DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 29

Melanie - I forgot to tell you that I saw a Red Admiral yesterday too! I was soooo surprised. It was on the Mexican Flame vine. Maybe they are in season right now and we are starting to see them! LOL!

Becky, that is strange! Must be the time of year or something because I never saw one in FL last year, but I really only started looking in the summer.

Ok, everyone I need your help with this one. Dad and I were leaving this morning to go get the horse manure and I was showing him my new cassia plants. Lo and behold, there was a butterfly laying in it (it looked asleep). I had a hard time getting any good pictures, but I'll show you what I got.

It's hard to tell, but his nose sticks up in the air, like a Gulf Frit. The antenna reminded me of a hairstreak, but I'm not sure what this guy is.

And here's a little different shot. Let me know if you have any idea who he is. In other news, the sulphurs are out in force today. I also saw another Swallowtail in the yard (I believe it was the Giant ST). I just checked my sulphur babies and one has hatched and is climbing up the side of the cage. I'd take a picture but it is so small. It's smaller than a grain of rice!

Melanie

I think it may be a snout.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1663

I got this pic of the top side of one in our area last year.

Cool looking butterfly with the snout, Sheila! It's funny how you can spot a butterfly a mile away after you raise and release them! I used to never be able to spot one unless it flew right in front of me. Now I catch them out of the corner of my eye and know exactly where to look! Great photos!!!

Hi Angele... I love New Mexico. I see you are also in 7b zone. Will watch and see what butterflies you get. I have Gulf Frits, Sulphurs, Monarchs, Glad to share any seeds with you,
Elaine

Mellie...those ventral photos resemble something from the crescent family...perhaps even a checkerspot. Hard to tell unless you get a topside view for comparison.

It's not a Snout...the snout's snout make it easy to identify from any angle :o) We get snouts by the thousands out here. When the Great Snout Migration occurs it often coincides with a mass emergence of Lyside Sulphurs. It sometimes gets so bad you have scrape the butterfly goo off the windshield. It's impossible to brake for all those gazillions of butterflies! Which reminds me of that old joke...what's the last thing that goes through a butterfly's mind when it hits your windshield? (it's hiney!)

On a good note:

I drove out to the ranch today and didn't see much flying around in the back pasture. However, there was a nice variety of butterflies on a Mexican Lime tree that is right behind the house. It had started to bloom and the butterflies were flitting all about. Go figure!

Got to see two lifers for myself - and firsts for the ranch. These butterflies are occasional but I'd not seen them until now.

Band-Celled Sister (Adelpha fessonia)

~ Cat

This message was edited Feb 17, 2008 8:53 PM

..and the other lifer for me was a Gold-headed Scallopwing (Staphylus ceos).

~ Cat

Oh,,, just beautiful.. I was looking at my hollyhocks today and they were covered with orange eggs. Will get a pic. tomorrow. And have to get my flame vine seeds started.
Elaine

Mellie...after having browsed through my ventral photos of crescents and checkerspots am thinking it might be a Phaon Crescent??? Do you get those there?

~ Cat

Check out this photo for comparison.

This message was edited Feb 17, 2008 9:15 PM

EFG; that gives me hope to see butterflies returning to our zones. I've seen a few moths in the garden, but since there is no bloomings other than a few Daffodils, I haven't seen much of the b.f. Ooooh, I can't wait. I've enjoyed all the luckier gardeners with their presence in their gardens. Thanks all, just the fix that I needed.
Kim

Cat - Love your newest butterflies! Beautiful! And I have to say I think you are correct about the ID of Melanie's mystery butterfly. Sure looks like it compared to your photo!

Elaine....are you talking about Mexican Flame Vine (Senecio confusus)?

If so, I've heard the seeds don't germinate well or aren't viable for very long. If you want to trade for rooted cuttings I have two that are about 6 inches tall and rooted in wet floral foam. They are great butterfly magnets.

