Morning Glories 2008 #25

yeah on one of many 8' wood fences I put in.
i found these one morning on the backside.
surely i got these from you or Karen.

Those are beautiful! Looks like fairy dust sprinkled on them! Too cool!

i love when they gang up.

OMG! THAT is gorgerous!!! Looks awesome!!! Plants seem to LOVE your yard! :-)

and when the light shines through.

Reminds me of Spring ... ahhhhh ....:-)

and when it's overcast....

thanks becky. i hope to be posting 09 blooms
early January. just got my winter crop sown,
thanks to you. Just put half my Kaleidoscopes in.
and all the ones Cyna broght back from Japan.

*rubbing hands together

Shawna - Oh my! What is that one in the photo! Really pretty! Love the pattern on it! I hope you get plenty of seeds for trading! :-)

dmail.

Shawna this last bloom is bizarre , very strange !
Is there cool night in Louisville ?

it was a fluke. the rest of the blooms were solid. Impermanence taken to extremes on this one.
yes cool nights, hot nights, warm nights and frozen nights. The last bloom was grown indoors
last winter and I brought it outside to photograph in March.

I was collecting seeds and cleaning up some of the dead MG vines along the picket fence and I found these fellas!

They are either Sphinx or Hawk Moth caterpillars. The green one is a younger cat than the brown (naturally). I believe the larger one is getting ready to morph into a cocoon. I found both of them at the base of two different vines. I saw the big one for several days and just glanced at it but didn't even compute what I was looking at. It just looked like part of the vine stem. LOL! And then when I was cleaning and collecting today I saw it again and realized it was a Moth Cat. Love these big ole boys! So they are inside now in a cage along with some Skipper cats. :-)

I think this is the biggest caterpillar I find in my yard. Most the others are half this size! They are like the Great Dane of the caterpillar world. And when they poop ... OMG! LOL!

Cool, huh? :-)

Soulja that is a NICE flower, and Gardenpom, this shot is a Beaut!!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5836960....Becky, love the Spots on that Moth catepillar~ just like the wings will be, pretty neat!!!
:D

thanks fernman, if fleeting, still proof it was there.

Becky WOW! What a MOnSteR! O.o ~ are ya gonna keep him?

Hey Darren!!! Nice to see ya posting! :-)

Shawna - Yep! I am gonna keep both of those cats in a cage. We are supposed to get some rain and then cold temps in the next two days. Sometime the cats don't make it under those conditions. They are all cozy and safe in the cage now chomping on some Moonflower leaves! ;-) I will release them when they emerge after the cocoon stage. With the colder temps, they may stay in their cocoon until Spring (when it is better to release them)! :-) I raise and release both butterflies and Moths. I love all those flyin' critters! The one moth that I wish I would find here is the Luna Moth! But I don't have it's host plant in my yard. :-/ Maybe some day ...

Soulja, wow beautiful MG's.

I had 2 blooms today, first vine.

Second vine.

wow, what the heck is that!? that is very unusual ... is it not? extraordinary.

Becky are you following a critter thread of some sort where you'll post your Moths when they, "bloom"?
I gotta see those. thanks.

LOL! You crack me up, Shawna! LOL! I'll try to remember to take a photo and post here on this forum for you when it emerges as a cool moth! ;-)

Helena - So pretty! Is that vine growing outside or inside?

Here is a link about the Hawk Moths: http://waynesword.palomar.edu/manduca2.htm

They have a very long proboscis! Approximately 4", so they are the perfect pollinators for Moonflowers and Daturas and Brugmansias! :-) Sphinx Moths are very similar. Not sure what this big fella is gonna be... time will tell.

Looks like my bad boy is a Tersa Sphinx Hummingbird Moth. Click on the photo of the Moth near the bottom of this link and you will see what looks like my cat in photo. :-) They look like a jet when they become a moth! LOL!
http://www.birds-n-garden.com/hummingbird_moths.html

This message was edited Nov 29, 2008 8:04 PM

i had a couple of those feeding on moon vines last summer. one almost landed ON a friend of mine late one night in the garden and this girl is a moth enthusiast who knew exactly what it was. She had her nose in a moon flower bloom when the Mammoth MOTH flew up and drank like a hummingbird from the next bloom over. She almost passed out. They are so amazing.

so is that bloom In Gautier MS right now.

