up on this flower, all ya have to do is go back to Daily Butterflies first pages to see all the species that fed on them last year.

She landed on the fence, and then she was gone!

Cathy

Beautiful Monarch!! Cathy!!

Happy Birthday Elaine!!

._i_i_i_i_
[_______] Hope it was a good one!! :-)

Becky~ I am going to WM tomorrow and see what treasures I can find, LOL! As if I need more...;-D

Happy, happy Birthday, Elaine!!!! :-)

Deb, am I seeing things or is that some kind of cat or creepy, crawly bug on the top of the coreopsis in your photo?

The paper had an article this week about a new nursery opening up just north of me. Yesterday Mom says, "Do you want to go check it out?" Of course! I love new plant sources (and if Mom pays, even better)! So we're off to look for plants. Not that I'm looking for anything in particular.

Happy birthday Elaine!

Melanie

Melanie- good eye on the little caterpillar on the coreopsis!

Another Monarch today, just put it outside on the milkweed.

Free to go!

Cathy

I love local nurseries! The new one we checked out was okay, but then we went to my favorite place (it's called Hollie's). They always have tons of butterflies and today was no exception. First, there was this skipper.

Then, the sulphurs were laying eggs all over the cassias! I bought two of the cassias myself. They come with their own eggs; how can you resist?

Then I spotted these little eggs.

At first, I thought these were the newly laid Sulphur eggs. However, after watching the butterfly oviposit, I discovered that the eggs are actually white at first. I guess they turn orange when they're closer to hatching.

The Gulf Frits seemed to prefer these red pentas.

Then, I was super surprised to see a Red Admiral! I've never seen one of these in my neck of the woods. One of the guys at the nursery agreed we don't see them too often around here.

There were also several Monarchs flying around. I also saw a Palamedes ST and there was a Giant ST ovipositing on their Hercules' Club! I couldn't get pictures of those though. I didn't realize that tree was the Hercules' Club until the guy told me. I told him I had just bought one but mine is just a little stick. The butterflies are back!

By the way, the cassias I bought have plenty of eggs. I'm going to clean out one of my cages and collect them later today (have to finish lunch first). I've got sulphur babies!

Melanie

Deb, this thread makes me miss Orlando and all the butterflies we had. Mellie, that picture of the red penta is so wonderful. I don't seem to find the taller penta here. It's all mini stuff. When I think how easy it is to root, I wish I had some today. Yellow swallowtails and black swallowtails like it too. They seem to hang out all day with just a few plants. One time I had about thirty gulf frits on a pink Mandavilla vine. My lawn guy proudly told me the next day that he had sprayed them because they were "tearin up yer vine". Another time, we counted almost 60 swallowtail larvae on a gorgeous stand of fennel we had in the side yard. Our neighbor sprayed his orange tree with insecticidal soap one Saturday, and that was the end of that. My favorite is the monarch crysalis (sp?) with the little golden crown at the top. I hope we're able to raise butterflies successfully here. We have a different kind of milkweed here than in florida, and I've not seen any monarchs on it. I do want to try some butterfly plant (asclepias). I saw some up on the mountain and it looked like it would be attractive to butterfllies. I don't have a garden yet, but intend to have one this spring. Keep up the good work, you guys. You brighten up the world!

Oh my gosh, if someone sprayed my butterflies or cats I would go bonkers! Like those guys that knock on the door and offer to spray the moss on the trees (I'm a bromeliad freak).

I'm sure you'll figure out how to get the Virginian butterflies! My grandma lives in West Virginia and last summer when I visited her I found some pink milkweed growing wild. Keep us updated as you plan your garden and let us know if you need any advice. One great thing about DG is that there are people from all over so someone is bound to know about your area.

Glad you liked my picture!
Melanie

Lots of Gulf Fritillaries at Lake Woodruff NWR near Deland FL.

another view. It looks a little worse for wear.

