Okay! I'll work on that this weekend.
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 47
Just thinking out loud here.....maybe I will try a little rock salt on the stone walkways around the pond. No plants to cause death to there.
salt is great for keeping the weeds down in your gravel walkways... don't let it seep into your plants nearby..
Mrs. Ed, your buckeye on the grapes shot is beautiful, I love it!!!!! But I'm jealous that you have so many bf's on your fruit offerings. We have a little pear tree, and have been putting out diced pears on a plate, and then I poured some brew over them when I wasn't seeing any interest, but all I ever see is ants and a few wasps on. I let the fruit sit out there in the sun and heat, so it does rot, but still, no takers! I'm so disappointed, I really thought the brew would do it. It smelled so potent!
We've had a morning bordering on chilly, such a huge change! It will be interesting seeing the changes in the butterfly population. We have lots of gulf frits, and a lot of cats still on the passionvine, but not many BST's around now.
howdy all, I lurk over in the M.G. forum mostly, but caught this shot at Red Rock Natl'. Park last week and thought to share it. Someone may really appreciate it I thought~ I just love nature and found these two frollicking Iwhat I think was milkweed and definitely cattails in a dried up riverbed. Sorry my film was not faster!
Have a great day!!
:Darren
That is a very pretty shot!!
fenerman23, those look like Queens! And it may be goldenrod plants there, not sure. Glad you could join us!
It's funny about that fruit. I put it out on Wednesday I think and no takers until Friday. Today not much happening either, even less bees than yesterday. I made some brew and just have a bunch of flies on that. Seems kind of thin on that log. I'll have to check out the photo thread, maybe I need more bananas.
I'm off to a park later today to see what BFs I can find.
Monarch
copy cats
American Snout
Painted Ladies
OOOO, American Snout! I haven't seen one of those yet.
ARGGGGHHH!!! American Snout?!!! Come to Texas...there are literally billions of them on the move. I really should have taken a photo of a vehicle grill or windshield :o) - oh well...too late now and I'm leaving for DC in the early morn.
Was at the ranch today and saw a male Pipevine Swallowtail in the distance flitting up and down and all around trying to mate with a female hanging on the waltheria indica. When I moved in for a closer look I saw she was in the grasp of a female Green Linx Spider. The male PVS's movements must have attracted the attention of another Green Linx Spider because you can see the second spider about an inch above the female Green Linx. Am thinking that other spider is a male one - because of his size and lean-ness.
Between him perhaps after the female spider and the male pipevine after the female pipevine...I tell you some males never know when to quit!!!
You can see both spiders in this photo and the male PVS almost out of the frame.
~ Cat
This message was edited Sep 20, 2008 8:38 PM
I could just about hear the scarfing sounds of Leafwing butterflies feeding on this banana skin baited with some brew.
~ Cat
ps...was that a burp too? :o)
This message was edited Sep 20, 2008 8:46 PM
Cat.....
You really must start squashing those Green Linx Spiders at your ranch. Almost every picture of bf predators you show the spider is the GL!
Boy on the Leafwing bait shot, you can't tell where one ends and other begins!
NIce leafwings Cat!
fernman! Welcome aboard! And I concur with Linda on the Queens on Goldenrod.
Found a half dozen BST pillars yesterday on the dill and fennel and safely caged them.
A little fiery skipper here too...
This (female) Horace's Duskywing has been hanging around a few days...
A very battered Red Admiral...
Great pics jmorth! The asters are a beautiful backdrop!
This message was edited Sep 21, 2008 11:30 AM
I trekked to a state park today for butterfly photography. I was sorry to get home and realize that I had left the ISO settings at 1600 for hummingbirds last night. D'oh!
Anyway, here's a new one for me.
Meadow Fritillary
And the underwing.
Those Leafwings are really neat!!!! I'd love to see them.
Debnes, I'm glad you still have BST cats. I see the adults nectaring but I don't have any host plants left for them. I've got four chrysalids left in the crate; I think they're planning on wintering over.
