Wooly Pipevine - Is that the A. macrophylla? I just got A. tomentosa, is that one a good one? I am hoping I will get PVSTs here.
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 38
Congratulations Linda! What a beauty!
A. tomentosa is the wooly pipevine and yes it is a native plant that the Pipevine STs find very yummy.
So I was weeding today - no surprise there - a gardener's job is never done. I was also planting a few things I had procrastinated on. I was pulling out these weeds that have horendous taproots. I don't know what they are but they spread like crazy. I thought I had pulled them all a few weeks ago, but those crazy taproots kept them alive. So as I pull one out I see something looking at me from one of my pentas - it was a Tersa Sphinx Moth caterpillar!
I was glad I've seen them here on the forum so I knew what it was. Of course, I brought him inside. I asked Mom to bring me a container so I wouldn't track dirt through the kitchen. When I came back in and showed her the cat she said, "Wow! I was expecting some little thing!" She also remarked how it looked like a snake which of course is how the caterpillar scares predators (and Moms).
Mom was on Polydamas duty today and got to see one gut purge. "Right while I was eating breakfast; it was so disgusting!", she exclaimed. Then, she got mad at one when it knocked another caterpillar down from his sling. The Poly cats have a real problem with trying to share silk and crawling on top of the cats that are trying to pupate. I'm separating them and I have one critter keeper that I'm calling the "chrysalis box". I had it at work today and my manger's secretary came over to check on them and said she wanted to see when they come out. Any day now...
While I was weeding there was a crazy Polydamas flying around me and nectaring on the plumbagos. Mom says the Zebra Longwing comes every morning to the porterweed and that it even chases off other butterflies and the hummingbirds when they get near! Here's a picture of one of my resident duskywings, also on the porterweed (of course).
FYI, I was picking caterpillars off the plants in the flight cage at MOSI this weekend so I could bring them inside to the tanks. There were some kids (and adults acting like kids) so I let them hold the cats under my supervision. They were so cute - the kids and the cats! One of the girls said the Monarch cat felt like it had "little velvet feet". I also had a sulphur cat and there was an older lady who took pictures of my hand with the caterpillars on it! It's so fun sharing butterfly knowledge. There was a dad asking about how big the cats get and how they're "born". We happened to have some eggs on the milkweed so I showed him and he couldn't believe how small they were. I also got a thumbs up from a young boy who was happy to hear I relocated a Cuban anole (lizard) rather than kill it (it was in the flight cage). His mom asked, "What do the lizards eat?" I responded, "Butterflies", LOL!
Melanie
Oh Melanie, I love him. I had two I brought in last year. Don't they look comical with those fake eyes. And when they protrude their snout out, it looks so funny. I put lots of leave litter in the cage for mine. They seemed to like to bury under it and pine bark.
My A. tomentosa is ready to plant in the ground. Where should I plant it so it comes back every year? Any ideas? Part shade Ok? I got the seeds from Debnes last year. Where is she by the way?
Deb has been coming and going lately. I forgot why but I think she had something going on in her non-DG life, LOL! Dad made a trip to Lowe's tonight so I told him to get me another pot of pentas. I'm going to put the little guy in the butterfly house. He was down in the mulch when I found him so I'm sure he'll be happier in a pot with some dirt. He keeps doing that rapid head-jerk thing to try and scare me off, but it just makes me laugh.
I have my a. tomentosa in mostly shade where I'm trying to get it to grow up a tree. I neglected mine for a while, but since we've been getting lots of rain I'm seeing new growth. You're actually in a better zone for it. It's native more to the panhandle part of Florida; I'm kind of stretching it which is another reason I'm giving it shade.
Still pretty quiet here in my part of the world, as far as butterflies go. I see the occasional BST flitting thru, but I'm finding no eggs or cats on my parsley or my dill (both of which are going to seed and turning yellow, and the dill is always covered with wasps) and I'm despairing of having any cats to raise this year!! I've seen a few Gulf Frits and Variegated Frits in the yard, and I did have a good batch of their cats on my only passionvine, my first experience with both the plant and the cats. I didn't bring them in, and they matured nicely and all moved off the plant when they were ready, and now I don't know where they pupated; I hope they did, safely. I had a gorgeous, huge GST on my butterfly bushes all afternoon. I THINK I saw a RSP flit thru, I adore them; I remember last year when I was a clueless newbie, taking a photo of one on a camellia leaf and asking ya'll what it was!!! You guys helped me out SO much last summer, it's so nice to follow your butterfly adventures this summer and know what you're talking about!!
We're all about educating and sharing! Dad just brought home the pentas so I'm going to set up the Tersa in the butterfly (temporarily moth) house.
This GST eclosed today and managed to lose one of its tails before I could get home and release it outside. Poor baby! But it flew just fine!
Mellie that caterpillar is cool!
