DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 56

Beautiful art, Sheila. That is a very thoughtful gift.

Martha

oooo, I want one!!!

She told me the lady took a couple months to do the piece. I think with holding two jobs I would too! I am going to encourage her to put some pieces in the Senior Citizens Fair here in FW usually Oct. She would have time to get a few pieces done by then. I know they would sell.

Sheila,

That is really nice!!! Is it a paperweight or box of sorts? How big is it? Really is nice looking. She ought to try selling stuff on Dave's Garden Marketplace too.

~ Cat

That is the problem, it is hollow in the back. It really has no purpose; so it will need to hang. I am going to have DH cut me a crescent shape 1 x board with a keyhole. Then I can hang it on the wall.

No purpose...heh heh...amusing...considering your not so favorite DIL gave it to you. A few brownie points earned for the beauty of the piece and her thoughtful personalized gift...and a few brownie points lost for not thinking it all the way through!!!

~ Cat

True! LOL!

Merry (belated) Christmas everyone! Sheila, that is certainly a pretty gift, and MJ, it looks like you scored too! Gardenpom, it looks like you got butterflies for Christmas :-). Very pretty shots! There's not much action in my little garden right now. Ladybugs and aphids are the only insects I've seen around here lately.

Sunnyg...at least you have ladybugs...all I see on the milkweed plants are aphids and lots of them. The ladybugs better show up soon...the aphids are getting too healthy!

Checked the yard earlier and found that although our weather has been vascillating from cold to hot and windy the Queens and Monarchs have been leaving little presents on the milkweed, the Guava Skippers are busy too...found lots of freshly laid eggs on the guava tree as well as some older ones, a couple of 2nd instar cats and two pupating cats. The Gulf Frits have been busy as usual and am enjoying a new yard bug - Mexican Silverspots!!! I never did see the butterflies in my yard but found some caterpillars on my passion vines. Haven't brought them inside to raise...but am keeping watch over them. So far no predators but might bring them in if the weather gets too cold.

~ Cat

My photo of the rare Yellow Tipped Flasher made it to the "Hot Seens" pages of the American Butterflies magazine, Winter 2008 :o)

Jeff was down in the LRGV in early November and that butterfly was still around. He was also able to photograph it.

~ Cat

Congrats, Cat...very pretty! Mexico has sent your area some nice ones this year! At least, I assume they're coming up from Mexico!

Yes Linda,

We've had a Red-Sided Swallowtail that was a new US record as well as a Ticlear Heliconian that was another new US record. Lots of strays coming through this fall season. We haven't seen any more clearwings though...I keep waiting for those to show up.

Jeff wrote an article in one of the previous issues of AB about what Mexico and Central American butterflies are likely to show up in our area soon...some have already been sighted. Truly exciting!!!

Must say the weather has brought in some Malachites to my yard as well as those Mexican Silverspots...too bad not much is in bloom right now. I neglected my yard due to work. Will have to put out some bloom booster or something to see if that helps during this winter season. Butterflies are hungry and mainly hang arount the milkweed, lantanas and pentas. About the only things blooming for me.

~ Cat

Congrats on your score of the Yellow Tipped Flasher in American Butterflies magazine. I'm impressed. The photo is excellent too.

Martha

Kudos once again Cat!! You guys down there are really showing off this year!

Well, I got some plain ole Maypop from a friend. We drove down to her place and her's was growning about 15 ft high in the air, so we cut down A BUNCH and brought it home and stuck some in a 5 gal. bucket of water on the porch and I twist tied the leav that has the eggs on it froem the Lady M. passi. The rest is in a 20 gal. tub out at the barn w/ sheer curtains over it. They are begining to hatch, so hopefully they will make their way over to the "good" passi. My front porch looks like a jungle..D's SO asked if it was going to turn into a BF sanctuary.......well, don't know but for now the Lady M. is on the porch to keep Miss Z. Longwings off till I get proper food for them.
And buckets of P. Incarnata. And all the other stuff....(15 orchids, Columnea, Christmas Cactus, about 12 cuttings of various stuff, Alsobia, ummm something else I don't remember.)
So we'll see what happens.
mj

A few butterflies out in the yard today. This little one...I don't know what kind on Snow-on-the-Mountain. And my cat gets jealous and tries to get into the pictures. There was a couple of checkered skippers also, but the pic didn't come out right. I don't think I remember those little checkered skippers around this late before, but maybe they were. Oh, I wish it were warm enough here for the Zebra Longwings!

