Well, I'm back from vacation and I have the pictures to prove it. I went and visited Grandma in Lincoln County, WV. That's near where WV meets up with KY and OH.
Grandpa used to have a big garden, but since he passed away it's covered in weeds which is good if you happen to be a butterfly. There was lots of clover blooming and it seemed to bring in most of the butterflies. Here's a sulphur I snuck up on!
Everywhere I went there were a ton of Eastern-Tailed Blues. I don't get them this far south in Florida, so it was neat seeing a different kind of blue. I've got plenty of the Cassius Blues, and it was nice to compare the two.
There must be plenty of Virginia Snakeroot around because I saw tons and tons of Pipevine STs.
There are also tons of Tiger STs in West Virginia, but this was the only picture I caught of one. They're really fast and since there were no plumbagos to tempt them (like in my yard), they kept on flying. I saw a lot of TSTs flying over the interstate on the way up and the way back. I checked some of their host plants but I didn't find any caterpillars.
Grandpa loved pawpaws and he planted quite a few trees around his house. They have self-seeded in some areas so he now has what I believe qualifies as a pawpaw patch. I routinely checked for Zebra ST cats, but was having no luck. I did find this little skipper bedding down for the night on the underside of a pawpaw leaf.
This White was flying around the garden. They're really hard to get a good photo of.
There were so many skippers it was crazy. I wouldn't even try to identify them all; I just liked seeing them.
Here's another cutie!
I got a Pipevine ST to pose for me. I showed this to Grandma and told her these guys eat snakeroot as caterpillars.
So we had to go to Lowe's because Dad always plays handyman when we visit Grandma. Of course, I went to the garden center where taking pictures of butterflies is like shooting fish in a barrel. This Eastern Black ST was having a great time on the red verbena.
I love this tiny skipper on the huge echinacea.
One plant seemed to be getting more attention than all the rest. It was "Black Adder" agastache: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/76285/ Here's a Silver-Spotted Skipper on it!
They liked it so much I decided I had to have some for my garden. And at $3.33 a pot, it was more than affordable. (I also picked up some coreopsis "Creme Brulee" at the same price!) I tried to shake everyone off the plants as I picked them up, but this bee came with me through the entire store. I finally managed to chase him off when we were loading the plants in the truck.
Some more skippers enjoying the buffet of plants at Lowe's.
I set the agastache over by the house and it was like an instant magnet for bees and skippers. Every day it was just covered!
More skippers!
One of them found the coreopsis, LOL!
This one's making sure he gets all the nectar!
At first this one was so light I thought it was a White, but I'm pretty sure by the markings that it's a sulphur in its summer form.
Across the street from Grandma is an overgrown field which a great place to find butterflies. Dad took a walk with me - he was looking for wood to use in his new woodworking hobby - while I searched for butterflies and caterpillars.
Dad and I had both seen a Spicebush ST fly around the house. I wasn't sure what they used as a host plant besides Spicebush and camphor (which doesn't grow up there, I'm pretty sure). I got out my book and the lightbulb went on - sassafrass!
Dad just laughed at me when I asked if there was sassafrass around that he could show me. I got to looking and there they were - Spicebush cats!
Ok, I saw this thing in the field and it looked weird so I had to take a picture. Anyone know what the heck it is?
I was pleasantly surprised to see a Crescent flying around!
There were tons of Carolina Satyrs, as well.
I came home and played with my new Spicebush friends.
I got too close to the agastache and scared these Skippers. I just thought they looked really cute.
I just thought this photo turned out rather nice.
After I assessed the situation, I realized I didn't have too many cats to care for, so I brought them with me instead of leaving them at MOSI. Plus, I wanted to show Grandma the Zebra ST. We had one emerge while I was there, but I was antiquing with Dad so Mom took care of it. When we released it, it flew straight to a pawpaw tree! I showed Grandma and explained these butterflies use her pawpaws as the host, and they are friends so we don't want to squish them.