I have read up on the preferences of the A. tomentosa and I've found that you can put it in anything from full sun to full shade. I think Mellie is right about it needing more shade the further south it's planted. The main thing I guess is it needs consistantly moist soil and does not tolerate it drying out. So I am putting mine in part shade, because I don't have any spots that will never dry out (so I will be giving it extra water) and it appears the more sun they are in the more moist the soil should be.
I did not know that about the A. tomentosa needing consistantly moist soil. I know just the place then. I have a dying maple tree. The form of this tree is too pretty to cut down. It's on the pond's water edge (when not in a drought). I could plant it in front of the tree and let it climb up dont ya think?
Yahoo, I found six BST cats this morning, 4 on my dill and 2 on my parsley. Finally!!!! I brought them in, away from all the wasps and ants, and hopefully I'll find some more to raise. Summer would be dull with no cats to watch!!
I think most of the pipevine plants prefer a slightly moist habitat. I think the native Swan Flower in Texas just goes dormant if it's too dry. Must be quite a few dormant in this darn drought!
Some of the PVSTs emerged, took pic of one of them after I released it...it didn't seem quite ready to fly away.
Congrats on the BST babies Thea!!
Linda, that pic looks so vibrant and clear! It looks like it is freshly painted.
I must have read that about the tomentosa liking moist soil because the side of the yard where I planted is stays pretty moist. That's one reason Dad let me take it over - he couldn't get any grass to grow.
Glad to see everyone is busy with their butterflies. I had an exciting moment when I pulled in the driveway this evening and saw two swallowtails on my plumbagos! I ran and got the camera and rushed back outside to take photos. The first is a Spicebush ST which must be hanging around because Mom emailed me earlier today saying she had seen it. I have two small Spicebushes but they're not big enough to be used for caterpillars yet. My dad has been doing his woodworking thing using lots of camphor wood. I can't help but wonder if the smell of the camphor is attracting them as they also use that as a host plant.
But what really caught my eye was this Tiger ST! I saw one flying over the road when I was driving home the other day, but I still doubted if I'd seen one. Now there's no question! I have a small cherry tree next to the plumbagos this one is on and I was yelling, ,"Lay me some eggs!" The Tiger STs use the Sweetbay magnolia in my area, but I still think if I provide one of their other host plants that may use that as well. I guess I'll find out!
Mom reported the Spicebush and the usual Zebra Longwings. Dad described seeing a butterfly that must have been a Polydamas. They've been around a lot lately, but none are laying eggs on my pipevines which is fine with me. My pipevine needs a recovery period! Just for fun, here's another picture of my Tersa moth cat.
Melanie
I have to add that Mom also keeps seeing "lots and lots of hummingbirds" as she says. She keeps calling one "yellow-throated". I read where they have that white patch on their throat and I'm guessing this one is a little off-color or maybe reflecting light.
This message was edited Jul 2, 2008 6:27 PM
Melanie, you said the Sweetbay was used by Tiger swallowtails. I have a couple of Loblolly Bay trees(Gordonia lasianthus), that look alot like Sweetbay.....what I was wondering is... the other day I noticed something had been chewing on the leaves of the loblolly. Didn't find anything on them. Do you know of a BF that uses the Loblolly?
I think I heard that one did, a long time ago, but can't remember which one.
~Lucy
I know there are caterpillars that use Sweetbay, Swamp Bay, Red Bay, but I don't think I know one that uses Loblolly Bay. That aside, I have a loblolly and I love them. I was hiking one day and I wondered what the trees with the white camellia-like flowers were. Turned out they were loblollys, and I had to have one! So now I do.
Melanie - Would you (or someone here) please take a photo of your loblolly tree and post on this thread? I wanna see what it looks like! Thanks! Your butterflies look amazing! You go girl!!! ^_^
This message was edited Jul 2, 2008 7:06 PM
Check it out on the Plant Files: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56021/
Here's a pic of one I took while I was hiking. Mine is still a short little guy.
Thanks, Melanie! It apparently needs to be planted in high moisture?
Mine is still small also, and it is not planted in a high moisture area. I did notice when trimming it, that it roots very easily. I have 2 more small ones now. I think they do like a wetter area to do their best, tho.
Yeah, the place where I hike is the headwaters of a creek and part of a large area of wetlands. There are lots of loblollys there. Mine is placed in a shady, kind of average moisture area and it seems to be getting along ok. I need to get out there and add some compost to really get the soil imrpoved so it's not just dry sand.
Is it bad that a BST chrysalis has a black ring half formed on it near the end where the silk is attached? I've been keeping and eye on a chrysalis and it seemed too soon for the cat to eclose in the first place.
Meredith, did it look like this picture? I wondered what was wrong with this one.
