I had BST's on both my curly and flat parsley, and they ate it ALL down to the stalks. Next year I need to plant more, and fennel and rue as well, and my usual dill. Just wish things wouldn't die back so early, in the heat!
I've got three GF crysalids lying on the floor of their crate. I'm so afraid to glue them onto a stick, to get them off the floor, as I normally do with any dropped BST crysalids. The BST's just seem more firm to handle, easier to hold; the GF crysalids seem more delicate. I've had a couple of deformed GF's eclose this summer but can't remember if they came from crysalids I'd handled and glued to a twig. Have ya'll had any experience trying to help out fallen ones?
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 47
Becky, I don't see those butterflies around here, so I don't know what it is, but it is cute!
Linda hopefully who or whatever got a taste of that Monarch learned it's lesson and won'y be tasting one again! Your TST looks just like all the ones I've seen lately. The pickens must be gettin thin here for the birds because they are reall trying to get the butterflies!
The good luck with those chrysalids : )
Just one flirty little Painted Lady today. She was being very difficult.
Awesome photos everyone!!! Nice to see Mellie showing off that ZST!!! I want some here!!! Guess I'll just have to console myself with one of the 320+ species we get here...sighhhh...ROLF!!!
Beclu, that is a Carolina Satyr.
Meredith - good cat and cocoon. Now you're going to have fun baby sitting it! Hopefully it won't take months and months like my Forbes Rothschild moths do :o)
Mrs Ed...oooh nice fat skipper!!! I read where they are recorded for the county where the ranch is but I've never seen one...and can't think of any documention of anyone seeing them either.
Deb...I still have so much trouble telling all those duskywings apart - the ones we get here just all look so much alike.
~ Cat
ps...and Linda...you just had to post that Tiger - worn out or not...we still don't get those here either! Grrrrrrr! :o)
...oh and got all bummed out by this one - saw a leaf nest on my vitex and thought - Oh boy...a Gold Spotted Aguna caterpillar could be in there!!! What a bummer...it's a moth cat! ARGGGGHHH!!! Not sure what kind of moth it will be but am going to leave it on the vitex and watch over it then move it to a cage later.
Thanks for info on curly leaf parsley.. I am afraid that the dill and parsley plants I just bought from Wmart have been treated. I have been feeding my BS and they seem to be very sluggish. The one that was on the dill I bought doesn't seem to be eating. Maybe it is just the cooler weather. High of 79 yesterday. I sure hope so.
Glad to know I can buy seeds of dill and fennel in the spice section. Will check and throw some out. My fennel grew all last winter.
My curly leaf parsley stayed nice all winter (even had a bit of snow and sleet on it) and grew to be 3 or 4 foot tall this spring.
thea..... you might make a pocket of netting, pin it to the inside of a cage or piece of foam, and just rest them in there. I have also cut a knotch in foam before and placed a chrysalis in it. Just don't put them in too deep. Some people say that they will be fine on the floor of a cage, but I myself haven't done that.
This message was edited Sep 18, 2008 11:35 PM
Thanks Sheila, I'm thinking about your notch in the foam idea. You make a notch just big enough to stand the chrysallis up in?
Elaine, what else can you do with the fennel growing in your garden, when the BST's aren't using it? I never thought of trying to grow some from the fennel seeds in my spice cupboard, I have some I bought at the health food store. And, I didn't know the parsley and dill plants you buy at WalMart are treated!! I was upset enough when I found the fresh parsley I bought in the veggie aisle had been treated, when I lost some BST's to it this summer.
I have no GF experience but I know when I've bought chrysalids from the butterfly place up here, they include a double sided piece of tape for you to put the chrysalis on right on the bottom of the container. The instructions explain which side is the right side to put facing up. The butterflies emerged damaged free from them. I've only had a TST and Black Swallowtail this way though. : )
Cat~ Your moth cat looks like a skipper to me, :-). Will have to research which one would be using Vitex. (The pics on the BMNA site are later instars.) There seem to be 10 sub-species of this large skipper with varied stripe colorations in the last (a total of 9!) instars. Pretty skipper!
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1933
Yep Becky, That is a Carolina Satyr! Beautiful!
Debnes
Okay, I was dragging my feet on making butterfly brew, but I put out a bunch of fruit a couple of days ago and today I have 3 Painted Ladies and two Commas. I think I'll be off to the liquor store today!
There ya go Mrs Ed...
Many of the fall bf's love the brew. Poured some out this morning myself.
:-S
I couldn't believe it! I've never seen the painted ladies sit so still.
What kind of fruit did you put out, Mrs. Ed? And Debnes, did you make the brew recipe with the bananas and Guinness stout? I haven't had any interest in either treats, fruit or the the brew, but maybe like you said, they will be more interested in the fall weather (and with fewer flowers to choose from).
Well I have a few bananas, raspberries, grapes, melon and pears. The pears and raspberries are beloved by the ladies and the bananas are a favorite of the commas. From what I can tell. BUT, there are also yellow jackets there. I don't mind the other bees though.
No, I have not made the brew yet, but I'm going to pick up the ingredients tonight and make it tomorrow.
It's nice to see the commas, and I'm missing the Red Admirals… so what the heck!
Here is one of the Commas
and another angle (same one, I think)…
I even have a sulphur in the yard today. Can she get her head any further in that petunia?
mmm, raspberries…
This butterfly is worn and was hiding from me, so you can hopefully see it's there on a leaf. I can only guess at what it is. Possibly a California Sister, but not sure. I did get a momentary glimpse of the top wings from a ways off and I know there were some whitish markings on the top also.
