DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 29

another one of the top side.

Cathy, these are Malva (French Hollyhocks) small purple flower. They seem to like the cooler weather better here.. good luck growing them.. I also have a blue/black one...The hateful white flies just love them, fair warning. I have to get more parsley planted quickly..
We had 2 and 1/2 inches of rain last night with all the bad weather. We just had high wind, thank goodness.
Elaine

Elaine, I suppose your passion vine is hardy in ground? I have one started in a pot in my sunroom. When is it safe for me to plant it outside?

Hi Elaine, glad to hear you got rain, but no damage. I just found a page that lists hollyhock as a larval food for Painted Lady butterflies, maybe that's what they are.
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/entfactpdf/ef006.pdf
That would be nice!
I have a single rose colored hollyhock, looks like it will produce some seed pods here soon, so even if it doesn't last long, I'll have had the nice blooms and seed to share.

Melanie, the paw paw flower is so cool looking. Sun and sandy soil- got plenty of that! I have never seen a paw paw fruit in the stores here, is this type edible? Maybe I could find some fruit at a local fruit stand...

Cathy

I know my grandpa liked to eat the asimina triloba (the tree kind), but I don't know of anyone who has eaten the shrubby kind. I think you can; when I cut into it it's not like it smelled weird or anything. I'll have to check on that.

Melanie

Deborah, My Passion vine is in the ground and runs like crazy. I just take the weedeater to it when it gets out of hand. I presume it will come back again this year. I threw a bunch of seeds out in the woods last year, and they will probably come creeping in my bedroom window this summer...LOL I save seeds too. I would wait til all danger of frost is over before planting outside. You can probably do this by the end of March.
Elaine

Cathy thanks for the link... interesting.
Elaine

Thanks Elaine. I'll wait until the end of March to plant it then

Those painted Ladies and American Ladies are such pretty butterfies. I do hope they'll find my holly hocks.

Crossing my fingers that my paw paws live. They were sticks when I planted them in the fall, and they are still just sticks.

Elaine - If these yellow eggs are on your Passiflora it has got to be one of two butterflies.
Zebra Long Wing:
http://www.lamproductions.com/Zebra_longwing_site.htm
or Gulf Fritillary:
http://www.lamproductions.com/Gulf_Fritillary_Site.htm

Now isn't that interesting that your Passiflora is on the ground and you get butterflies and cats! I must be doing something wrong by training mine to go up the trellis! :-/

If I missed something here and your eggs are on your Hollyhocks, then they are probably Painted Lady Butterfly eggs:
http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/lepidopt/nymph/plady.htm

Or they could be some other insect eggs.

This message was edited Feb 18, 2008 11:03 PM

Elaine,

Can't quite see those eggs properly...but they don't look like Painted Lady eggs. PL eggs are a yellowish white and are shaped much a Frit's eggs.

Out here they use cudweed as a larval host...but malva is a known larval host for them too.

Time will tell!!! Keeping my paws crossed!!! ("") x ("") Let's hope you have caterpillars soon and not insects :o)

~ Cat

Cuddleweed is for American LadyVanessa virginiensis, and Malva (Hollyhocks) are for Painted LadyVanessa cardui.. The Hollyhocks are also host plant for hairstreaks.. That's another thing your eggs might be Elaine.

Deb...oops...thanks for the correction. I am always getting those two ladies mixed up :o)

If anyone is sharing Paw Paw seeds keep me in the loop. Have wanting to grow a couple of trees for the back forty.

~ Cat

I bought parsley seed today & a bunch of flower seeds too.. :-) I'm so excited and I just can't hide it.. humm along

♫♪Well, it's stuck in my head now , angele.

LOL Deb... mine too..

That's great Angele! What flower seeds did you get?

angele; my parsley and fennels planted in years past are putting out new growth. It's time to get those babies going, soon we can harden them off and put them out....unlike most tender annuals, those herbs take off early, and they like the cool weather. I can see lots of butterflies in your future. lol.

My parsley plants growing in the ground next to my workshop never wimpered during the coldest of days. It's stll just as green and full as ever. So are the ones I have in pots. I'm amazed. My bronze fennel is growing too despite the cold weather.
I'm ready for butterflies!

Oriental Poppy, Purple Prince Zinnia, 2 kinds of sunflower and Gomphrena which I didn't know was Globe Amaranth till I looked it up in plantfiles. I already have 2 kinds of candy cane zinnia, morning glory and 4 o'clocks started. I don't know where I'm going to put all the seed starts. I have some Mexican Sunflower seeds but I think I am going to direct sow all of the sunflowers.

Angele - I also tried the direct sow on the Sunflower seeds. HA! The squirrels found them! So now I am growing some in pots. Just thought I'd give you the heads up in case you have some critters that might be looking for a tasty bite!

This also explains why I had so few Sunflowers growing last year! (I didn't figure it out until I saw the little paw prints in the dirt! lol)

lol, I think you convinced me Becky!

Is there a special thread to post butterflies in for id? I have a couple I'd like confirmation/or ids on.

