DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 61

Not taking a Red Admiral for granted again!!!

I was browing the BAMONA website and clicked on the link for 'In The News' and then clicked on the article "The Butterfly Effect: A man's one-in-a-million close encounter with an insect convinces him that the theory is true: The fluttering of gossamer wings can change the world - Dan Southerland, The Washington Post 08/24/08"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081502356_pf.html

Living in south Texas - where we get some 320 speices - I tend to take the common butterflies for granted - even passing over some of the uncommon and rarities because I've already seen and photographed them. More so on the common ones when I'm on the road traveling in other states. I forget what we see as common here may be uncommon elsewhere. Even when I was in DC a couple of years' back - I didn't realize that seeing a butterfly in a bustling city could be a treat. Must say I am impressed they have a butterfly garden near the Smithsonian as well as a native wildflower-like refuge in the middle of the city.

Next time I'm about to ignore a Red Admiral flitting around my yard or enjoying one of the bait station - am sure that article will come to mind and remind me to appreciate the little things in life and the beauty of every butterfly :o)

~ Cat


This message was edited May 24, 2009 12:49 PM

Long article but worth the read; very touching. Thanks for posting that link.

Oh, Cat! Thank you for that. I loved it!

I came across this moth last weekend...

OOOOOO....saw this flitting over a field last week!!

Pretty moth and BST nanny!

Same here Cat~ What a delightful article! Thanks!
I am even more certain that butterfly gardening has endless angles of delight and therapy for kids of all ages.

I am working on the school garden harder than I have ever worked anything. Thanks to my DG family I had many good plants to put in among the donated ones. Was able to showcase those donated plants as an outline for the natives and butterfly plants given, and ones I had grown from seed for a couple years. It's really shaping up!
For more detail, and not to repeat see post:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=6592806
in this thread:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/960518/

I may have to make another thread for this project, but I am just way too tired and sore, lol.

;-)

All the rest of my BST chrysalids were coming out today, so I took them along and released them there. 2 stayed and 2 took off like lightening.. lol

Taking in some Lantana camara..

i just had a beautiful visitor

whoops hit the wrong one, must be a blond thing lol

he it is

Sweet!!! One of the few species we don't get this far south :o)

~ Cat

i have a weeping willow and had caterpillars last year now i need to search it again i hope i have them

We don't get the Viceroy's here either, nice shot; hope you have cats to raise!

i do to am going to look when i get back from town
debi will let ya know if i do

This morning I was out looking for monarch caterpillars on my milkweed. Crawling in the mulch I found a caterpillar that looked similar to a monarch, but it had much more black - the white & yellow was not as prominent. I went back out with the camera & couldn't find it. Any ideas what it was? I bought a butterfly guide, but it doesn't have the caterpillars. Thanks for your help.

could it be the queen butterfly it to likes milkweed it has 6 antenna things instead of 4
debi

That is exactly right! Thank you very much.

Say, do any of you southerners know what this vine might be? It's from last January when I was in Mexico.

Here's one with tiny blues on it. (i think)

This is my first time trying my hand at raising caterpillars, so I've been doing a lot of reading. I found a swallowtail egg on some fennel while taking a walk, and thus began my search. Fennel grows in huge clumps all over around here, especially along freeways, etc. Once I started looking, I discovered a big cat on some fennel right next to the freeway exit near my house. I've also found 4 more eggs, and a smaller cat as well.

The original egg just hatched tonight! I can't believe how tiny the little cat is...I practically need a magnifying glass to get a good look at it. Here are the two cats I collected...the big one crawled over and checked out the little one last night, and then crawled back over to his side again.

This message was edited May 27, 2009 10:10 PM

those are my favorite to raise, last year i went to epcot for their butterfly encounter which was disappointing, well i went in there and they had lots of black swallowtail caterpillars, They have an osmeterium, an orange, y-shaped gland on their neck which gives off a strong, unpleasant odor when the caterpillar is threatened. i of course couldnt resist it and had them all give off their stinky smell and people were looking around it was kinda funny.

Sunny - Wow...I never knew fennel grew wild. Wish it did out here. The native rue/dutchman's breeches that grows out here is very scarce. Good thing those butterflies have other plants to choose from.

Best keep the little instar away from those bigger instars as they can turn into cannibals. Never ceases to amaze me how quickly they grow :o)

Also - welcome to the wonderful world of raising and releasing butterflies!!! You're going to be hooked if you aren't already! So many species - not enough plants or time :o)

Blond - I brush the citrus trees with my hands so I can find the caterpillars. Our trees get pretty big and those guys can camo themselves quite well. That's the quickest way for me to narrow down the place a caterpillar is - glad they give off a scent :o)

~ Cat

Two red-spotted purples and one palamedes swallowtail have emerged in my cages so far this morning. The red-spotted purples are still hanging upside down, but the palamedes was in a hurry to leave. She was a female, with PLENTY of blue on the lower part of her hindwings!
Sherry

Awesome butterfly Sherry!!! We don't get those down here but I did get to see several when I was at a training class in Georgia last year. I was so excited to see those 'in person' - that I couldn't stop taking photographs! The base I was on is part of a national forest and the 'campus police' patrol it. Eventhough I was walking through the wood trails if I happened to be on a paved crossroad 5-0 would show up and I kept getting stopped told no photographs were allowed - they just didn't understand I wasn't taking photos of the base - but of butterflies and caterpillars. I had to review the photos in my camera on three different occassions! Geez!!!