Here's the cat that is hopefully a Two-tailed Tiger!
Great assortment of fruit there Mrs Ed! Love the comma!
Thea~ Many/most of the fruitfeasting bf's must have the rotting fruit. Several don't drink from flowers at all. When the alcohol gets into them it converts into glycol, and works exactly like antifreeze. They need the energy and heat to survive through the winter months. They sleep in cracks of buildings and trees and can even be seen out on warm winter days refueling. It's good to keep a little somthin somethin out for them during the cool/cold months from fall to spring.
And yes I have a bottle of (banana/stout/br.sugar) brew which I keep adding to from time to time.
Linda~ Wish the pic was clearer... I'm thinking it could also be
Band-celled Sister- http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1791
They use Hackberry as cat host and mainly rotting fruit as adults. It doesn't show Medina Co., however it does in a county very near you. Put out some brew and see if you can contain them for a better shot. :-) Here's hoping you have a TTT.. Cute lil thing! What's it munchin on?
Debnes
This message was edited Sep 19, 2008 2:32 PM
Debnes,
whoaaaa, I have butterflies in the winter? Or just y'all down there.
I thought I read something about one butterfly actually DOES overwinter up north. Hmmm, Mouning Cloak? I can't remember.
Now I had a buckeye! Okay, I am SO doing this brew thing.
Great pictures everyone, the brew is a stopper for sure. Makes for great photo ops.
How do they KNOW it's here? do they have really good sniffers?
Debnes, it was on a Hop Tree leaf. Right now, I've got about 8 other cats and 5 eggs I got from either mine or the neighbor's Hop Trees. Those GSTs are all over this area, for some reason, and they like Hop Trees.
I have had some watermelon and rotting peaches out all week and all I attracted were slugs. Maybe because we don't have winter here and there are always flowers blooming? Maybe I'm just not in the right location.
Well, I taunt everyone with my Giant ST to make me feel better. I was trying to take pictures of a White Peacock and this guy flew right up in my face.
Here's the White Peacock I was chasing.
Mom would be mad if I didn't show you the picture she took of the Monarch she released today. It was a boy, and the one she released today was a girl.
Melanie
Okay, here is the buckeye that was feasting on grapes.
Great pics you all!!
They brought in some huge mower thing yesterday and mowed along the roadside. So there went most of the good eats for the BF's and a lot of the small birds who eat the seeds.
This pics shows what it looked like..now it is cut in about 5 feet...so a large portion of the goldenrod, Ironweed which had gone to seed and thistle got cut down. :(
Just skimming through.. Some of my gulf frits came loose from the top of my tupperware container and still eclosed. I think "guessing here" that as long as the chrysalis isn't injured that they will be ok... (?)
Deb....am still leaning towards dratted small pesky moth :o) mainly basing that on the overall look, the tiny hairs and butt :o)
We get Two-Barred Flashers (Astraptes fulgerator) out here too...but they use Coyotillo (which grows wild). Didn't realize they use vitex in Mexico like the Gold Spotted Aguna skipper. Unfortunately it's not one of those butterfly caterpillars.
On a good note...am only a few miles away from the Mexico border and have vitex in my yard...perhaps one of those skippers will make use of it!!!
Do let me know if you find anything out about that unknown cat though!!!
~ Cat
ps...great fruit feaster photos Mrs_Ed!!! I've used fresh and left over fruit in my butterfly feeding dishes too. They really do like the frozen stuff that is really sweet and turns mushy when it thaws :o)
Oh, Nanny, I hated it when they mowed under the power lines near here. So uncalled for. Ran all the bunnies over to my house. Along with foxes and the butterflies. Now,,, I may have to trap the armadillos and move them to a better environment. LOL
ok,, all you buckeyes. I have been putting out brew for 3 weeks now.. "come and get it"
They were on my neighbor's lantana last month..
Thanks Cat! I can't wait to get brew made tomorrow and see what else I can attract. Oh nanny, I'm so sorry to hear that. Maybe they'll come to your yard instead.
Well here is my last one for the day. Painted Lady on garlic chives.
Mrs_Ed - that is an interesting photo of a buckeye on grapes.
I've never seen one come to bait or fruit here. They always prefer to mudpuddle on the damp sand. Brushfoot butterflies are so unpredictable!
Speaking of which...I had a Gulf Frit on a piece of orange one day. That was truly a first as well!
Here's the GF in the company of a Malachite at fresh orange slices.
~ Cat
Oh that malachite is cool looking!
I have a plastic container full of a rich soil (compost from a bag) and do you think anyone is puddling? No!! I keep watering it though! Maybe I need to add sand.
Thea,, I don't know for sure if those plants had been treated... but the 1 that was on the dill I bought is now gone to caterpillar heaven. And the ones from my plants are still growing. I stripped my last parsley to feed them.
Elaine
Mrs_Ed....just grab the water hose and spray some water on your sidewalk or driveway...or patch of dirt if you have it. The driveway at the ranch is gravel rock and they like gathering there after a rain. Mom also has a habit of tossing out the hot water she has boiled or steamed vegetables etc in. She opens the back door and tosses that onto the soil near the back door. We get skippers, blues and sulphurs coming to that.
I've used the sand from those bags they hand out in preparation of a hurricane :o) Am thinking the butterflies like the minerals or salts in it.
~ Cat