Daily Butterflies Page 54

thanks Deb! I actually got a runner up in 4 categories. But the one I was REALLY hoping for was that swallowtail. Oh well. Just goes to show you different tastes. Lots and lots of good stuff in there.

Okay, it's really cold here still, but here's a bit of sunshine. Funny story about this marigold. I cut off all the seed heads after the first freeze and had them laying on a cookie sheet. I have a small kitchen and so I stuck them in the oven to get them out of the way. Well you can guess the rest of the story. I preheated the oven one day and forgot they were in there. So I probably sterilized them! But I'm going to see if some will sprout as I promised some to Cat!

Hey you know what would be really great!!!! If we could talk Dave into doing theme calendars next year. Butterflies/Moths; Birds; Gardens; Scenic; Flowers; Foliage; Dogs/Cats; Wildlife; etc. That way a whole calendar could be created from almost every category. Input anyone...?

Thank you so much, and congrats indeed to all the photo contest winners, runners up and contestants!!! :-)

I might buy that butterfly and moth one!

I like the idea of a theme calender Sheila!

Mrs Ed, LOL funny story.
If your marigold seeds are toast, I have some sulphur cosmos seeds with blooms very similar to those. Butterflies love em. Just say and I will send you some. My address is in the exchange to send an SASE.

Not butterflies, but you gotta watch this!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uztU1rBEiqc

Ha. that's funny. I love how that guy has a swim cap on.

hey Deb, that looks a little like some cosmos I have already (bright lights). I didn't think I will plant these marigolds again. I got them from critterologist who got them from??? Can't remember. Anyway, they were to be 4' tall. They were much larger than that and these small heads. I was expecting larger flowers. Still, perfect for Cat's ranch since they are deer resistant.

Trained goldfish....go figure!! DH said leave it to the Chinese to figure out how to do that.

Sounds like it's the Japanese to me.
I looked it up. Some familiar with that kind of goldfish are convinced that the video is phony because the movements of the goldfish in the video are not natural for that kind of fish.

This message was edited Nov 22, 2008 7:29 PM

Who ever it is is pretty smart to do that!!

I think it's fake because the four fish look so identical. I think their movements are little too sharp or quick, too. I've had many goldfish and though I've never tried to train them to do anything, I know they wouldn't move together so perfectly synchronized. One or two would move his head or tail a little out of sync from time to time and their perfect spacing would sometimes shift, I'm sure. Even fake, though, it is pretty neat what can be generated nowdays.

Well, I have some very real photos to share. Here is the Zebra Swallowtail I released today.

While I was out there I saw the two Painted Ladies that have been hanging out. My boss at the museum said she's seen a few in the garden there, as well. This is my first time seeing them in Florida so I'm super excited they chose my yard.

The Polydamas I released yesterday evening was warming up before taking off. I hid him in the bougainvillea but he came out of the shade and onto the cat whiskers (which are looking a little tired right now).

I counted at least three Gulf Frits trying to scare everyone away from "their" porterweed.

This Long-Tailed Skipper had such pretty color! There is definitely a lot of butterfly action going on here. The swallowtails seem to have gone away (except for the ones I keep releasing) but we still have lots of skippers, blues, and Frits!

I took this the other day but I hadn't uploaded my camera since then. I can't remember which skipper this is, but I see them from time to time.

Melanie

Lovely shots!

LOL I remember that fish video...it's great, fake or not ;-).

I love the fish video too!

Congrats, Melanie, on more eclosures.

Who can tell me where to find the photo contest winners?

Martha

Here, Martha...

http://davesgarden.com/contest/2008/

Some mention up to the right on the home page, with the picture, right now, of the pumpkins.

:) Melissa

Great pics Melanie..... not much going on here since the cold air last week. Today is milder temps, but still won't be too much sun. I just found another GST that had emerged yesterday or early this morning. I hope it can make it on south.

Nice butterflies Mellie! Thx for another glimpse of Poly and Zebra STs which we do not get in our neck of the woods. :-S
O' Man! They are pretty!!

Yeah Sheila, And we might get a few drops of much needed rain. What about those GSTs coming out..?... Sure made me look more often at my chrysalis reserves. Especially when I too had an early one last week. Used to be I could just tuck them in for winter by this date, but now I am definitely 'en garde'.

Boy, chilly gray windy glum weather today and yesterday, that cold front got all the way here, 1,000 miles SE of Miami. Sea is really rough and eroding the beaches away.

Guess we're in for a crummy winter. I'd have been happy wearing a light jacket today, a lot of folks were.

:) Melissa

Lovely Blue Morpho - I keep waiting for one of those to escape and be seen in the wild or travel up from the tropics to south Texas :o) Guess I'm going to have a long, long wait!

Awesome butterflies ya'll! Nice California Greenstreak Kelli - I don't think we've ever seen a photo of that posted on this forum :o)

Nice to know Melanie's dad is now a butterfly hunter :o) Guess after that boar scare the hunter became the hunted!!! We get feral hogs at the ranch - destructive critters - they usually end up in the freezer :o)

Toasted Marigold seeds - that's funny Mrs_Ed :o)

Sheila...that theme calender of just butterflies and moths is good! Do hope you suggest it to the powers that be :o) It would be nice to have a calendar of photos the buddies on here have taken! I can already count on Melanie to rub in those Polys again :o) Hee Hee!!!

