Daily Butterfly Pictures #87

What's going on with the lack of bfs this year. This is really unusual not to see any here. My bumblebees are back and enjoyning the blooms. I don't understand what's happened to our butterfly population.

I wish I could add some photos but it's been raining for days here. Not that I'm complaining; we need the rain. Love the photos everyone has been posting - lots of butterflies I don't see at all or very often. I'll be traveling up to West Virginia in a little over a week; I hope I'll get some good shots to share while I'm up visiting Grandma. In the meantime, I'll hide from the rain like the butterflies are doing!

Melanie

Well since so many of the butterflies begin in the southern part of Texas and on down in Mexico; I feel it is from our massive wildfires following a very harsh winter even down in lower Texas. I know in my yard, I have not seen half of the species I usually see. Only now am I seeing one maybe two a day including skippers, which I rarely noticed before.
I am so praying for a end to this drought in TX, we need those wildflowers that help the Monarchs on their return in the fall.

Wishing to the drought will let off for Tx soon, Sheila. Look, have a got myself a Redspotted purple?

You do indeed!!! Congratulations!! I have yet to see one of those in person, good job.

Wooohooo, thank you, thank you. Now I'm getting to know my butterflies.

Oh, you all have made me so sad :( I was coming on here tonight to ask about my area and the lack of butterflies..I was thinking it was just here. I've been to 2 different state parks and no BFs. I hope it's just a fluke this year..maybe it has something to do with the El Nina or whatever cycle we're in right now.

Sigh..not good at all

Ok, since I don't have any to show off yet..do you mind if I show a few from last year? This one I saw in August last year..

I've realized that when you kind people tell me what I've photographed, I will go back to my pics and rename it..then I'll be able to ID them from now on :)

Edited to add: Is this a pearl crescent? I just looked at the top of this thread and I do believe it is :)

This message was edited Jun 30, 2011 7:29 PM

Here's a dragonfly found the same day as the last pic.. I love the color of the wings on this one :)

I've had some BSP's here this spring. Not as many BF's or Hummers as usual here either. Flowers are just starting to bloom. Had some kind of skipper on the zinnia's the other day.

I have a butterfly to post!!!
I finally saw a Gulf Frit today! I only got a couple of pics and off it went....can't tell if it was female but sure hope this is an indicator they are returning. I was told we have experienced more for several years because they have overwintered in our area and had the evergreen passiflora in abundance, however due to the freezes this year very little survived. This year is actually their normal pattern of slowly migrating from the south. So I have hope they will rebound since they usually multiply well.

What's a good sight to see. Thanks Sheila for sharing that with us.

Sorry forgot to add....yes that is a Pearl Crescent Christine...good id. As for the dragonfly, can't say, I used to have a link to a great id site for them but don't know what it was.

O.K. all you knowledgable Butterfly people . . .I love butterflies but know very little about them. I have seen what I'm sure is an ultra-common butterfly flitting about my yard, but I don't have a clue what it is.

I know. . .the insect I.D. forum is probably where I should be, but this is more fun cause I get to look at all your beautiful pics!

I finally got a quick picture (they don't seem to 'park' very often). Though not the greatest shot I think it shows enough to tell what it is.

The following two pictures are the same, but I cropped one closer in case it helps show the markings better.


Thanks for allowing me to show you all how dumb I am with regards to butterflies!! If it were a bird we wouldn't be having this conversation.

2nd view:

I'm going to say Aphrodite Fritillary on that.

Wow, Mrs_Ed . . .Thanks for such a fast response!!

I thought it kind of looked like the one in your pictures, but I wasn't sure. I love the name!

Well, you can see the "dots" on the underwing, so that rules out the Meadow Frit and Variegated Frit. The Meadow is small anyway. And it does not have the light band on the underside that the Great Spangled have. Plush, the Aphrodite is flying now in our area.

Getting an education reading this thread!

Here is a visitor to our porch at Cooper Hill Inn this morning.

Those are so cool!!!!

And a pretty male at that! Love that dark color Monardas the frit. was visiting too.

Pretty male Luna moth okcrow!

I don't get to see that beautiful A Frit down here, nice shot, and welcome to our thread nutsaboutnature!

Thanks so much, everyone!

