YAY! One of my Black Swallowtails from last year eclosed yesterday! At least one of the five made it. Hopefully one more!
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 62
Congrats, Mrs_Ed - what a beautiful black swallowtail!
Hopefully, the other four will emerge successfully, too!
Sherry
thanks sherry. Actually, 3 did not make it. But I have hope for the last one. Chrysalis still looks good.
I don't think mine is still viable...how can you tell?
Well, two of mine actually had antennae and eyes sticking out (gross) like they got stuck. One was similar looking like there was a hole in the top. And two just looked normal. So I took it out of the cage and put it in my hanging basket so that it could maybe get more moisture or something. Ha. Shot in the dark that it was what was needed.
Nice setting Mrs_Ed.
Hi all, please help me as I try to raise this polyphemus cat. indoor. This is just now discovered. He's large so if I bring him indoor and put in a butterfly cage with plenty of leaf to eat, will he be all right? I've so many birds in the garden this spring, I afraid he won't survive on his own? What's the sencus please.
I think that would be fine, it would be safer away from the birds.
My VF cat still getting bigger. No more of those cats found...I'm thinking that was a male butterfly I saw before. And today I saw a White-striped Longtail Skipper...took a pic, but it turned out really bad. Hoping for eggs or cats on my bean plants!
The VF looks just like the GF cat.! Looks like it will pupate anyday now. Thanks Linda for your respond regarding my Poly.
their getting bigger ! I'm gonna have to call around and see if I can find more fennel/dill...I've got another pot of cats that look just like this and they've eaten everything even most of the parsely !
Mj, wow. Congrats look at those 'army' of a cuties! I keep my fennels seeds handy so I can sow fresh plants when those come around to my garden. Right now, I've many that are making flowers awaiting for those cats.
I've got a tray of bronze fennel going but it's way too small. Moved some dill and parsley over next to them, hope they'll make "jump"....gonna try locate some plants today....have a ton of cats on the other plants that are hidden under the bushes outside too....I've never had this many swallowtail cats before, and there are new eggs out there too.
My lady margaret passi looks like "Swiss Cheese" Margaret from the Gulf Frits...
Keep moving those to other passi's in the yard........
So that's where all the Eastern Black STs are at! We haven't had many at the museum and none at my house (but I only have one parsley plant right now, fennel seeds have been sown!) That's ok though because between the museum and my house I think we have the market cornered on Monarchs. I must have taken a hundred cats out of the flight cage and my plants at the house are covered. The good thing is they seem to concentrate on the plants next to the house and ignore the ones I have out by the corner. That leaves me a stash of milkweed for when I start getting desperate! I also had some reseed themselves so that helps a lot, too. I just need to dig them up and transplant them since I changed things around and now they're coming up in my bromeliad garden, lol!
Melanie
Amazing looking BST cats! So since someone has BST cats, I guess I had to come up with a couple of them today. On my fennel. And a BST butterfly came by and laid an egg on the wild parsley that is starting to bloom, but the egg is clear, so I don't expect anything from that one.
Mellie,
That's weird cause I've not had many Monarchs. I've got a ton of Milkweed, and figured by now most would be eaten to the nubs.
Had a bunch earlier, I wonder if it's cause we've had soooo much rain. The Dill and Fennel are in a more protected spot than the milkweed. I've had a boat load of Gulf Frits too, but not one Zebra Longwing, and not all that many Giant Yellow Swallowtails which I usually get. We are in different enough environments I wonder if that has something to do with it.
I haven't seen a monarch since spring, and I haven't seen a black swallowtail all year - neither of these butterflies is common here, but I've got fennel and carrots, and swamp and Mexican milkweed, just in case any show up.
This black female tiger swallowtail nectared on some Viburnum dentatum blooms today, and I got her picture.
Sherry
Sherry...gorgeous blue on that Tiger! I was just reading the book "Do Butterflies Bite?" and it talks about how Tiger butterflies in certain geographical areas emerge as dark to resemble Pipevines - so a predator will think - bad eats - don't touch!
~ Cat
I am gonna get me some Fennel Seeds at the store I think!
I was happy to see some bronze fennel reseeded from last year. So I moved them to a place where they can get big and reseed again. But the dill is just getting big and i planted lots of parsley this year for the late ones. Might plant some more dill now.
Okay, okay!!! All this talk about fennel and dill made me stop off at one of the local nurseries on the way home from work today. They didn't have dill but I did purchase 8 small pots of rue and 6 of fennel. Spent the afternoon potting them up into large containers - one full of rue and the other full of fennel. The BSTs are sure to find them now.
~ Cat
Anybody recognize these? Found them stuck on a couple of baptista saplings I received in trade a few weeks ago. They were in the crook where the leaf sprouts from the stem. The leaves on one plant were eaten to the stem and the other still have some leaves left.
