Wow I can't even begin to catch up.
Russell good to see your wonderful photos again. Mrs. Ed the photo of the Red Admirals gathering on the birdbath is a sight! I've never seen that many butterflies at one time...what a great share.
I've tried to get a few snapshots, but they are moving too fast for my old camera.
The orange sulphur has taken flight and I missed any shots of it.
Mostly just black, tiger and giant swallowtails, Gulf Frits and sulphurs here.
LEW-TEX, Gulf Frits are eggs for 3-7 days, caterpillars for about 2-3 weeks with each instar lasting a few days (3-4), they are a chrysalis for about 10-14 days, and a butterfly for about two weeks at most.
Here's another piggy I found munching on the milkweed. I'm beginning to think I'm a Monarch farmer.
Melanie
Thanks Melanie. LEW, this is my first time bringing these in, so I have a limited sample size. Last year, I didn't have a single caterpillar on the passionflower. All of the GFs I brought inside eclosed by the 11th day, but most were open on the 9th day. I had them in a west-facing window, and I didn't bring them inside until they were very large - all of them made a chrysalis within 1 day of bring them inside.
Enjoy them...they are beautiful. I never did get to see one eclose....always during the work week!
Russell
Thanks guys I looked 2 are 3 different sights told everything but numbers.. We have very large passion vine with lots of eggs with females laying more every day. Cats of all sizes have not seen any chrysalis yet I guess only a matter of time I hope. I'm leaving everything on the vine .
The information I read said they had no predators because they were poisonous but I found one that looked like all fluid had been sucked out of it just outer skin left. Any
idea what might have happen.
Thanks LEW-TEX
LEW-TEX, Frits are bad to get a disease that gives them that drained look you mentioned. It gets worse in captivity so I tend to leave them on the vine, as well. There are also assassin bugs that can drain them and parasitic wasps that can lay eggs in them. So they do have some predators but birds won't eat them since they taste bad/are poisonous.
Melanie
Saw my first Red-spotted Purple this morning!!
Woo hoo! I love RSPs! I've seen them circling my cherry tree and laying eggs but they're up too high for me to get them.
Dad saw another Monarch caterpillar get stung by a wasp. He said it looked like it hurt the caterpillar. : ( I told him to put it out of its misery and to keep the wasps from becoming adults.
In happier news, I have lots of Monarchs munching away and making chrysalises. Should have some emerging soon.
Melanie
Thanks I plan to leave them on the vine we have a big one about 30' long and real dense I enjoy watching them there.You have been very helpful making it understandable for a beginner.
Thanks LEW-TEX
Monarch in Houston
LEW .... I am sooooooooooo jealous of your passion vine!!!! I want one (or more if they come in more colors than purple). I just have to keep looking 'till I can find one. Can you give us pics of the little guys on the vines?
Do RSP's prefer a certain type(s) of cherry tree? I had no idea there were so many different ones! lol
Love your pic of the Monarch on the Mex Flame vine jmorth....guessing that is what it is.
The RSPs will use black cherry (Prunus serotina) as a host plant. I've found them on mine as well as in the wild.
Melanie
You guys are really getting the butterflies this year! Great pics too.
I saw the Red Admiral yesterday and today, and an orange one, not sure if it a Frits or ?Mark or else. It was too fast for me. Not much blooming for them, so they don't waste their time in the yard. The Admiral did stop, on the rotting fruits for a bit.
Awesome photos everyone!!!
I haven't been able to keep up with Dave's Garden. What can I say...work keeps me busy and I love my job!!!
Have had lots of caterpillars lately - by the time I get home work I don't get to see the butterflies but they've obviously been around. Black Swallowtails, Giant Swallowtails, Gulf Frits, Variegated Frits, Queens, Monarchs, Hawkmoths and a variety of grass skippers. I've had no time to raise them though...so I've left them on their own. Will start raising and releasing once my traveling out of town slows down.
Also added another 2500 square feet to my back yard, had it tilled, leveled and fenced. (Uhmmm...I bought it a year ago and just got around to getting that done!) Am now trying to find a landscaper to get 'er done!
Tried to find a local landscaper to design something but everyone that calls themselves a 'landscaper' just wants to mow the lawn! Don't believe what you read in the photobook, yellowpages, newspaper ads or craigs!
Got a referral from a local nursery on an ex-employee that started his own business. Have received a tentative emailed design but need to sit and talk it out and find out how much the monetary damage will be. I met the man when he was working for the nursery - he used to call me to go pick up caterpillars :o) He knows I want to cater to butterflies - it will be his first trek into the butterfly 'larval host' plant type garden. Told him I wanted to compete for yard butterfly counts next year so nectar plants are a must too. I've had the uncommon and rare butterflies show up but want quantity too. I want to work on larval hosts for more uncommons/rarities instead of them just eating on the run. He sounds interested in working together - so let's hope for the best!!!
I've been taking photos so eventually will compile a start to finish for this project...but don't hold your breaths. If anyone remembers my quest for scalloped brick edgers to paint on the Garden Art Forum (Lin Wellford's Painted Garden Art book) - it has taken me almost three years to just buy the dratted brick edgers and base paint them green!!!! LOL!!! It will be another three years before I finally paint the frog designs???