I don't know what happened to this chrysalis. This picture was taken on Monday. It was only hanging from one thread. Yesterday morning it looked OK, but today it was just gone. We had a big rain storm yesterday. At one point, I looked out the window and the rain was falling horizontally because the wind was so strong. Maybe it emerged and the storm then blew away the chrysalis, or maybe it was eaten. I'm hoping for the former!
Hello everyone. I am posting for the first time here. I love butterflies too. I do not know anything about them but I caught this pic today and I thought this would be a place to post it and let you see why I have a new addiction. I loved the pics especially the blue ones. Hope you like this. What are they. shirleyt
Hi everyone! We have a newbie in our forum who happened to catch an Eastern Black ST laying eggs on her parsley. Check out her thread if you haven't already: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/871315/
Don't you just love how there are people who will try and try to get a picture of a butterfly laying eggs and then another person will get a shot without even realizing it? Funny how the world works. Kind of cloudy here today but the duskywing was out front when I got home. Oh, and when I walked out the door this morning one of the hummingbirds was on the blue porterweed and then did a mad fly-by up and around me. They're so fast all I saw was a small brown blur.
Welcome Shirley! Hang out with us long enough and you'll soon be an expert. What an amazing shot you have of THREE Giant Swallowtails! That is incredible! You don't usually see groups of them but that sure is neat.
Melanie
And I just now noticed the Gulf Fritillary in the upper left corner!
This message was edited Jul 3, 2008 5:20 PM
OMG!!!! We are so butterfly deprived here in N. TX!!! That is such a treat Shirley! Welcome to the best website around, glad you brought your great photo to share! We never saw the surge of spring butterflies around here. They are trickling in now, but we are having the hot temps now and can't really enjoy them in the heat of the day.
Hi Shirley and Welcome! I'm so enjoying all the pics. This is the first year that I haven't seen many butterflies already. Surely they will begin showing up soon since it is really getting hot here now. I planted extra herbs this year especially for the butterflies but haven't seen many yet.
I've got lots of flowers that butterflies really like so that's not the problem.
Hi Melanie, I have noticed many more of the swallowtails this year. Usually all we could see here were the orange ones in the pic. I caught a nice blue and black one last year. This year they are all having a party in the garden. They love the Mimosa and the Lantana. The swallowtails were playing in the Lantana all morning flying as one like in the pic. Way up in the air back to the lantana and then off for a fly around and back again . It was truly a wonderful sight to see. There are lots of black ones high in the Mimosa tree but I cannot tell if they have the yellow or not. anyway I just wanted to share my fun. Have a great holiday.... shirleyt
Hi, All,
I was on a mini-vacation in Tampa for 5 days last week and when I got home I discovered the butterflies had been "very active" while I was gone. lol
I found 70 BST cats on my fennel; 20 Polydamus cats on the pipevine; about a dozen Gulf Fritillaries; 10 Monarch cats; 2 Queen cats; and finally, my first Zebra Longwing cat. So, now my back porch is covered with cages again.
While I was away I went to visit the botanical gardens in Largo. They have a nice butterfly garden and had a lot of Poly cats and GF cats.
Terrie
Terrie - What are ya growing in your yard to get so many cats! I have only seen a few here. Have you seen any BST cats or even butterflies? We've had a lot of rain lately, so I haven't seen much of any butterflies. But I have a new hummer in my yard. It's been hanging around the feeders now for a week.
Shirley - welcome!!!
Terrie - holy cow!!!
I got back in town after being gone for five weeks and found no signs of butterfly life in my yard. My guava tree that had Guava Skipper eggs on it is caterpillarless. I did find a spider nest with a very healthy spider in it...guess that explains any emerging caterpillars! UGH!!!
Also had some trays on my back porch with a. fimbriata and coral bean vine seedlings - my buddy forgot to water those - they died...UGH again!
Oh well, hope to get things back to butterflies now that I'm home again.
~ Cat
Welcome back to Texas Cat! I am sure you enjoyed your visit in GA but there is no place like home.
Sheila, thank you :o) We are butterfly deprived here - first it's the searing temperatures and now we've gotten a few bouts of rain (rain is a good thing here - but no butterflies are out. Did see gobs of small moths on the wing...just the rain shooed them out of their hidey holes.
Our local NABA tri-county count is on the 12th so we'll just have to see what butterflies we see.
~ Cat
Guess what? I think I've some sulphur's caterpillars in the garden finally. Wooohooo! Are these the capterpillars? I may need to bring them in to protect them from pradators. I'm so excited. I've a few Senna alata seedlings (from seeds Deb has sent), one of which is making flower buds. My question is, can I feed them Senna bicapsularis instead of alata?
Thanks.
Here is another pix of this fella that just munching away.
Lily_Love, the answer to your question is, Yes, you can switch them over to Senna bicapsularis. I have done that many times. : )
~Lucy