Can't understand why my baptista is eaten up though - any ideas? They were in perfect condition a week ago.
They are next to a large pot of milkweed which had been infested with aphids. I kept washing the aphids off with the water hose and never noticed any hover fly larvae around - but these sure look like hover fly pupas to me. However, when I've found hover fly pupa they are always stuck on the milkweed plants.
Have put these into a container - to watch, wait and see.
~ Cat
This message was edited Jun 10, 2009 10:04 PM
I don't have a clue what those are, Cat - your guess is better than mine!
I've read that black tiger females, spicebush swallowtails, and red-spotted purples all mimic pipevine swallowtails for the protection it gives them, too. Nearly all the female tigers are black here, but the other day I saw a rare yellow female - she was gorgeous, but flew off before I could get her picture.
You were smart to get that rue - the giant swallowtails have really been laying eggs on my five plants this year, plus black swallowtails have laid eggs on rue in the past. Rue resprouts every time I cut off leaves to feed cats - I fertilize it and water it, when needed - so it keeps giving new growth like cats like to eat. And even if black swallowtails lay their eggs on your fennel, dill, parsley, etc., you can change them over to rue if need be.
Sherry
The BSTs out here prefer rue :o)
I keep reading how they love dill and fennel but rarely have any takers on that here...but each year I keep trying because I prefer the smell of dill and fennel over rue.
The rue is always a big hit with them and I've got some plants that are five years old in the ground. They get about 3 feet tall and flop over so I cut them back when feeding BSTS.
I decided to buy new small plant to put in that large container so it's about a foot higher than the ground. It's a good thing it is sold locally in abundance. The hispanic population believes having rue growing in your yard will bring you good luck so most of the flea market plant vendors have it too :o)
~ Cat
I got several great stems of blooms on my three year old Rue this year. I just clipped them off today to dry them and let the plant recoop.
I have only had three BST and two GSTs this year. I am seeing more action lately so I keep hoping.
There is a TST that keeps teasing me flying through the yard. My neighbor has a Saucer Magnolia and another a regular Mag; could be it is using one of those.
MJS..... You have quite a crop there! Maybe someone in the area has plants and no cats. I have taken several bunches of GFs to put on my plants that don't seem to get much action. I don't take them in to raise they seem to do well on their own. One of the vines I have is evergreen and has cats on in almost all year!
Sheila, Yes, I've got BST cat's in an OVER ABUNDANCE, probably have about 75 out there now between the porch and what's outside, same w/ the Gulf Frits...what's weird is no Monarchs...had a bunch earlier back in April, but then we had that horrible patch where we got so much rain. I've got tons of Milkweed, which needs a trim now, it's recovered from earlier munching ...I'm wondering if all that rain has something to do w/ it. I want my Monarchs !! I did go buy more dill, and some fennel, they've eaten all my parsley too, both kinds ! The guy at the produce stand sees me coming and asks....more caterpillers ?
opp's meant to post this too
mjs....If you want to try to send some chrysalis to me, you can. I have plenty of the passion vine, because I have one planted in the shade. The female doesn't lay eggs there so I have bunches to feed hungry cats. I am in the address section.
All the Gulf Frits are outside, I can get some cat's up, and feed them till they form their chrysalis. How do you pack them to send? Do you know get the Zebra Longwings there. Here the Zebra Longwings seem to prefer the Passi's that are in the shade.
Gulf Frits like the ones in the sun...well MY Gulf Frits like them all, even the one I have in the shade......silly girls.
Ask me how I know a Spicebush Swallowtail came by recently.
And need an ID....is this a moth and what kind? It got in my house somehow and was flying around last night. I finally captured it from the bulletin board and let it go outside. Pretty thing! I'm working on getting the Spicebush cats (4 or 5 cats and an egg) safe for tonight, so I'll have pics tomorrow.
Hey Linda,
How do you know a Spicebush Swallowtail came by?
Hehehe! I've got her babies! Yea!
Linda...CONGRATS on the SBST babies!!!
My clutch of Forbes Silkmoth eggs hatched today :o)
~ Cat
Congrats on the eggs, and the Forbes cats Linda!
Congrats on your spicebush eggs, Linda - I released a beautiful male today.
And congrats, Cat, on your silkmoth eggs hatching!
Linda, the moth is one of the underwing moths, but I can't tell you which one, just that it's one of the ones with the yellow underwings, as opposed to red, pink white, or plain.
Sherry
Would you believe I released my FIRST of the season BST today. I should have been getting them for a long time....guess they are all at mjs's house in Deland FL!!
I am scouring the wild milkweed and the wild Queen Anne's Lace along the roadside these days. Nothing yet....
LOL!
Here's the VF cat pupating.