Shawna, Gardenpom and Helena, gorgeous blooms.

Becky, we get the large, beautiful green moths here. I think it's the luna moth.

Shawna - LOL about your friend's surprise visitor while enjoying the Moonflower blooms!

These moths tend to buzz me at night. I have no idea why they do that! I've had them follow me around the yard for no obvious reason. I just don't like it when they buzz near my head. I guess I am always afraid they will get tangled up in my hair! LOL! My dh thinks they recognize me because I raise and release so many of them. I know that Monarch butterflies that I raise will shadow me when I am in the yard. When I am weed-eating, you can often see a butterfly or two following behind me. lol The Monarchs are the friendliest if you hand-raise them. I like to think they are very intelligent butterflies! :-) Hee, hee ... definitely cool critters! :-)

Ooooh, Jackie! I am soooooooooo jealous! I would love to have Luna Moths here! They are the most beautiful of all Moths! Though there are many, many gorgeous Moths! I just think the Lunas are so graceful and lovely in flight!

The blooms are awsome tonight, thanks so much for posting them! I am awstruck over beauty of them.. and I LOVE the Critters, and can't wait to see the outcome of them as well.. thanks for posting such a great gallery of colour for me tonight.. I lost my purple blizzarrd seedlings ( the two I had going) when I tried to transplant them.. *sniff*.. so..
I planted two more seeds in a Bigger Pot.. no need transplant now.. moon flower vines are doing fine, and the native third generation "Cherokee" seeds I got from Bonnie are really going crazy ...

whadda ya mean you raise them? do you order caterpillars from a catalogue? no really. i wanna raise a shpinx moth!

then release him on this.

Debra - I'm enjoying all the blooms, too! I only have Moonflowers and Blue Star blooming in my yard currently. Goodness! the smell from the Moonflowers tonight was intoxicating! I wish I could bottle up that scent and release it inside my house! LOL!

Shawna - LOL! I wish I could release him on your pretty bloom!

I think that you CAN order caterpillars from catalogs!

I garden for them. I just plant host plants for known butterflies and moths that frequent my area. You plant it, they will come!!!
Here is a list of known Butterflies/Moths to be found in Jefferson County, Kentucky:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?dc=711&_dcc=1&si=18
If you click on each butterfly/moth name it will give you details about each one and what plants they use for host as well as nectar plants. :-) I just find the caterpillars on my plants (before the wasps get them) and put them in cages. I feed them leaves from their host plant, keep the cage clean, and enjoy watching them grow and change. And when they emerge as beautiful butterflies or moths ... I release them in my backyard. Many of them stay in or around my yard. Lots of fun and adds beauty to my garden beds!

Really unusual flowers here....Becky, most of my vines are older and starting to die down, but I planted a few new ones in early November and they are close to blooming. They don't really mind cold as long as it is not close to freezing. I've noticed they do slow down flower production as the weather cools.

gardenpom - You must be growing I. purpureas for them to do so well during the cooler temps! I may try growing some I. purpureas outside, too. The Moonflower and Blue Star (Tri-color) vines are doing great and still blooming for me! I have at least 3-5 Moonflower blooms every night. And the Blue Star usually has the same number per day! I really do think those two vines grown all around my picket fence patio would look fabulous. I am really considering that for next year! :-)

My Hummer is back (from last year) and she is chasing off any visiting Hummers! LOL! Are you seeing any hummers? I am waiting for the Finches to arrive! :-) Love my birdies! I've got lots of butterflies daily too! The high front is moving in and the rain has started. I am watching my male Cardinal sitting in the feeder with the rain pouring down. He loves it when it rains as he gets the entire feeder to himself and will let his mate and youngsters come join him, too! Such a sight! And the hummer hit the feeder as the rain started and I watched her flick the rain drops off her body while in flight! Fall/Winter is the BEST time here for critters! :-)

Here is a Moonflower just opening up taken last night!