I haven't seen very many of the large butterflies I actually recognize this year. I'm seeing mostly smaller, light-colored ones (white? yellow?).

The Monarda is 'Jacob Cline'. I just planted it late last spring for the Hummers. I'm constantly adding things that Hummers, Butterflies & Bees are supposed to like. Most of my yard is varying degrees of shade so I pick & choose the plants that need more sun or experiment by planting them in shade.

I'm so amazed at the beautiful variety in all your pictures. I've also managed to pick up from this thread that several (or most?) of you are raising (hosting?) butterflies & apparently there's been some sort of a terrible parasite this year.

There's so much to learn. I think I'll start by just trying to learn the names of a few. I've renamed my picture 'Aphrodite Fritillary' so I don't forget what it is.

By far, I think natural disasters such as storm and wild fires atributed to the decline of butterflies this season? I'm a novice at raising butterflies, but would like to be a seasoned hostess of these beautiful little ones some day.

Yes, Nuts, I think you picked a bad year to start being a butterfly watcher! Ha! I stand out in my garden with all the tasty flowers and nothing! Too wet of a spring both here and further south just is making this a bad year. Parasites we always have to deal with. You can get monarchs even at egg stage and still have the OE spores. boo! Be sure to check the sticky, and I have an old article about how some DGers raise butterflies. http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2358/


And then I suffer from not having summer hummingbirds either. I have three kinds of Monarda. Someone from DG gave me a really pretty dark magenta one that has just started blooming. So far it is impressing me more than my others (red and lavender). It is sturdy and beautiful foliage right now. And it does not get a full day of sun. But still, no takers.

Bet you have the 'rasberry wine' monarda mrsEd. I have it and the 'jacob cline', and the RW out grows and blooms it by far. I dont' see too many butterflies on it but the hummers are a staple, when they are around. They just seemed to arrive a few weeks ago. Maybe they are late like the bfs this year.

close up of the RW.

Wow Sheila. Yah, that looks pretty darn close to it. I got it last year but it did not bloom. I have a very small space, so I'm sure I'll have lots of give-aways!

Thank's for that great link, Marna! That's a wonderful, informative article you wrote. I've tagged it so I can find it easily.

I have hummingbirds all Spring & Summer (though they were a little late this year with the cooler temps). I don't get lots of them like some people do, but the ones I get come to my feeders all day. They don't always go to the flowers they're supposed to like, though . . .at least not while I'm looking.

Wow, three more posts just while I was typing . . .course, I've never been a very fast typer. I was thinking 'Raspberry Wine' as well since it's one I've considered it for a long time. I've read it's one of the most resistent to mildew . . .and they are beautiful.

I have another monarda I planted last year that is just beginning to bloom. It's a dwarf variety called 'Grand Parade' & it's a beautiful lavender-purple-pink. It's supposed to grow to about 16", but the tallest buds are already 30"! I'll post a picture when the blooms open more.

The butterflies have been enjoying most of the flowers I've planted for the hummers as well as ones like the Gaillardia, which are just starting to bloom.

My delphiniums, gaillardias, nepeta & 'Jacob Cline' are all in a bed that is about half sun/half shade & they seem happy.

WOW, a first ever for me, yard or otherwise. I just happened to have a point and shoot camera on me (photographing the Monarda).

American Snout.

Hey congrats!!! Very nice photo Marna!

A cute one, Marna.

Beautiful pic!

It's so impressive how much you all know about these little guys. It's probably commonplace to you now, but from the outside-looking-in it's a real WOW!



Edited to fix 'typo'.

This message was edited Jul 2, 2011 5:27 PM

Mrs_Ed, do you cut back your Monarda? I've had my first round of blooms, now what next?

no, i don't cut it back. I can't say about this raspberry variety, but the my red one will bloom again, but just a few, as I recall.


Oh and Melanie, if you're lurking… I put in my sighting at the Butterflies and moths.

This message was edited Jul 2, 2011 5:43 PM

If you just dead head the spent blooms you may get more.

Thanks for the info. Annette

I was actually able to get a few shots of butterflies today.. I was thrilled to get this swallowtail..but it wasn't until just now as I'm uploading it to my computer that I realized how he looks. Unreal..something got him pretty good :(

And this little guy.. I was getting desperate to get another BF lol... what is he?