~ Cat
ps...am looking for this raised butterfly shaped garden bed - if anyone knows where I can find it...let me know!
This message was edited May 4, 2012 10:13 PM
Correct on the Mexican Flame Vine Shelia.
Cat, sounds like an ambitious and worthy project.
Well, Mom had the first hummingbird sighting as she walked out the door the other morning. I think they scared each other. I'll have to fill the feeder again. Saw a Buckeye while I was feeding my orchids but he was not in a mood to pose. Other than that, it's been feeding and releasing Monarchs like crazy. I wish the Swallowtails would emerge or get out there and lay some eggs for me!
Melanie
HA! I feel so behind.
My parsley is puny. I forgot it is biennial. I have a couple of seedlings from last year but soo tiny.
Lots of dill volunteers though.
Also - my swamp MW took a hit last year, but one of 4 that survived has flower buds. Last year I only had a couple of blooms. This is their 4th season I think. Wow! Do I really cater to these plants - I grow them for foliage - someone needs to keep reminding me.
Not much butterfly action here lately. A few red admirals last week, something that looked like a fritillary, cabbage whites, a sulfur here and there. O well. Even if the butterflies don't come, the garden is still a good time.
Cat - that sounds like a lot of fun just waiting to happen. Good luck with your project.
Finally have some time to get some pictures, and plant some more plants.
Questionmark on Hawthorne
Dill was taking over my little garden area so I had to try and dig it all out yesterday.
Wow there is some action here now...really great shots everybody!
-Sherri
Great Spangled Frit
Painted Lady 3
Good job everyone. I've been out of town for a few days. Came back and had a black swallowtail to release. Hope it was not in the cage long, DH was supposed to be watching out for them.
Jmorth - what is that pretty blue flower?
Chives
ha ha ha - I planted 4 regular onions in the late winter and they are now blooming pretty white allium flowers. People come into the yard and say oooo what's that! :D
If you wish it, they will come! I said I wanted Swallowtails and now I have them! There was a Giant ST flying around Mom's Meyer Lemon tree yesterday. They never lay eggs on it though. It's like they know it's citrus, but it's not quite right. But I figured I better check the rue today. Sure enough, I found five small cats and three eggs! I'll take pics once they get a little bigger.
Melanie
Yah Mel! Love those GSTs.
Second BST emerged today.
Congrats Mrs. Ed. Such beautiful pic. of the lovely BST! I saw one today, but I give on trying to accurately i.d. this 'purdy'. lol Let's me guess, a tiger?
Lily....you have a Pipevine ST there!! Got any pipevine around? If so check it out. They lay eggs on the stems of the foliage. I got to raise a few last week or so, they are in chrysalis now and I have some more cats on my pipevine plants now.
Oh me oh my!!! Sheila you aren't kidding? That would be a lifer for me! Unfortunately I don't have to native pipevine in the garden. Wished I did. Now I'll have to go shop for the native hostplant. Thank you. I would love to get some more of those pretty butterflies.
editted for typo.
This message was edited May 7, 2012 7:35 PM
There are two pipevines that nurseries sell around here that we found out are too toxic for the pipevine ST...they are ok for the Polydamas in southern US without problem. I will go get the links.
Here you go.... http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/942/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56130/
This message was edited May 7, 2012 7:59 PM
Lily....you have a Pipevine ST there!! Got any pipevine around? If so check it out. They lay eggs on the stems of the foliage. I got to raise a few last week or so, they are in chrysalis now and I have some more cats on my pipevine plants now.
They are definately neat looking cats. Had these a week ago, now in chrysalis.
Hey there - I have been trying to germinate some A. elegans seeds for MONTHs now.
I am going to break down and purchase, probably from Mailordernatives. Always pleased with the products:
http://www.mailordernatives.com/servlet/Categories?category=Butterfly+Larval+Plants
A.
I've had A. elegans growing for the past three or four years with nothing making use of it. One vine climbed up the light pole and covered the transformer :o). I cut it back several times then just dug it up. Have it stuck in a pot and I clip it back to keep it from taking over the yard. Will be moving it back into the ground in a few months now that I added that extra footage to the backyard. Hoping the polydamas will use it?!
As for trying to germinate seeds...I had seedlings come up from fallen seed - gobs at a time but since I potted it nothing on the ground anymore.
~ Cat
I saw a cool cat at the tip of a wild grape vine hanging over my fence from the neighbor's yard. Of course I have no camera, but surely it is SOMETHING. Dale will laugh at me the next time I post a photo and call him in a panic over some insignificant MOTH or tent caterpillar. :D
I will not ever plant A. Elegans or A Gigantea here because of the DEATH of the caterpillars when they eat it. We don't get Polydamas this far up to use it. I would encourage you to do some checking in your areas before trying it. I know in Flordia and far So Texas the polys use it.
Thank you Sheila for the helpful info. Keeping my eyes out for more butterflies in the garden today.
