nice everyone!
Don't think you've seen this one yet.
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 50
Great pic of the Question Mark Mrs. Ed! I love those!
Mrs. Ed. Please send one of those my way. The Question Mark b.f. Just kidding. I love those.
Thanks Deb. for the clarification on Monarch and Queen. Now I've to study on the Viceroy, we've plenty of wild cherry and willows around here.
Thanks for the clarification, Debnes. I never saw the difference before and thought they were all Monarchs! Everyone's pics are outstanding. I check this thread out several times a day.
Barb
wait a minute…
i thought that was a comma. i didn't have a DOT on it.
grrr, i'm showing my butterfly newbieness.
The Viceroys use willow down here in Tampa. Glad to see they're hanging around in the panhandle, too.
Melanie
Welcome to the newbies club on butterflies, Mrs_Ed. I'm fairly new, and hope to learn new info. on them everyday. Thanks to this forum and many who posts on the subject.
It has been a cloudy day here, because of that, I was lucky enough to find this nocturnal moth. I haven't seen one in close up this year, except saw them flitting by in early evening hours. No wonder I've open pollinated brugmansias outdoor!
Presenting Tersa sphinx moth:
Very glad to have you Bj, post here anytime!
Mrs. Ed, The Comma Butterfly has more profound curves in the wings edge, and 3 dark spots along the upper dorsal wing, wheras the QM has four. I believe you get both Comma and QM there in IL. Both of those species are much harder to tell males from females. Males may have a scent gland on the lower wing as Monarchs do. (I have noticed that anomaly on males of many butterfly species.)
Here are some Comma pics for comparison:
http://magickcanoe.com/nova/comma-butterfly-1.jpg
&
http://www.arkive.org/media/2F3559F4-7FF1-4CB1-B9AB-26ED98D6F5C8/Presentation.Medium/%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20facts-Comma-butterfly-on-flower.jpg
This message was edited Oct 13, 2008 4:27 PM
Love those Tersas Kim, nice one!
Thanks for the links.
yes, i know i've had both. for instance. Here was a QM for sure;
and in the comma categories:
and…
But with open wings it is still difficult as there are fall forms too! grrrr
This was my very first one this summer:
But then there was this fall one.
and this fall one.
I'm getting dizzy…
Wooohoooo, so many beautiful butterflies!!!! And the color is so bright, I need some cool shades. lol.
tee hee. sorry, I got a little carried away.
I can only dream of those brightly colored ones. :-) Here is some of mine, I think this a monarch.
Oh gosh, how pretty everyone's pics are! Kim, I love your Tersa sphinx moth... gorgeous! I found a big 'ol green worm in the garden a while ago and the gals here ID'd it as that. Middle of last week one showed up on the porch screen and just as we were admiring it, our resident Mockingbird dove in, plucked it off the screen and had it for breakfast! Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!! Nature being nature, I know, but.... sheesh. :(
Barb
Deb - you've been busy indeed! Great photos!!! We won't go into how much the Gulf Frits have eaten the passion vines out here :o) I've seen couple of Zebra Longwings flitting around - so am hoping they will make use of the passion vines too...if they can find unchewed leaves to lay eggs that is!!!
Great photos Mrs_Ed. Don't ya just love that vibrant orange coloring of those QMs!!!
Lily...yippee on the Tersa Sphinx. I keep waiting for something to make use of my brugmansias but haven't seen anything on them yet.
Here's one of the Forbes' Silkmoth caterpillars. They are just about full grown so should start pupating soon enough. So far I still have 40 caterpillars. I lost 5 early on due to them falling off the sapling into the water that had gathered at the bottom of the pot tray. My bad! I didn't think they'd let go of the leaves...either that or they crawled down on their own.
~ Cat
~ Cat
Nice Caterpillar wranglin' Cat!! 40!! Wowsers!
Mrs. Ed~ It's definitely alright to get 'carried away' over here. I do it often, haha!
