I think it's so neat to see multiple butterflies on one bloom. I can't recall seeing that happen, but maybe I'll see it someday. Last time I went hiking the thistles were blooming and the swallowtails were very happy about it.
Melanie
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 36
Well, I went to the training session for the butterfly census tonight. Saw a Red Admiral while walking up to the education center. I think I learned a few more tips on how to identify things, and some of the behavioral descriptions he gave made me think, "Oh, that's why I saw the butterfly in that spot or that time of year." I hope we have a lot of butterfly sightings on Saturday!
Melanie
That is one popular thistle bloom!!
Hope you have great weather and enjoy your Sat. with Mom and the butterflies Melanie. Hopefully you can take lots of pictures to share.
Sheila, I'm afraid we might get rained out. We're up to a 40% chance! I'm glad for the rain, but it would really keep the butterflies from flying.
So I've been complaining for a while that nothing has found my pipevine. Last night at the lecture, the man was saying that the Pipevine ST generally only thrives on the native pipevines whereas the Polydamas ST can use the tropical species, too. Well, I have a big aristolochia gigantea and so far every caterpillar that has used it has died. I also have a small aristolochia tomentosa (native) that I planted last fall and it's put out some new growth, but I figured it wouldn't really get going until the rainy season.
After hearing that about the tropical species, I decided to just go ahead and rip out the a. gigantea. I figured I would get some more of the a. tomentosa from www.mailordernatives.com (love those guys) and just go with that instead. I just went out to pick some passiflora for my Zebra LW cat and guess what was on the pipevine next to it? Eggs. Just when I decide it's got to go, some butterfly lays eggs on it. From the look, I think it's Polydamas eggs, but I've tried those on this pipevine and killed them all. So maybe they can't always use the tropical species. Anyhow, I'm going to pick the little bit of tomentosa I have to feed them, and hopefully I can get some more ordered and delivered before they eat everything I have.
Really, the only native aristolochia to my county is Virginia Snakeroot (the a. tomentosa is native to the panhandle). Does anyone have this or know where I could order some? I'm not even sure I would recognize it in the wild. I just don't want to send any more caterpillars to the giant garden in the sky.
Melanie
Now my first RSP is pupating! 5 more to go! And all the TST cats are either pupated or pupating.
Great start Linda, thanks for sharing the pic.
Mel...Hate to hear about the rain out. Maybe the wind will push it away quickly and the sun come out. Hope you have good luck with the new eggs, whatever they are. Maybe someone can help you out on the a. tomentosa.
This must be baby of the RA that I took pics of back last month.
Really enjoyed reading through the thread at all those butterflies and butterflies-to-be.
Elaine
Elaine, gorgeous RA. I love them so much!
Linda, fabulous picture of the pupating RSP! Wow. and now I want to grow some thistle!
Melanie, I was so excited when you mentioned the firecracker. I just got one. I hope I have the same luck.
I saw a cardinal pick a huge caterpillar (Poly or Pipevine) off of my dutchman's pipe and carry it off to his baby. Thought they didn't like the taste of them? Also, somewhere I have a picture of a gigantic cat that looked like a pipevine or poly. It was about 3" long and thick. I believe that I read that poly's change into the type of cat with the fake eyes although I haven't seen any of those on my vine. Is that true? If it is, it would seem that the PST cats did fine on my vine
Here's my pic for this morning. Spicebush?
blue_eyes, I think I saw your mystery butterfly (post at 9:23on 5/19) in my book. Forgive me if someone else has already identified it and I missed it, but I believe it is a Funereal Duskywing. Cool!
This Checkered Skipper landed in the perfect spot when I didn't have my camera, but I got a picture of him anyway!
Well, my Monarch nursery contines to grow. My original four hatched except I think it was five instead of four. I brought in 21 eggs so I'm going to head to a local nursery this afternoon to see about getting more milkweed, as well as a few other things. My three big Monarch cats are still eating and eating. It's amazing how fast they grow!
Polydamas cats don't have false eyes, just those cool antenna-like protrusions. Occasionally, a bird makes a mistake and eats the poisonous cats - let's just hope he learned never to do that again.
Thank goodness we have a long weekend. My garden is so neglected. I'm trying to turn the space in front of Mom's office window (and next to the front door) into a butterfly garden. Last fall, I temporarily put some of my nicer bromeliads there and we have some plumeria, too. I also have a trellis right in front of the window that has bougainvillea climbing up it so Mom can see the bfs land in front of her. I'm hoping I can get a good start on landscaping it how I want to; the USF butterfly festival is coming up next month and I plan to spend a lot of money there as well! I want to get everything sorted first so I know how much to buy and what I need when I go to the festival.
Thanks for mentioning the Butterfly festival Melanie! I have marked it on my calendar and will certainly be attending!
Great pics everyone!!