I'm so frustrated with raising GF's. My success rate hasn't been good. Why is it, sometimes when the cats seem ready to pupate, they fall to the floor of the crate and exude a bloody fluid, and then just seem to slowly die? I've had this happen so many times. I have two that were doing well last night, but this morning, there they were on the crate bottom, in a puddle of sticky fluid. I thought they were dead, but when I went to clean them out hours later, they moved a little. I think next year I'll just grow lots of passionvine and leave them on their own.
Thea~ That's exactly what I do now. Leave the frits on the vines. Another thing you may do is get some Blue crown passionvine. It is so hardy that it is considered an evergreen in our zone even with the freezes. Mine gets bigger every year, and blooms profusely from April to October. The GF's really love it. If you like I can send you some cuttings for you to start some, they take root very easy.
LMK~
Debnes
This was in April. They have over doubled in size now.
Hi Debnes_dfw_tx ~~
thanks for a kind welcome. Did you start your Passionflower vine from seeds? I could only find a seed source on plant scout, not one that does plants (live)...That is a fantastic Vine you got going! My Passionflower is good but contained to one area and I am looking for a different type to contrast with it and my honeysuckle. Sorry to go off topic, but was curious...found this shot from earlier this Summer....
Thanks!
:Darren
Darren~
I found these a couple yrs back at Walmart looking very abused. Three out of four survived the first 2 runs of frits, and they wintered into so much foliage that it provided several generations last year. (At least 100.) 2007 was a windfall for butterflies and the vines were reduced to half, so I took 25 new cats to SheilaFW's house to eat. Since then, and even with all the frits this year, you can hardly tell it has been eaten on I have so much. That's a good thing!
If you want some cuttings of the blue crown just say, :-).
Debnes
Reading between the lines was too easy there, LOL :) ...I will have good weather for a cutting for a few months before it gets really cold at night ...do you think that its enough time to try? My cutting I put in last feb. did do well and grew over 12 feet this summer it's a Maypop. What do you think about the Blue? If its good for surviving cold, it should root well enough? I would love a cutting Of course. I can Dmail you info and sase or whatevers needed~THANKS :)
:Darren
So far I've found one VF cat on my native Rock Flax. As you can see, it's a wispy little plant. Also there's not a lot around right now, so may need to switch to something else later.
Also, my morning surprise butterfly while I was watering plants. A Zebra Longwing made it up here! Photo blurry, it was never still! Poor thing, it's missing a bit of its wing and was frantically rushing around looking for places to oviposit.
Debnes, thanks for your kind offer, I would love a couple of cuttings!!! Would now be a good time to start them? If they're hardy enough to withstand the winter, probably so. My Maypop was new to me this year, I started it from seed and it wasn't easy, only one seed made it. Would the Blue Crown be easy from a cutting? I'll D-mail you.....
Well...sadly, the ZLW didn't survive an attack by a #@*% spider. It must have been trying to nectar on the Mexican Sunflower. I made sure the spider won't be preying on any more butterflies! I'm collecting the ZLW eggs. The least I can do for the mother.
awww, sorry to hear about your longwing
Really enjoyed all those pictures. I have mostly yellow sulphurs and gulf frits now. I did see one Red Admiral yesterday. And a couple of skippers.
Calling all butterflies… come and get it!!
awwww. you sneaky lady you!!
and check out the peanuts for the bluejay. Trying to get pix for that Birds and Flowers thread.
That tall aster was one of a few that had a bazillion Painted Ladies on it, so I'm assuming it's a good one.
Those are very pretty, Mrs Ed. : )
~Lucy
Love those asters. I haven't had luck growing them in the ground. May have to go out and get some for fall. My chrysanthemums are beginning to bloom. The sulphurs love them.
Sorry about the ZLW Linda, glad the spider had it's last meal. I can't seem to find too many butterflies, but I keep finding monarch cats, so they must be here. In another couple days I should start having a bunch emerge. Hope my milkweed holds out for another round.
Mrs Ed....I almost have a Bluejay eating off my hat. I have put the hat out lately and it comes to it and gets peanuts with me standing about 3 foot away. Today I put the hat on and turned my back to the place he normally lands before flying to the hat. He swooped down toward the hat but didn't land. I will try again tomorrow morning. I can't seem to find too many butterflies, but I keep finding monarch cats, so they must be here. In another couple days I should start having a bunch emerge.
That's pretty funny about the hat!