I hope I didn't confuse anyone with the IDs on QM and Commas... Here are some better links:
Recap~
Commas have 3 dots along the upper dorsal wing and have more profound curves in the wing's edge. Upper and lower wings often have a separation in the profile.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/images?l=1755
QM have 4 dots along the upper dorsal wing and the wing edge actually looks more like parentheses than a question mark.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1754
This visited today, real pretty...anyone know what it is?
That's a Long-Tailed Skipper. Congrats!
He only stayed a minute, but I have not seen one before, thanks!
I love those skippers, they're found abundant here all summer 'til now. I love his long-tail 'tuxedo' as I visioned HIM. lol.
Finally got to get a nice photo of one today too...must be their time of the year :o)
~ Cat
Very nice pic, Cat.
I co-led one of the butterfly trips today. We went to Falcon State Park (south Texas). Our count was 72 species...and of course, many were in abundance. Queens will always be at the top of the list but we had good numbers of Monarchs in the mix. Lots of sulphurs of all kinds - Orange Sulphur, Large Orange Sulphur, Southern Dogface, Cloudless Sulphur, Lyside Sulphur, Little Yellow, Mimosa Yellow, Sleepy Orange, Dainty Sulphur and even several Tailed Orange!!! Both Common and Tropical Buckeyes too.
This photo doesn't do justice to the mass quantities of butterflies at the park...but just imagine seeing this every where you look. A bit of sensory overload...more so when you have to ignore all the Queens in the hopes of finding something rare :o)
Numerous Great Purple Hairstreaks and half a dozen Malachites too...both of those are always good for a smile.
~ Cat
Oh wow! Cat. That's truly a butterflies heaven!!!
Oh my, Now I would never call a Queen common up here. LOL. I will roll out the red carpet for her.
That is just awesome. I think I need more sun.
My fall has been so busy since I retired. I fully intended to get down there by migration time. Maybe next year you can give me a tour!!
Sheila, retirement is wonderful. time to do all those important things like digging in the dirt.
Yes, I can't keep track of what day it is though!! I don't know how I ever had time to work, I am so busy now.
Sounds like a good plan Sheila!!! Keep me in mind - will gladly show you around all the butterfly hotspots!!! I always take my vacation time around the festival period :o) That way I can help out with the field trips as well as bum around the parks hanging out with other butterfliers.
Keep in mind our butterfly festival is usually the 3rd week in October, starts on a Thursday and runs through the weekend. Lots of folks from all over the US, Canada and even some from over seas make it down here. We get several of the butterfly and caterpillar book authors to give seminars/talks and guide a few of the tours. Excellent time to meet and greet and ask questions :o)
Look at the belly of this bugger!!! I tell you - the Falcon Butterfly Park is an oasis for butterflies. The area hundreds of acres of native Tamaulipan scrub brush so the garden full of blooming eupatorium, lantana, plumbago and what not brings them in from miles and miles away :o)
~ Cat
Great Purple Hairstreak
This message was edited Oct 18, 2008 11:19 PM
Yes, look at that belly! My jaw drops, who is the darkwings purdy with adorable orange inflated belly? lol.
It is the Purple Hairstreak, isn't it a beauty? It is about 4 times the size of a normal hairstreak.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/118/
That is just incredible! Beautiful capture Cat! I love your long-tailed skipper shot too -- stunning.
Lovely pictures everyone.
I do get Viceroys, Queens and Monarchs confused, but I'm pretty sure this one is a Monarch.
From the side.
I'm a butterfly "newbie and I just found this thread. I spend most of my time over on the Mid-South forum. (Hi, Kim!) All the photos you all have posted are just wonderful. There are some butterflies in the photos above that I have never heard of much less seen such as the Malachite and the Purple Hairstreak--just beautiful!
Speaking of Monarchs, I think I saw one yesterday--well, I know I saw it but I think it was a Monarch but now after seeing the photos of the Viceroy and the Queen, I am not sure. Maybe one of you can ID it for me for certain. Thanks.
Marilyn
This is a different view. As you can tell, this was taken in very bright sunlight.