I got back into town today and headed straight to the ranch for a quick look around. Put out some mashed thawed cherries with an overripe banana over some cut up oranges and added a little bit of brew - had a Great Purple Hairstreak show up in about five minutes. That's a new fruit feaster for me - had never seen one of those come to brew :o) Made my week!!!

~ Cat

Update on the Julia Heliconian caterpillar. One died earlier this week. When I got home today it was curled up at the bottom of the cage. Sigh....

The other one is doing quite well and growing big. So are the Zebra Heliconians that are in the same cage. I was able to get a photo of the Julia and a Zebra together :o) Just noticed when I was zooming in on the photo that there is a drop of liquid on one of the Julia's spines - now seeing it zoomed larger I can see that the spine is bent/broken - guess that's where the liquid came from. Interesting...I thought those spines were solid.

The Julia has turned out to be a lovely caterpillar - really long spines with a mottled white, brown, black and red body. Way cool!

~ Cat

A couple of pics taken today.

2nd pic from today.

I also saw several Monarch cats.

Cat....Sorry about the Julia ;-( Maybe the last one will survive.
Nice picture, but that is strange with the liquid.
Great shot of your feasting GP Hairstreak. I love how 'clown' like their coloring is on the body. Got to see one this year!

Gardenpom....Love your temps down there...getting Monarch cats! You in Fl and Cat keep all our butterflies safe and keep sending pictures.

DH said he saw one Queen out nectaring today early. I had to let the GST go that emerged and couldn't find it later; so hopefully it will make it further south and survive a little longer. I have one more chrysalis that was older than the three recently emerging ones....go figure!

A single Queen nectaring here also. The first I've seen in a few days. A couple of ladies were out also. And of course, sulfurs and GF's. The white mistflower is still flowering, but won't be for very long. It was cloudy today, but warmer. Must have had just an extremely brief sprinkle during the night, but our chance of rain is about running out for now. We need it badly, but the drought just keeps on going, week after week without any real rain. The Julia cat is really cute, I agree. Hope that one makes it.

Here I am to rub in my Polydamas! I had two flitting around today. There's a special bug petting zoo sponsored by Terminix at the museum this weekend. They had this giant African millipede and hissing cockroaches. We loaned them a couple Polydamas cats, too. Watching the kids' reactions was more fun than watching the insects!

This sulphur was very nice and let me take photos!

Gulf Frits sure do love the pentas. At least that keeps them off the porterweed for a while.

And the Painted Lady is still hanging around. All in all, a good day for butterflies.

Melanie

Palamedes ST has decided to pupate. He already built his sling. I feel like a mom who isn't ready for her baby to grow up. Couldn't he stay a caterpillar a little bit longer?

I still have my Spicebush cat!

Melanie

Mellanie, you are a terrific mom. The young lady in a shoe; had so many cats, she didn't know what to do! LOL. Love your Polydama in a sling and Spicebush cat! What a cache.

Melissa, thank you very much for the link to the photo contest winners.

Cat, great pic of the GP Hairstreak. I have never seen one. Man, I'm glad FL is warm, so you girls can keep us entertained all winter. Cat, I'm very sorry your other Julia didn't make it. But you made a fascinating pic of the Julia and the Zebra. Never have I seen such cats, especially so close together! Your faculty for detail is great. I see the liquid atop the spine so clearly once you pointed it out. Wonder how that happened.

Gardenpom, like Sheila, I'm astounded you still have Monarchs. I thought they had all migrated to Mexico. But apparently, so long as it's warm, there's no reason to migrate. Yes? No?

Pretty Queen on your Mistflowers, Cat. I'm going to have Mistflowers next summer. Sheila was so kind to send me seeds. Can't wait!

Question for Sheila:

We have had temps down to 25° for several nights. Down in the 40's tonight. I went out to take a look at the GF cat I talked about in the last thread. The cat, tho very small, is still on my passion vine which has withstood the weather so far.

I looked at the list you provided to see if this cat could survive the winter. There, GF's are listed as BF's that survive as adults and/or migrate. Guess I should bring the little frit inside, but I'm afraid I'll run out of passi before he pupates. Tell me what to do.

Never mind, Sheila. I felt sorry for the little thing and went ahead and brought it inside with a container of water stuffed with passion vine. I even put a bit of sugar in the water. Sugar keeps cut flowers fresh for a long time. I hope it will do the same for the passi. I do not think it will have an effect on the cat. Plants use energy from sunlight to produce sugar (photosynthesis). Then cellular respiration converts the sugar into ATP which is fuel for the plant.

At any rate, the little cat is snug inside its cage. I hope it is still alive. I can't tell because it was so cold and the cat has not moved an inch yet.

Martha

Martha, there's a few places in the U.S. where Monarchs do stay in winter...it has to be where winters are really warm. But not places with any real winters. Like my area, where we can get into the lower 20's in a typical winter. There's Monarchs that are late flying south, so I might possibly see one or two yet, but they won't stay here.