And lastly:

Pam - Need seeds to help start your garden? Sending you a d-mail.

thanks for the "happy birthday"'s. It was a wonderful one. Love all those butterfly pictures.,
Cathy, especially 'freebutterfly, Elaine'
I am with you Melanie,,, I would go bonkers about spraying. One good thing about my neighbor up the hill. he could care less about his yard... never sprays anything..LOL
I am going to check out Lowe's tomorrow and see if I can find any flowers with butterfly eggs on them.
Elaine.

I never have any luck at the big retail stores. That's why I like my local place so much. Last summer they were talking about how they had just set out the dill and now it was covered in eggs, but they just sighed and accepted it as part of life. No spraying or picking them off. I'm always a little suspicious when I see plants like milkweed and there are no caterpillars or eggs on it. It's just not natural.

In other gardening news, I found a source on craig's list for composted horse manure. Dad and I are taking his truck out there tomorrow morning to shovel up as much as we want. What better way to spend a Sunday morning? Guess I'm not going hiking, but that's ok because I saw lots of butterflies today. Still can't believe I saw a Red Admiral!

Melanie

Oh,,, yes Craig's list. need to check it out... the Market Bulletin in Georgia also has manure, seeds, and supplies listed. Not sure about Florida.. Can't wait for warmer weather here and my butterflies. I am sure I will have tons this year.

bsharf, nice closeups of the GF, poor little tattered wings! Do you- or anyone- know what the yellow flower is in your third pic? Looks like a nice native.

Pam, I would have been heartbroken if I had your lawn guy and neighbor telling me those things- them's fightin' words!

Melanie, great sighting on the RA, that is so cool. Have you ever been to Florida Native Plants, over by Crowley's? I'm planning to take a trip out there soon, and have seen FNP at local shows, but I've never been to their nursery. It's been a while since I've been to Crowley's, so between the two, I bet it will be a humdinger of a day!

Saw several GFs yesterday, and a Sulphur, which actually landed on a petunia, of course the camera was on the other side of the yard!

Cathy

Beautiful photos everyone. Really nice!

angele - Welcome! I have to agree with you! Stunning photos!!!

I agree about the lawn spraying. We stopped a couple of years ago when I started gardening for butterflies. When my neighbors have their yards sprayed, I always try to say something to them about it. I will say something like, "Oh! I see you just had your lawn sprayed. I used to get ours sprayed too, but discovered that it was killing my butterflies and posing a danger to my hummingbirds." I think the mention of "hummingbirds" is what gets their attention. Afterall, to many people butterflies are just insects. The folks here have not seen a hummer locally. So most neighbors then start a conversation with me and that's when I invite them into my backyard for a stroll. You can't see my garden beds in the back because of the privacy fence. So when they walk through the gate, I love seeing their face light up. My backyard was the best kept secret for a long time. But it's starting to shape up nicely and I don't mind showing folks how it looks and letting them see all the activity from butterflies, birds, squirrels, and hummers. They get a kick out of my little water ponds/containers. Who woulda thought you could get so much in one small backyard! LOL!

Then usually I will start seeing that neighbor planting more flowers or hanging baskets of flowers. I alway offer to share seeds or do cuttings of any of my plants. So ... I try to be an enabler! LOL! Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But at least I tried. :-) I would love to see my street become environmentally safe.

Beautiful shots bsharf!!

So glad you joined us here Angele!! Hey everyone! Give a warm welcome to my new pal Angele from NM! She is seriously interested in getting more wildlife in her garden using plants... pretty much what we do here. :-)

GUESS WHO GOT A 2008 SPORTAGE EX YESTERDAY!!

Congrats, Deb! What color is it?

Oh I hear you Becky!
Last year my back neighbors sprayed and killed EVERYTHING except the passiflora Blue Crown which is in a raised box bed...
A few of them might have recovered this year, but most were gonners. We will see what survived this year.

Thx Becky!
Black Cherry!! I am in a White one now until mine is ready tomorrow. They have to find the exact color and full package I want.. leather seats, "0" miles... etc. :-)

Thanks for the welcome everyone!! I'll be posting pictures as soon as i see some hummers & butterflies. None so far this year but like I said I sure am enjoying your pictures & comments too..