Looks like a Mallow Scrub Hairstreak to me. They use waltheria indica out here as a larval host. It grows wild in the back pastures of the ranch and at times we get Mallow Scrubs Hairstreaks by the hundreds :o) They are soooooo cute...trouble is...you have to look at every one of them just in case it turns out to be some other kind of hairstreak!!!

~ Cat

Unfortunately I was so busy while working out side I didn't have time to grab the camera. But Miss Z. Longwings was back today...or maybe her sister.?...anyhow, VERY interested in a Staghorn fern I had just divided. What's up w/ that? She kept hovering all around it. And w/ a 20 gallon bucket filled w/ P. Incarnata sitting 20 feet away. One Monarch and a couple of Sulphurs....no time for the camera tho......rats....
mj

I had two Zebra Longwings eclose yesterday...set them outside in the few brief moments the sun had come out - one flew away but the other never did. By late afternoon the weather had gotten cool and I brought it back inside for the night. Finally released it this morning before I left for work. Am assuming it flew away because the day warmed up a little and the sun was out.

Also checked my passion vines looking for that missing Mexican Silverspot caterpillar but never did find it. Saw two Gulf Frit cats which I left on the vine. Also saw several newly laid eggs...am hoping it's anything but GFs!!!! :o)

~ Cat

Here's one of the Zebra Longwings I released --- sooooo pretty!

Found this little skipper trying to get nectar out of my yellow morning glory flowers. Good thing this vine is a fall bloomer.

~ Cat

Great show, girls. I'm enjoying every bit of it.

Martha

I found something on half off sale today and I just hope I did the right thing buying it. A Carson zPix, 26x-130x Zoom Digital Microscope. It says it's "with integrated Camera and Video Capture". The possibilities for what I could see with this are very enticing. However, DH thinks it would have it connected up to the computer to see anything. We have to look at the instruction manual later. But I'm thinking...is there anything butterfly-related it can do?

Can you take pics of BF eggs and Larva, then transfer to micro scope and zoom to REALLY see the little buggers? Unlike me who is out there with the magnifying glass and a flashlight trying to track them down on the passi leaves?????????? I really need my head examined............

I would think you could pic the leaf where a small egg or first instar cat is and video the action! I bet it down loads to the computer.

Did you see these kids things for looking at images close up on TVs and Computers. Our butterfly friend Danny got one for Christmas, so did my nephew.

http://www.eyeclops.com/


Amazon.com lists that Carson microscope as having a camera for the computer.
http://www.amazon.com/Carson-Optical-Digital-Microscope-Computer/dp/B001B4JC4E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1230730317&sr=8-1

Cool gift!

yah, do you think it would be too goofy for a 46 year old to get an Eyeclops? :D

I think what I'm magnifying has to go under the microscope (either on a slide or without a slide) and then the microscope needs to be hooked up to the USB port (after the CD is installed on the computer) and the image can appear on the screen...I think that's it. Unfortunately, I'm no techie. It took me quite a while to figure out to use my digital camera and how to transfer the pictures to the computer. You wouldn't believe how cheap I got this thing! It had been $70...then they put all these special gift items for 50% off at a store in the mall. I'm pretty sure I could check the butterflies for OE with this thing. And yeah, I thought about looking at little eggs and 1st instar cats. I've thought about buying a good regular microscope...but they're kind of expensive, so never got around to it. I used microscopes years ago in college. Mrs. Ed, it's not too late to buy yourself a toy! Heck, I'm older than you! Not saying how much older, but on occasion I get a senior discount!