It was still very exciting! Wish I could hook up with another training out there just so I can go butterflying again!

~ Cat

that is a good idea cat,
i never tried that i now have a wild lime bush or tree, i keep it down so i can see the little guys
i am going to my citrus tree and see if i have any lol
debi

I think palamedes swallowtails are probably the most common swallowtail in my area Cat, so I'm not surprised that you saw a lot in Georgia. They're always dancing, that is, they have a cute little courtship dance they do for long periods of time.
Blondhavmofun, giant swallowtails, like all butterflies, like to lay their eggs on new growth, and that's what the early instar cats prefer to eat. Of course, if your citrus trees are as big as my Louisiana Sweet orange tree, you won't be able to check the upper limbs except on a ladder.
Raising caterpillars to adulthood is SO much fun!
Sherry

Wow, so pretty, Sherry!

That is too funny about the "stink response." I've been pretty much hands off with these guys so far, and didn't know they were capable of such behavior. I sat and watched (and listened) to the cats chow down on fennel last night. I was there for some time, just enjoying the show. Does that mean I'm now addicted? LOL. Cat, fennel is a weed here. I see it all along the highways, and am now having the urge to over onto the freeway shoulder and hunt for cats (but I am showing restraint, I swear ;-)). Now does that mean I'm addicted? Hehe. The bigger cats are in a large plastic container with screen over the top, and the little one is hanging out on his fennel outside of the cage (I need to get another container). No cannibalism allowed here, if possible.

I am thinking due to my location that these are Anise Swallowtail cats. Does anyone know? Here's some info that is reasonably local to me http://www.berkeleyswallowtails.com/index.html

Cats chewing on fennel in California that look like Eastern black swallowtail cats have got to be anise swallowtails - congrats, sunnyg!
I think the anise cats are even prettier than black swallowtail cats - they've got more green on them than black swallowtails.
Sherry

I forgot to mention, a red admiral and an American lady also emerged today, so I released five butterflies today, a good day!
Sherry

Thanks Sherry :-). It sounds like you were busy today! Here is a pic of the little cat that hatched yesterday. I am amazed by how much it has already grown.

nice clear picture, what a cutie
debi

That IS a great, clear picture! He/she's dark with the white saddle, just like black swallowtails - they're so cute when they're in their early instars, not pretty like they get later, but cute!
Sherry

got eggs on both my fennel and dill...both in the ground and in pots so will bring the potted ones in the screened porch so I can what for the cat's. And keep them away from the evil wasps which have been raiding the Passi's and carrying off Gulf Frit cat's !

i just was out in my garden and i have a dozen or more spicebush swallowtail eggs, i cant wait
debi

Deb,
What host plant? Do you have a Spicebush?

i have the spicebush , but these are on my sassafras trees, i also have them on my camphor. i need to find out if i can do cuttings of the sassafras tree any one know?

Wonderful Blond! Can't help on the cuttings question.
Nice pic sunny!
I have three GST first instars now, brought in as eggs. Two BST cats going on two weeks, and a whole mass of Polyphemus Moth chrysalis. I am thinking today I will take all but one of the moths down to the local park and staple them to an oak tree. I am not real excited to raise anymore of those huge buggers! I know they will be happy in the woods there.
Josephine...are you on? Did any of your moths emerge yet, or did you give them to others?

they hatched finally GST babies are here i have about 5 or 6 and 3 more ready to hatch here is the new born with his egg

Awwww :-)

Blondhavmofun, I've tried to root sassafras several times without success. The cuttings rotted in their containers. Sassafras likes good fast drainage, which is at odds with the rooting process - maybe that's why they didn't do?
Have any of you tried Lindera subcoriacea? It's a rare spicebush that's native to my area in local bogs. I ordered three from Woodlander's, and they're really growing and thriving. I can't say the same for L. benzoin - I've never been able to get them to grow for me, but then it's not native here. I've already found spicebush swallowtail eggs on it, and one of the cats has just pupated. Two of the bushes are still in containers, but I'll be planting them out soon.
I'll probably be bringing in some giant swallowtail hatchlings soon - the eggs have been there for about ?5 days.
I released one giant swallowtail today - a male - and two red admirals.
My sweetbay silkmoth cats are getting real big - I'd think they'll be cocooning pretty soon.
Sherry