And here is the Blue Star vine still going strong. Look at all those seed pods and buds on it! Whoo Hoo!

And here is the coolest thing of all ...

I have quite a few seed pods on my I. Lobata (Spanish Flag) vine! Awesome! Hand-pollinating does the trick!!! That vine is still hanging in there as well, though not seeing anymore blooms...

Well that link made me happy! I identified a moth that i once saw land on my elm tree like it was the flying form of the tree itself!

It's an Elm Moth! (((I'm bookmarking that link.

It was drinking from the moon vine when we went to grab the camera and scared it to it's camouflaged hiding place. so cool.

yeah i guess if you plant their plants, they WILL come! (((duh. Thanks Becky! do you just keep them in an aquarium of some sort?

Thanks Swawna, Jackie and Becky. Those 2 vines are from Emmas seeds. They look somewhat similar. The first bloom was a real dark blue on one of those vines that I posted earlier. I was away for six days so I missed a few of the blooms. My vines are in my makeshift gh without heat this past week so I was surprised that they were blooming but I guess it wasn't real cold for them to bloom.

Shawna and Becky your mg's are really pretty! Just love them all.

This message was edited Nov 30, 2008 12:56 PM

Thanks, Helena! Nice to actually see blooms in winter, isn't it?!! :-)

Shawna - If you go to the Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening Forum and read the sticky thread, you will get tons of information about raising and releasing butterflies:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/744103/

Here is one website's look at all the different kinds of cages that can be purchased:
http://educationalscience.com/butterflynets.htm

But you can also make your own with tupperware and other containers (which many folks do!):
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/643281/

Here is a photo of the cage that I am currently using because I only have 4 cats right now.

When I raise Monarchs, I use my tall purchased cages and actually put a potted Milkweed plant inside each cage for them. But I must warn you, most cats are hearty feeders, so you have to have lots of their host plants! Most of the plants are considered weeds and grow quite fast luckily! :-) And you have to keep the cages clean from frass (cat poop) or they will get sick and die. Sometimes the cats just die because of other diseases as well. But if I left the cats in the yard on the plants, I'd have very, very few emerging butterflies and moths. I have so many wasps here and they love eating caterpillars. So that is why I hand-raise them. Plus I love watching caterpillars change and morph into beautiful butterflies and moths. :-) Your kids would probably love watching too. We do this every year in my class and the kiddos are really young, but they love watching these caterpillars and are in awe when they become butterflies! :-) Such fun!!!

Here is a photo of the inside of the cage before I clean it. The dark brown poop is everywhere. Time to clean. There are 2 Skipper Butterfly cats that are pupating now as you might be able to discern in the photo. They will morph and become those cute and fast little butterflies that I love! Their host plant is Canna which I have plenty in my yard. I see that you get White Peacock butterflies in your area. Get some Bacopa (which is a water plant) and put in a water pot and leave outside! It will attract those beautiful butterflies and they tend to stay in the yard or area of their host plants. :-)

Becky.. awsome.. I ordered two praying mantis egg sacks last winter for my garden and I got alot of nice mantis from them.. I have planted all colours of milkweed every where this year, and got alot of butterflys, but have not noticed any cocoons.. or catepillars.. had alot of sphynx moths, they love the cardinal flower, mgs, and four o clocks I had blooming everywhere.. had two catepillars from them hanging out in the tomatoe patch.. I brought one milk weed in to bloom down here in my basement garden.. it is budded out again!
I wish I still lived in florida.. I would never sleep prolly tho if I did.. I'd be outside all hours of the night looking at blooms!

Debra - Glad to hear you got those butterflies and moths and hummers visiting you as well.

Anyone can use this website to find out what Butterflies and Moths are found in your area. Just choose your state and then the county:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map

I'm off to have Thanksgiving at my oldest son's home with his girlfriend and my mother, mil, dh, and other son and daughter!

Have a lovely Sunday y'all! :-)

Whoa, past time for a new thread.


A link to the new thread #26

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/928784

This message was edited Nov 30, 2008 1:44 PM