Lol - right on! I need to visit Fl and check out some butterflies. I've only been there twice and I was too busy trying to find hot guys not hot butterflies! lol
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 46
Well, we've got those too!
ROTFL - I should have at least explained I was much younger and hadn't met my Dh yet : )
Hee. Our priorities DO change as we age, no??
Okay so for those of you in zone 5 (or maybe 4-6), What are you growing right now to attract butterflies? I see jmorth has those asters. I'll have to get some of those. I still have zinnias and sunflowers. Some sedum, garlic chives, salvias and some cosmos (that did not bloom well this year).
I'd make some brew if I saw anything at all flying around out there. Last year I had red admirals this time of year.
All my Monarch cats have disapeared, so hopefully they have all made their chrysalis', I still have about 7 spicebush that still have a couple weeks or so before they are full grown, and the 6 bst cats are all gone. This is the last picture I got of one, I took it on 9/6. It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland, when the caterpillars puffing his pipe. : )
I have various phlox at the end of their bloom period and usually they don't get much attention but the Viceroy I spotted on some phlox and then it went to the fruit.
Fritillaries are visiting Mammoth Sunflowers, Zinnia and butterfly bushes.
Monarchs are visiting Verbena bonariensis, Zinnia and butterfly bushes.
Verbena bonariensis has also attracted
- American Ladies - Sulphurs - Skippers and cabbage whites
My sedum autumn joy are just begining to color up and usually I see a little bit of action on those but none so far. This year a new one for me is clara curtis chrysanthemum, but I really wanted Ryan's Pink because it seems to bloom later than any other flower around here. I don't know if butterflies will actually use them yet.
My touted butterfly plant that's in full bloom now is Liatris liqulistylis but I don't have enough for them to be super attractive for nectaring yet or they aren't as great as I've heard. Next up will be my new engand aster, it is just barely showing some buds about to bloom, but it's always popular when it does. Still not as popular as butterfly bushes though.
Joe Pye, Purple coneflowers, and rudbeckia are still going but aren't as popular now as the stuff I listed at the top. I think I started my Mexican Sunflowers too late but they are starting and should be a hit if they ever get going a little better. Here's a pic of the liatris in the butterfly border.
hmm, my purple coneflowers are long gone. I'll have to add some of the verbena. I just got my butterfly bush this year, so not so big yet.
thanks for sharing.
Monarch on Dahlia:
same
Dahlia is Tropic Sun.
Painted Lady in Fall Clematis
Swallowtail on Fall Clematis (couple of days ago).
Great Pics jmorth!
Mrs. Ed, I have noticed some of the purple coneflower cultivars don't bloom for very long. I grew the ones I have from a burpee seed pack. So they are all slightly different and some bloom earlier and some later.
I still have echinacea & caryopteris blooming and zinnia's and some marigolds. The little skippers seem to like the marigolds. My Dendranthema(hardy garden mums) are getting ready to bloom. I need a good sedum that attrcts BF's. I have Vera James and nobody is attracted to it.
Well perhaps my coneflower would have lasted longer if I would have deadheaded, but I leave those for the finches. I suppose they have enough between the sunflowers and the feeders. Maybe next year I'll deadhead.
divernon, your clematis is gorgeous. I moved mine this year and thought I'd lost it, but I have about 6" of growth. I'll be looking forward to it doing better next year.
I deadhead and then leave the last bunch for the birds.
sounds like a plan!
Okay, so you can deadhead coneflowers? I wasn't sure and told my friend she could try it but I didn't know if you'd get more flowers and I like to collect seeds and let birds eat them so I didn't want to take the chance of not getting more.
It does depend also on exactly what type you have. Some are more floriferous than others. But yes, in general the purple coneflower will get more flowers!
The native wild types tend to only have one bloom cycle.
oh that might be why. I think my big bunch is the old native type. I have two others (purple). My white swan died and my Harvest moon is just a new one.
I think I found a spicebush chrysalis yesterday! It was in an odd spot - I want to get a pic to post but it's raining right now. Hopefully it will break for long enough for me to get a pick.
Here's the chrysalis.
And to give you an idea of the spot I circled it in pink.
Kinda looks like my BSTs. I wonder if they all assume that shape and little silk sling.
I meant to post this one.
The Spicebush chrysalis is shaped almost exactly like the Black ST. The pattern on them is a little different though.
Went to USF yesterday and got tons of butterfly pictures. I'm feeling kind of lazy right now and just sitting back watching baseball (Bucs don't play until 4pm so I get to watch the Rays). I'll post my pics later and we can all ooh and ahh.
I took a small cutting of bacopa today from the museum. I'd like to have a little hanging basket of it I think. The White Peacocks are hanging around the yard a lot so I thought it would be nice to provide them some of their favorite host. And Dad likes them so much I thought he would find it fun to see their life cycle.
The butterflies must be moving south because there have been so many of them in the here last week. At my house, at USF, and at MOSI today I have seen more butterflies than I can ever recall seeing at one time. I wish it was just a little cooler here though. We have picnic tables at MOSI near the butterfly garden and I was thinking how nice it would be to sit and watch the butterflies and not die of heatstroke.
Melanie
Mellie, which do you think the one I posted is? I've had spicebush and bsts both about the same distance from this spot. The reason I thought it was a Spicebush is because the chrysalis I had that was a BST was green and yellow. Pewrhaps it hadn't had enough time to darken though.
I had one green/yellow one in my first "batch"
Hmm I wasn't sure what type I had I just thought spicebush due to the bst prior being green and yellow but if they can be either I am not sure now! Hopefully Melanie will know.
Does anyone recognize this cat eating my baptisia seedling? There are two of them. I am going to look in my guide but I thought someone here would know right off the bat. : )
One of my favorite little butterflies - a male Red Bordered Metalmark. The photograph does not do this wee butterfly justice. There are silvery lines bordering the forewing and hindwing margins as well as small 'tiger swallowtail-like' metallic blue markings from forewing base to wingtip. This little butterfly is a mere inch in width.
~ Cat
Oh, Cat, he looks velvety. I think that's the first one I've ever seen. Good Find. : )
~Lucy
Hmmm...not sure about the chrysalis as they are very similar. Plus, the color on Meredith's is a little strange. I get that it's trying to hide, but I still thought it would be brown or green. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what comes out!
Cat, that is an awesome butterfly. It makes me think of my Duskywings all dressed up in their formal wear!
Found a few more Monarch cats so I now have seventeen! Plus, I have six in their chrysalis. It's Monarch Madness at Melanie's house!
Melanie
Meredith, that one doesn't look quite right for a Spicebush chrysalis. Maybe a BST. I had two male Queens eclose by this morning, released later on. Here's the male that lingered after I released them. I found one Queen cat that must have been hiding when I checked before...it is about 3rd instar already. And one more egg I found on a milkweed, just hatched now.
This message was edited Sep 15, 2008 12:54 AM
Thanks everyone. After looking at more pictures of spicebush chrysalis' I think you are right Linda, it must be a BST.
I've finally seen a Gray Hairstreak- they're tiny! This one is on Sedum 'Frosty Morn'
Buckeye on Hardy Ageratum or Blue Mistflower
Sulpher on Turk's Cap, Malvaviscus drummondii
Long Tailed Skipper without the tail? He's sunning on a canna leaf.
Sulpher? on Salvia greggii