~ Cat

Elaine - I may have some rooted cuttings soon, too! Several are spoken for, but I am sure I will have a few more to share! I concur with Cat about the seeds. You could try sowing them and see if anything sprouts. If not, either Cat or I can send you a cutting. :-)

Yes, Cat. I have some seeds that I got from Lucy in Florida. I "think" I got a cutting from her too, but not sure if it made it through the winter in greenhouse. I would love to trade. I have hmm,,,, Purple Passion Vine seeds, Anise Hyssop seeds, Black Hyssop seeds, several named Brugmansias, hollyhock seeds, tomato seeds, Snow nymph salvia.
elaine

Thanks Becky,,, will trade you 2,, ya'll are too kind. And these butterflies will love you

Elaine...you have d-mail :o)

~ Cat

Cat those are great pics for the first lifers! The Band-Celled Sister is so clear it looks soft and fresh.
I can see the id you made is a definate. I haven't seen any with extended heads except the snouts.

Sheila...there have been a handful of sightings of Band-celled Sisters at the butterfly parks...it was a first for the ranch. Will definitely go back next weekend to check the blossoming citrus trees there. As nothing else is blooming the butterflies are gathering around the trees that surround the house. Last year we had some roadrunners, green jays, mocking birds and a few other species all flocking to the trees to gobble up pipevine swallowtails! BAD BIRDS!!!

Several skipper species have elongated palpi that make you take a second look...but none as long as a Snout's snout :o)

ps...the Band-celled Sister's wings are smudged - my fault - it was so fresh and docile I was able to pick it up :o) When I put it back on a blossom it started to seek out nectar again and didn't even fly away!

~ Cat

Cat, thanks for sharing those beautiful photos, way to go! How is progress at the ranch coming along?

Elaine, you said you have orange eggs on your hollyhocks- do you know what they are? I'm growing hollyhocks for the first in FL, not sure how they'll fare during gthe summer, but I sure do love the way they look now!

Saw several GF's yesterday, but they were zooming too fast for pictures. Hoping for some rain today to settle in all the little dill seedlings I transplanted yetserday. Come on BST's!
Cathy

Angele~
Here is the page at Butterflies & Moths site for Sierra County:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?dc=5508&_dcc=1&si=32

Click on their names and the page comes up with info... Look for "Caterpillar Host" on each page to find out what plants you need to grow.

This is a great starting place to know what to plant for butterflies there. First we get a good idea of what's been recorded where we live, then we find out what host plants the larvae require and plant it. Then they find you. This is basically how most of us have begun.
When you see what you need we will see how to hook you up with whatever we can.

Cat!!! Beautiful Sister there! And the Gold-head!! Congrats on the lifers!

Yes Elaine..What are the eggs on your HH? Can you get a pic?

oooh on my way now! Thank you Deb!

Deb - Perfect lead for angele! :-) :-) Thanks for beating me to that website! Love that site!!!

I started clicking on the list and then jumped to Swallowtails because I remembered this butterfly & I was disappointed because I thought no one will believe me because there aren't any swwallowtails this big then I remembered I lived in another county at the time!My most magical butterfly moment is from August 2004: Otero County New Mexico. Giant Swallowtail is on the list for there. Do you think it is one?
This was one of the first photos I took with a digital camera. I planted some very old sunflower seeds on a whim and one plant grew. I couldn't believe it when I saw the size of this creature! I never knew butterflies grew so big! To get an idea the stake for the sunflower is 2 inches wide and the siding on my old home was 12 inches between the vertical lines. I measured the sunflower and if I remember right it was almost 11 inches wide I figured the butterfly was around 8 inches or more. One of my favorite things is how the butterfly wing lines up with the flower petals. Man what a magical moment!!!

time flies; I got that year wrong for sure, had to be 2001 or so

What a beautiful shot!

I believe the butterfly is a WesternTiger Swallowtail! Gorgeous photo you got there!

http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/119/

They are beautiful butterflies, aren't they?!!! :-)

I first thought so but the size is almost 2x the size listed. Is that possible? I don't know a thing about butterflies except that I really like them.