Lisa
Mellie, when is the butterfly festival. I searched, but the calendar of events wouldn't come up.
Here is Am. Lady on Yellow butterfly weed
Elphaba,
Try this site to ID your Skipper. I have a link to the Common Checkerspot here. If you look at the additional photos on it and it isn't this one try looking at other skippers, I am sure it is a Skipper.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=2012
edited to say....oops, thought you were asking for the id on the skipper.
Sorry.
This message was edited May 23, 2008 10:07 PM
Elphaba....thanks for the ID...I think that's it!
Here's the details on the USF butterfly festival...
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Butterfly, Herbs & Ntive Plant Fair
Description: Saturday June 14 10am - 4pm & Sunday, June 15 10am - 3pm. $4 for Adults, Children under 12 and USF BG members are admitted free! Free parking! See hundreds of butterflies in the Butterfly House Catch the Butterfly Spirit - sponsor a Butterfly for a year and get a stepping stone set in the Garden with your name and butterfly on it. Design it yourself! Dozens of vendors selling butterlfy plants, herbs and related items. Attract native butterflies with native plants! Lots of natives for sale and info from the Suncoast Chapter of the Florida native Plant Society. Free talks on Saturday: 10am - Creating A Backyard Habitat - Laurie Walker, USFBG Director Noon - Native Plants - George Kish, former president of the Suncoast Chapter of the Florida Naitve Plant Society. Nature's Classsroom will have a Florida Wildlife display Botanical Illustrations by Debra Carey Caterpillar Petting Zoo and chi.ldren's Activity Area Food and Drinks! Lots to see and do! - - - For more information, visit the Botanical Gardens Website at http://www.cas.usf.edu/garden.
Location: USF Botanical Gardens
Fee / Special Instruction: $4; USFBG members and chidlren under 12 admitted free
Phone Number: 813-974-2329
Thanks for the details, Melanie. Now if I can just remind myself as it gets closer. No use writing it down, I'll lose the paper. lol : )
Elaine will you be down for that weekend?
~Lucy
Anyone close by and able to attend.......Debnes is speaking in Arlington. Here is the details. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/852161/#top
Shucks, no we are coming down for the first week in June. DH has heart appt. that next week.
Thanks for the info anyway, Mel. Would love to see Deb, but with gas prices ... we will be taking short trips this summer.
I understand about the gas prices, Elaine. We usually go out of town at least once a week, to eat out, but lately we have been eating right here, in town. I hate going to the gas pump.
I'll take lots of pictures to share! And I'll tell you all the fabulous plants I buy. I'm actually about to leave to go buy some plants. I stopped at Tree Mart yesterday and bought a cartful, but I can only put so many plants in my Beetle. Luckily, Mom has a minivan! They have verbena and pentas for $1.25 each and I also picked up more milkweed, salvias, and some veronica. I wanted to get some porterweed but the car is a little small for that.
This morning the Gulf Frits were just pigging out on the purple porterweed. I even watched them fly over to the plumbago and then come right back to the porterweed. I guess it wasn't as tasty! I'll post my pictures later. I've got a Zebra Longwing in the backyard that won't leave my abutilon alone. I watched it gather a whole bunch of pollen on its proboscis. Also had a Monarch wander through but couldn't get a picture (yet).
Melanie
Sheila, you were just being psychic! I couldn't tell if it was a Common Checkered Skipper or a Tropical one. I didn't have any pictures with the wings closed. It bugs me when I don't know for sure, so you were just picking up on that!
EFGeorgia, GORGEOUS picture of that Am. Lady! Thanks for sharing.
Melanie, can't wait to see you pictures. Also, I'm having the same kind of day with lots of butters flitting through but not stopping long enough for me to get a picture!
This one did stop. I had the sprinkler on and a bit of the patio getting wet. This guy came for a drink. I think it's a Texas Emperor, a paler version of the Tawny Emperor. It might be a female Tawny, but I think the spots on the underside mean that it's a male? I'll post a pic of the underside too. Very cloudy here today and I had to take the shot through the window, so I hope it isn't too blurry.
Here he is with the wings closed. He stayed until a robin tried to eat him. Robin missed.
Whew, it is HOT outside! Well, I decided not to do the butterfly count as I have really been neglecting my own garden because every weekend it seems like I'm playing in other people's gardens. Case in point - next weekend I'm helping the Estuary Program again. But this is their last workday until the fall (again, it's hot outside) so I figured why not.
I started by moving everything out of the front area which basically meant moving my bromeliads back to their original location. Then, I finished up weeding some of the area I didn't get to the other day. Then, Mom and I went to Tree Mart and got a bunch of plants: salvias, pentas, veronica, verbena, and those "cat whiskers" plants. After I ate lunch, I went back out there and shoveled two wheelbarrows full of composted horse manure (and pine chips) onto the area as it is almost pure sand at this point. After raking it smooth, I started planting. Here's what it looks like:
This message was edited May 24, 2008 4:30 PM
Mom's office is behind the window, and her computer faces straight out. The trellis has bougainvillea on it, and the tall thing is a plumeria. I spaced the verbena and pentas so they'll fill in the gaps. Here's a closer look at some of the plants.