Post them on the Bug ID forum:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/bugid/all/

NO,NO,NO,, Becky,,, IN the ground... LMAO here. And the vines crawl up, over, and around everywhere.
those were a couple of great sites... have to back and read some more. Interesting that like this wild passion vine which I brought back from Florida, those butterflies prefer the "weedy" flowers. The Gulf Frits almost completely demolished my vine year before last when I planted it. I thought it was gone.. Then it came back last spring and I had tons of the cats on it.
ARGHHH, don't mention 'other' insects..... it can't be aphids,, or white flies, or hmm.. oh well, come on ladybugs and birds....
Yes, that parsley loves cooler weather.
Deborah,, can you take and post a pic of your bronze fennel? I think I have one that has kept growing all winter.
Will try to get a better picture of those eggs tomorrow.
Angele is hooked on butterflies,, welcome to the addiction.
Have to go get some plants and seeds ready to mail.. yawn,,
Elaine

Becky, try a sprinkle of cayanne pepper on your sunflower seeds before planting them, maybe even a bit on top of the soil. Squirrels won't mess with them, they don't like the smell.
Sheila_FW

Sheila, I learned the hard way that birds love Cayanne Pepper. They ate a whole flat of planted portulaca in 15 minutes like they were at a salad bar! They even sell Cayanne flavored suet for the birds.
And yeah Elaine I'm hooked, but how could you tell? lol

I need to get my fennel, dill, and additional parsley in the ground this weekend for sure. Glad you mentioned it Cdawg.

Since I'm waiting for the lunar eclipse, I went outside to check out my new cassia plants and see if I could find any caterpillars and/or more eggs. First, I found a little guy who appeared to have just hatched. I tried to take a picture so you could see just how tiny they are. The cat is the little orange thing and the white stuff is the egg sac.

Melanie

Then, I found two larger caterpillars! Here's a picture of one. They're still tiny though. I wonder what kind of sulphur they'll be?

Then, in a really weird story...my brother was talking about a large black cocoon on the ficus tree we just bought (it's for our chameleon, you know I'm an invasive species task force member and native plant lover). I kind of ignored him and then Dad brought it over for me to inspect - and it's a freaking Monarch?! I'm not sure it's viable since it's turned black. I'll let you guys be the judge. We stuck it in the butterfly house just in case.

And in case you're curious, here's the cage that Dave, our Old World Veiled Chameleon lives in . My butterfly house is built very similarly. We had a schefflera in there but when we repotted it, it freaked out and died. So when I was buying the cassias the lady at the nursery (who has also had chameleons) said, "What about a ficus?" Then she made us a deal on this big variegated ficus ($15). It was too big so we pruned it hard, but Dave seems happy thus far.

And this is Dave! His eyes move independently which freaks me out. He eats mealworms, and sometimes I think he's coveting my caterpillars. I just tell him they're poisonous; he likes crickets better anyhow.

Melanie

When my Monarch chrysalis turned black like that they never eclosed. :>(

Melanie, Dave the Chameleon is so cool. I had a Senegal Chameleon years ago, the independent eyeballs are just the greatest!

Had the last of the Monarch brood hatch out today. He eclosed late in the afternoon, probably around 3. I babysat him for a while, then he finally flew off.

Cathy

Melanie - Ditto on what Deborah said. The Monarch chrysalis does not look good. I would definitely remove it from your Butterfly cage. It could be harboring parasites and you certainly don't want that to spread around the cage to other cats/chrysalises/butterflies.

I love your chameleon! I saw them one time at a pet store and just coveted it! They are the coolest reptiles! We have raised snakes, gerbils (my favorite), turtles, mice, guinea pigs, etc., etc. as well as normal pets such as cats and dogs. No birds though. Maybe that is why I have to have a bird feeder in my yard! LOL! I like all creatures except roaches ...especially palmetto bugs. Had one fly into my waist length hair when I was a teenager and both my mother and I were screaming as she had to cut it out of my hair. It got tangled up in my hair and I can still remember the buzzing of it's wings as it tried to get free. EEEEEEEKKKKKKKK! (shudder... shiver) My hair didn't look too good all chopped up after that either. I'm sure this was more than anyone wanted to know! lol lol lol

Congrats to Cathy on your new Monarchs! I have been releasing 1-4 a day for weeks now of both Queens and Monarchs. I keep finding cats all over my yard, so I collect them for the cage before the wasps find them. So far, all have made it. Probably explains why I have so many of those butterflies hanging around my yard. I have no idea where the next Milkweed stop is in my neighborhood. I don't know anyone else growing milkweed. :-( How do you get folks to grow those plants in their yard??? I wish I knew how to convince people.

Becky, I've been hoping/watching for some Queens, but no luck yet. Seems to me that years ago I saw Queen cats on a Crown Flower, didn't know what they were at the time, but I remember the 2nd set of "antenna" on them.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/67012/
I managed to get one last year at the MG plant sale, so I'm hoping that will draw them in.
Cathy

Becky, have you signed up for the Monarch habitat certification? Maybe the sign in your front yard or by the mail box would stir conversation.

Does anyone see Soldier cats on there milk weed?

Cordele, that Monarch Waystation Program is so darn cute! Found this site:
http://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/certify.html
I actually recognized one of the Sarasota FL waystations as a member of a local garden club, neato!
Cathy

Cathy - Hmmm ... that's odd. I wonder why you don't get Queens in your yard? I sometimes see more Queens throughout the year than Monarchs. That's so odd. Maybe this will be your year to get them!

Deborah - Now that is an interesting idea. Maybe I should do that. How much do they hit ya up for the certification? Do you have the web link for the info?

Also, I have never seen any soldier cats or butterflies here. Good question!

We get lots of Soldiers out here but I never much paid attention to what caterpillars are on the milkweed plants.

I think they are supposed to go more for the climbing milkweed vine...but again, I never bothered to look at they are common. Guess I should re-evaluate my thinking :o)

~ Cat