I've seen some pretty large Eastern Tigers here! I am quite sure that is the species you captured in your photo! :-)

I need more PawPaws in my yard! LOL! My last PawPaw didn't make the transplant into the ground. Time for another road trip to the Native Nursery in the next county!

Awesome Tiger indeed!!!

...Elaine...am also curious - what are those eggs on the hollyhocks? I think there are some skippers use that as a larval host...this will be interesting!!!

Cathy...progress at the ranch has been slow. The disk attachment from Dad's old tractor does fit on my brother's tractor. Either we work on the old tractor to get it back up and running, we purchase a disk or we borrow one. He's leaning towards borrowing one but he lives about 80 miles from the ranch so he needs to use the flatbed trailer to haul it. He had stuff to do this weekend so wasn't able to go to the ranch. I think I need to learn how to use the tractor and just do it myself! Have also contemplated using a gas operator tiller and just walk along the roads and places where I want to sow seeds. Can't just toss them as the birds, mice and ground squirrels would quickly find them and eat them.

Anyone have any idea on how to plant plants so the wild hogs and deer won't eat them? Am thinking of stacking railroad ties two or three high and making some raised beds near the pond...but haven't thought it all through.

Oh well...Spring is almost here and I haven't gotten anything in the ground. Am going to have to plan for the fall season if things don't come together soon.

~ Cat

Oh Cat! I'm going to have to give that some thought and research about the Hogs and Deer.. We do have plenty of both on the Big thicket property, but I don't have to deal with those here.

Bummer about the Pawpaw Becky. Thanks for chiming in..:-)! You catch what I miss every time, lol!

Beautiful shot Angele! It's a female too!
It is odd that the B&MoNA site lists the WTST as 2 3/4-4 inch wing span. The ETST are listed as 3 5/8 - 6 1/2 inches... I know I've seen and documented them larger than that! lol!

Now the host plants for both of these are very similar if not same. The Easterns and Western both use the leaves of cottonwood and aspen (Populus), willows (Salix), wild cherry (Prunus), and ash (Fraxinus).

Have you any of these in your yard now? If not, you will soon, I know these people have saplings coming up and when they have extra they speak up usually. I think this forum is the most "goes around, comes around" in practice,than anyother on the whole www. Not only because of the generosity of everyone here, but the fact that we produce butterflies and they can really get around. They fly through other peoples yards so far away. Always a good thing and people usually remember magical moments when seeing certain ones.

This kind of gardening is as addictive as birdwatching, but wayyyy less passive as BW. Once we begin planting our host plants, and seeing how quickly the creatures respond, it lights a remarkable kind of fire under a person.

If you happen to have or plant a Cherry tree or two, and it fruits~You will be amazed at the extra birds you will see in the winter too. Doing this brings the whole garden into rapid harmony. Such a pay off for the work. I think most of us feel thatthe pay off is much greater many times over.

Here are two great and sure fire things to start with that will be the easiest for where you live:
Planting parsley, carrot, celery and/or dill will bring Black Swallowtails to you in droves by April. Males will come to patrol, sometimes even before the females arrive. Both sexes have a lepadar (just made up that word, lol) for their host plants, and they end up congregating in your yard. Talk about your Kodak moments!! The males give off pheromones and the females who need fertilization seek them out better than any GPS system. Males, of course, are always willing to reproduce.:-)
It wouldn't hurt to get Tropical Milkweed, Asclepias curassavica started now too.. It is the fastest growing Milkweed for us in the south. The Monarch and Queen butterflies will find you pretty quick too because it blooms fast.

An equally important thing is, of course the nectar plants. Blue Mist flower is excellent for attracting Monarch and Queen, though all the nectar butterflies adore it. I have skads of seeds for this one.

Another is Cosmos which grows very quickly too and gets early blooms. Seeds are on sale everywhere now, and itis the perfect time to get them going.

Zinnias are a must... any kind will do. Pick your own favorite size and color.

Cosmos is another indispensable nectar source. I have plenty of seed for "Tetra Giants"

When you start out with Black Swallowtails and Monarch/Queens, lots of other species will ascend on you, then you can plant hosts for what you see coming there naturally.