When I was putting on my shoes this morning I saw something fluttering around my abutilon. It turned out to be this ZLW. It had pollen all over its proboscis.
I saw three different Gulf Frits pigging out on my purple porterweed today. I know they were different because two of them were missing various parts of their wings!
The Giant ST visited the plumbagos just long enough for me to snap a couple of pics. Mom says she sees it almost every day, so I'm glad to know she's identifying it correctly.
The ZLW was back on the firecracker fern this afternoon. It seems to be going for red flowers lately.
This tiny dainty sulphur was hanging out in the grass. Unfortunately, that's a cigarette butt behind him (this is right next to the main street). But at least you can get a sense of scale from it. Oh, I also found a few more clusters of Polydamas eggs on the pipevine. I went ahead and ordered more native pipevine last night so hopefully I'll have more success with it. Well, now that I'm a little cooled off, I'm off to take a shower. Don't you love when you get so dirty you blow your nose and dirt comes out? You know how people participate in extreme sports? I always say I'm an extreme gardener, LOL!
Melanie
Forgot to add this picture of a moth that was on my bedroom window.
Thanks to everyone holding the fort here... especially Mel!!
Lately I have been a wee bit out of pocket preparing for an upcoming Presentation. I have chosen 22 species of our common Northeast Texas butterflies. This time the focus will be more on the plants the caterpillars need than all the behaviors and aspects of the butterflies themselves.
Is anyone else experiencing a very slow year for butterflies? Last year at this time it was like "What butterfly planet exploded??". This year I can hear my own echo out there. We did have at least 2 late freezes here in North TX, but I believe it is several things at play here this year.
For any of you having the same where you are:
Keep on planting, tending and sowing your butterfly plants. They will certainly return, and we will be glad to accommodate them again. (Now I know how you felt last year Becky.)
Becky~ Here is my first bloom from all the MG seeds! What a beautiful flower this one is... The pkg was marked "Morning Storm"
Hey Cat!
The YMGs have begun to emerge... Took almost a month, but I have "true leaves" on a couple so far!
I have seen some very slow butterfly seasons during spring in the past...maybe it's very regional because of varied weather patterns. But there were times here when things didn't really get going until summer. Things will start getting interesting for you next month, I suspect.
Thanks for the encouragement Linda! It just seemed a little strange not to have seen any Tigers or no more than a couple Monarchs as of yet..
I will try to hang in here and keep on digging ;-).
I am noticing the same thing here Deb! Hardly any butterflies of any kind. One here and there but that is it. Or they fly right through my yard onto who knows where. Glad to hear it isn't just me :)
I was also thinking things will pick up in the summer....at least I hope so!
Lisa
Saw this cutie yesterday. oops last month that is.
This message was edited May 24, 2008 9:04 PM
Late this evening I found 3 caterpillars on a weed of some kind. They had eaten most of the top of the plant so that it curled down. then they were either hiding in it for the night or getting ready to cocoon. Took a pic, but not very clear. Will check in the morning. They had double yellow circles all the way down body.
DEB - glad to hear the YMGs have sprouted. They start their bloom season in late September/early October so they might not be mature enough this year but for sure next year. Remember this species does not die out - I've got vines that I planted in 2001!!!
MELLIE - in what city is that butterfly/plant fair? Tampa? That link didn't work for me but I googled the phone number. I'll be in Georgia by then but Tampa would be a bit too far a drive.
EFG - can't tell what those three caterpillars are. Hope you can post other photos.
On another note...found this caterpillar at the ranch yesterday. It was identified as Xerociris wilsonii (Wilson's Wood-nymph Moth) and the vine it was eating is Sorrelvine aka Cow-Itch Vine (Cissus Trilobata) - and whoooo doggie - it really, really, REALLY stinks when you cut into it! UGH!!! I get nauseated just remembering the odor! Of course, since I brought the caterpillar home to raise I had to bring cuttings of that odius vine!
~ Cat
USF is in Tampa. Here's the link, the punctuation got in the link on the last one. http://www.cas.usf.edu/garden/ UF in Gainesville (which wouldn't be as far) also has the McGuire center. I've been wanting to go there, here's the link: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/butterflies/ Glad you got that caterpillar ID; it was driving me crazy. I'm off to catnap some more Zebra STs!
Melanie
Two of the RSP are pupated now...4 more of the RSP Six to go. The RSP chysallis is strange looking with a "knob" on it. The last one of the TST cats to start to pupation ended up dying...I'm pretty sure it had a #@%& parasitoid. At least the others made it!