I've been after one of those microscopes that save images to a computer. Our USDA guys use them to identify plant parasites and diseases but they are so old - I know they paid an arm and a leg for them years ago but the government hasn't upgraded them yet. The images I've seen are good...not great though - am thinking it was only a 1.2 megapixel image. Have snooped the net and am willing to pay a thou give or take but just haven't found one with enough information to give me a good idea of what I'd be buying...and trouble is...there is no local place where I can go actually look and try them out either. Sigh....I do so want something to photograph eggs and small instars with.


Linda...let me know how your new toy works out...I can be convinced to save big bucks and get one of those instead if it does what I want it to. Does it say what megapixels the image is?

~ Cat

ps....here's a photo of one of the Mexican Silverspot caterpillars. This one is getting nice and big. I've noticed this species has a tendancy to curl up when resting :o) The other one is still small - like a second instar.

pss...we had a shoot out at work at around 4am - I wasn't on duty yet. No officers were injured but the bad guys ditched their vehicle and ran into Mexico. We think one of them was hit because they found blood in the vehicle. Investigations still going on.


This message was edited Dec 31, 2008 5:04 PM

My gosh, Cat. I'm so glad you weren't on duty. You could have been injured. I glad, however, that no officers were hurt.

Great photo of the Mexican Silverspot caterpillar.

Linda, I, too, am interested in your Carson zPix, 26x-130x Zoom Digital Microscope. I minored in Biology, and we did of lot of microscopic work, especially in Micro Biology lab. Those microscopes are completely outdated now. But, please keep us posted as you learn more about how your digital microscope camera works.

I just took a closer look at the Carson (like yours, Linda) on Amazon in the link Marna posted:

ha! sure don't feel like it tonight! Two glasses of wine and I'm ready for bed!

so, what does it mean that I want a toy that a 6 year old and 12 year old have.

Mrs Ed... You can always "say" you are buying it for someone's child.
But I understand...DH and I got a Wii last year (we are 61), and a young co-worker asked me if we had any other video games. I told her no....then she asked why on earth would you buy a Wii?? LOL!
I admit we haven't used it as much as we thought we would but then we have had multiple back surgeries this last couple of years!

Oh Shelia, that's so funny. I just got a Wii for DH. Sounds like the Wii Fit might be for you (back surgery rehab!).

Well I was trying to look for a picture for you all, but I can't. A very good DG pal sent me an Australian Butterflies Calendar. I get to put it up today! WEEE

Happy New Year Everyone!

Cute little Hairstreak Mrs Ed.
We have the Wii Fit and several others. I do like the Wii Fit games since our balance and stamina is challenged lately. They are not that easy even though some are limited mobility activities. I think just making the avitars is entertaining! We plan on having family over and playing today after we eat our black-eyed peas.

ah. fun. We bowled the other day, but I stink at the tennis and baseball! I have no idea what kind of games that will end up getting.

I thought that was a bronze copper.

Pretty little one visiting today.

This rather pale Monarch was busy depositing eggs on the Butterfly Weed.

Marna, beautiful photo. Lovely flowers w/ a bf to match the center cones. Did you take the pic or was it one from the Australian BF Calendar?

Gardenpom, I've never seen a bf that color. It's gorgeous. What is it?

Linda, let's hear more about your Carson zPix, 26x-130x Zoom Digital Microscope. Marna and Sheila, don't laugh. I'm 70, and I want one sooo badly.

Martha

From my search, seems to be a Fulvous Hairstreak, Martha.

Martha and Marna..... If you feel you can't justify buying yourself one, or some other reason... Try this.

I wanted a composter but DH told me it would stink...my co-worker said her Mom hates to see her spend money. So we bought each other one, nobody turns down a gift! LOL!