Here is a Black Swallowtail ovipositing (laying eggs) on Parsley...

Here are the Black Swallowtail babies...

Gosh Deb, I am so touched at the effort you put in on my behalf. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You all are so nice!

Geez, I go to work for one day and y'all talk up a storm! I think you're right about the Crescent. I had a "duh" moment when I read that; I forget they look so different on the underside. Plus, I haven't seen one in a while. That's only the third one I've seen in my yard.

So far I've got two tiny sulphur cats raoming around. One climbed up and through the cheesecloth so now I've got saran wrap across the top (I air them out every now and then). I brought in some more eggs when I went to get some fresh food this evening. These things are so tiny - between them and my spreadsheets I'm going to need a new prescription for my contacts!

The pawpaws should be blooming about now (maybe I'll go hiking one of these days). After they fruit I'll try to get some more seeds. I transplanted seven seedlings last fall. I thought only six made it, but the seventh made an encore appearance a few weeks back. They're still seedling size, but I bet they've got massive roots by now. I can't wait to see how they grow this year. If anyone wants to try some seeds, I'll let you know when they become available. They're pretty easy to grow. I buried mine too deep the first time around (they're big seeds), so then I just brushed off some of the dirt and viola! I couldn't believe I got them to germinate because it looked like some of them had already tried once and I figured that was that.

Melanie (Mommy to the Zebra Swallowtails)

Melanie - Please count me in for PawPaw seeds! I'd love some. Also I read that if the seeds completely dry out they may not be any good. So they need to be fresh and planted right away.

Hmmm...I can't remember what I did with them, but I think I planted them within a few days. I left them in the fruit until I was ready to plant them. As soon as I see some fruits I'll let you know!

Since there are several newbies to the forum, I just want to give a few words of encouragement. I know we seem like experts, but we all still screw up occasionally. Today, I was cleaning the cage of my big Gulf Frit (who needs to get in his chrysalis already) and I dumped him right into the garbage. It's not the first time I've done that either. No worries - I scooped him up and he's fine. So don't ever feel embarrassed to ask a question or admit you think you did something wrong. I've also closed the lid on my caterpillars and squished them to death, and it took me forever to learn that when a caterpillar is still for a long time, he's molting and doesn't want me to move him.

Melanie (who is still learning)

Cat, I'm sorry you're running into roadblocks with your projects at the ranch, I hope things turn around for you. Goodness, "birds, mice and ground squirrels, wild hogs and deer," those are some serious challenges, I hope you are victorious! I think tractor work is an excellent feather in a woman's hat- go for it, you probably will have more finesse (and patience!) maneuvering the tractor than any of the guys. :-)

Debnes, those BST pics are great, I keep looking for a momma to come and lay some eggs on all these little parley and dill plants. Waiting...

Melanie, I would love to try some seeds for the paw paw. I wonder if they would do well down here? Do they need shade?

Saw another Monarch flying through the garden when I got home, it didn't stick around for any pictures.

Cathy

Hee hee. Do they need shade? Heck no! They won't hardly grow in shade. Find the most open, driest, sandiest spot you have and that's where they live. The little shrubby kind are endemic to FL. Which is good because we can't grow the big tree pawpaw (my grandma has one in WV). I'll try to remember to take a picture of their habitat next time I go hiking, but in this picture I took of the flower, you can see how open it is behind them. I planted mine across the street by my neighbor's fence (I landscape the entrance of our cul-de-sac). My yard has too many oaks, but the first people who owned the lot across the street cut down all the trees (and yes, we ratted them out to the county). In fact, I'll try to remember to take a picture of where I planted them. I need to weed first though; it's gotten really bad on that side.

Melanie

Here are the orange eggs,,, sorry it is blurry. will try to get better pics tomorrow. I have tons of Gulf Frits on my Passion Vine every year (not yet this year))) so wonder if that is what this is... Also have Tiger Swallowtails, yellow sulphurs,