I was still looking for caterpillars on the pawpaw and beginning to give up hope. After I released the butterfly I went looking around - and I found a cat! He was a big green Zebra ST cat, just laying on top of a leaf like he was waiting for me to find him.
Zebra STs are special to me because they were the first cat I ever really raised. Plus, in WV you refer to grandpas as "Paw Paw". My grandpa was "Paw Paw Ray" and my grandma is "Maw Maw Betty". Paw Paw Ray loved eating paw paws and planted the trees so he could have them for the fruit. I don't think he planned for the butterflies, but I'm glad they enjoy the trees, too. Anytime I'm out in the paw paw patches looking for cats I think about Paw Paw Ray. I like to think my butterflies go see him once they're done with their life here on this earth.
Anyway, on a happier note, here's my Zebra ST cat doing yoga poses. I actually have no idea what he's doing, but he kept sitting this way.
At the end of the week we drove up to Ripley, WV for our family reunion. I went in search of butterflies and found this Eastern Black ST. You can tell them from the black dot they have in the middle of their red spot. Other butterflies will have the red or orange spot, but only the Eastern Black ST has the black "pupil" in the middle.
There were also two Pipevine STs feasting. I don't know if they were flirting or fighting, but they kept flying into one another and you could actually hear their wings hitting each other.
Ok, look in the upper left corner. Is that one of those Clearwing Hummingbird moths? I saw this guy flying around and had to try and get a picture.
That's all for my vacation report. I found two kinds of milkweed growing in WV, but no cats. Dad said he doesn't really remember seeing Monarchs in that area so maybe it's just a seasonal thing or they can't find their way around the mountains! I also saw what must have been Fritillaries flying around, but I never did get one to land. Overall, I'd say WV has a healthy butterfly population.
Well, now I have to go outside and round up everyone that's appeared in the last week. My Monarch cats had just hatched when I left so we'll see if I have any milkweed left. When I came in last night I saw Polydamas eggs on the pipevine near the door so it looks like I'll have some of those, too. Hope you guys enjoyed the pics!
Melanie
I'm so glad you found enough butterflies on your vacation! Neat pictures! I was looking at that "weird" thing and maybe I'm wrong, but I'm thinking there might be a dead butterfly lodged there somehow. Then...and this is really a reach...could it be a cat that crawled on it? That part reminded me of a leafwing cat...unlikely, but who knows?
wow, lovely. No shortage of butterflies there!
Very good pictures, Melanie, and it sounds like you had a really good time. : ) That Eastern-Tailed Blue is a pretty little thing, huh? : )
Glad you are back home, safe and sound. : ) We missed you. : )
~Lucy
Beautiful pictures, Melanie! Iam glad you had a good vacation. Hmmm.... maybe a trip to Lowe's & HD is in my future after seeing the pictures from your excursion there. You never can tell what you might find...... In a couple weeks, I'll be going to Va. Maybe I should try to take some bf pictures there. I remember the last time I went there, I saw quite a few butterflies. I really like the Eastern-Tailed Blue too!
Mellie, looks like you had a good time with lots of butterflies. Hope you had a good visit with your grandma.
Elaine
Taking a camera to a garden center is such a great idea. Very good way of getting butterfly pictures with all the plants they have. Glad you had a good time with Grandma. But I'm glad to see you back. Missed you posting.
Ditto to Deborah! We've missed your posting. I've learned so much about various butterflies and their host plants, the joy of gardening to me is multiplies many times when your garden is filled with those little ones darting about enjoying our flowers.
Thank you, Mellanie.
Kim
Kim, what kind of bf is that? I want to guess, but I'm never right. :(
Thanks Mellanie,
I really enjoyed all of the photos and stories that accompanied them.....a little mini vacation for me. :)
Deborah, I think it's a spicebush that frequent my sassafras? Mellanie will have to confirm it for us. lol.
I saw a pair of those to day, maybe it's time for me to start searching for eggs/cats. lol.
Kim
