mellielong's Daily Pictures # 104

Turds! :D

I noticed some BST puddling around where I had put goat dung in the garden last year. Must have some of the minerals they need, so I added it to one of my puddling stations. ;)

Yes, I am going to raise them. I collected 5 eggs, though there must be more. She found the milkweed in the driveway and in the yard. She stayed for most of the afternoon. I had a very odd comtemplative soul searching experience this afternoon considering their plight.

Wonderful pics you guys have posted the last few days. Glad the bfs are active for you.

What about there Shelia? Getting any rain? Having any luck in the garden?

lots of cabbage whites here. Chased a mourning cloak with my camera yesterday but was unsuccessful. So I put some Bananas out. Maybe it will visit that today

Mrs.Ed ; Doing the the same at Northern Comma , can't get a pic of those for anything !!!
As above lots of Cabbage White's , Little one's like Hairstreaks , some Skippers , always .

Congrats! would love to be seeing some skippers and hairstreaks in the yard. The asters are starting to bloom pretty good, so maybe!!

Here's a question:

Counting birds is troublesome in the winter for recordkeeping. I'm wondering how to tell if the Monarch I'm seeing is the same Monarch as before?

Yesterday was my first sighting. She was in the driveway/front yard for quite a while, then I saw her again later in the afternoon in the back yard and assumed it was the same butterfly.

Just before lunch I was outside and saw a Monarch on a Zinnia in the front yard and my heart lurched.

I didn't stick around to observe it, but as I was going about my chores I didn't see it again on the grounds.

About 5 hours later, after a trip out for some errands, I pulled up in the car and saw a Monarch on flowers in my front yard again. Heart lurch.

If they are migrating, do they stick around for days? Would I count these as separate sightings for recordkeeping? I'm at a loss . . ..

Photo on yellow zinnias is the first Monarch from today around 11:30 a.m.

Photo in flight is from after my errands approximately 4:30 p.m.

Rain no, but I have had several Monarchs come through this last week or two. Getting a lot of GST and TST also saw a Pipevine ST or two.
I haven't been out much during the day too busy lately. But I did get to speak to a Garden Club last Friday on butterflies of course! I created a slide show for the event and set it to music. I don't think anyone heard it because they have breakfast while I had it playing and they were talking non stop. It was great fun and I got a lot of good feedback. I gave them a short list of host plants and butterflies that use them.

Fascinating, beautiful, fabulous pics everybody!! I just glanced in my mirror and I look a little green with envy :o)

This, obviously, isn't a butterfly, but I thought it was an interesting looking moth. At first I thought it was a dried leaf.

Wow! What camouflage!

Cabbage white Larvae , the love the Mustard here , No big deal . their only the most numerous BF in NA . Only so were the Buffalo before me (barely)

This message was edited Sep 19, 2013 7:29 PM

Brown and gray Tomato (i doubt) Hornworm , with a pair of orange racing stripes , won for eating no doubt.
What do you think ? who's larvae is this ?
Near as I can get is a Giant Hawkmoth larvae

This message was edited Sep 20, 2013 4:23 PM

nutsaboutnature, your moth looks like a Large Maple Spanworm moth. https://www.google.com/search?q=large+maple+spanworm+moth&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-ts8UojeF4in2AWhooCADg&sqi=2&ved=0CDgQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=594&dpr=1

Juhur, that tomato's kind of creepy.

Wow, Thanks, shorthog!! Those Google pics are all amazing. Every one of them looks like a leaf or piece of wood or such. If the one in my picture hadn't flown, I never would have noticed it.

You're right, Amanda. It's fascinating

Nature is just sooo incredible!

Oopps posted on the old thread

OK not a butterfly but pretty non the less
Polyphemus in our Metasequoia.

Jokenna I still like it !!!^_^

Picking pears today ;a Mourning cloak , A Northern comma and some bees were enjoying the fruit that spoiled .
Yummy they say ..

Noticed 15 plus Monarch pillars along with a Milkweed tussock moth pillar on an almost defoliated Swamp Milkweed plant at Caney creek in NE Oklahoma. Finally a good sign for the Monarch.

That is so cool! Nice capture!

Those cats. look to be about to pupate any day now, shorthog. Not sure about the tussock however. I've a few Monarch cats in the garden that's about that size. Those were hatched Sept. 7 that I've found.

Thanks Lily_love for the cat info. I was worried since there was very little milkweed foliage left. The creek flooded two days prior but the Swamp milkweed is tall and strong at the base and kept the Momarch pillars safe.

Picture I took a few years ago. Butterfly buffet. Not sure what they are.

Painted lady with garden spider ... he he . saw an American lady and sulpher earlier today , well yesterday here now

juhur..... that caterpillar reminds me of this one:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/showimage/2424/

Yes it does ,it is still back there last I looked yesterday . thank you !!! it's definitely a sphinx moth larvae. One of two..
Still seeing a few

Sphinx Moths this year

Plant shopping at start of month found this Pandora Sphinx Moth among the Echinacea for sale!

Abbotts Sphinx cat from mid July.

Wow, Jokenna, my moths look like dead leaves...yours are gorgeous!!

Beautiful shots, shorthog!!

Very cool, coleup!!

Yes that is a neat photo !!!

I have Question mark BF's hatching out of my Nettle ?
An unidentified cat on a willow , may have been a mourning cloak larvae ,
My big thrill , about 15 Cabbage White cats in a container , oh well ... I wanted some seeds from the Mustard the cause of that .

This newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) was a happy surprise greeting this morning. They are in the garden most of the year with two or three month exception...but i still wouldn't call them "common" :)

Okay here's something nerve wracking:

Someone has contacted me and wants to ship Monarch chrysalises to me from the MidAtlantic region. I think she'd like them to eclose in a more rural/less urban/metro area. She must be worried sick as I surely was the first year I had anything to do with them.

Do you think they would suffer damage/harm in the shipping process? Heat is not necssarily an issue right now, but jostling, jarring, moisture, etc.... I'd agree to take them but worried we may do more harm than good.

Not one of the five eggs that I collected last week hatched out. :/

A.

If I leave them outside here they get killed , if I move them I lose a few , none to do anything with this year though ,
It's always a chance with live mail .
Saw 8&9 this week .

There are regulations concerning shipping butterflies: http://butterflybreeders.com/public/permits/stateagency1.html.
For instance, I am in Colorado & the continental divide runs through the state. Monarchs from one side cannot be sent to the other side. I think most of the regulations concern non-native species, but there may also be concern about introducing pests or disease to your native species.

Well thanks - that's useful information.

I'm trying to help her find someone local/regional to take them from her. With the situation so dire the value of a healthy eclosed butterfly has skyrocketed and as a novice I understand her trepidation.

I'd rather drive halfway to pick them up than ship them. We do cat and dog rescue transports this way. Why not for butterflies? :)

A.

Because their Bugs ...

Has anyone tried to help the BF "shelter in place?" By this I mean putting an enclosure around the plant with the cats in the garden that would allow the cat time to mature and enough room to make the chysalis? Just wondering if this might solve a lot of problems we are having when removing them completely from the garden. This method would keep would be predators away, allows the plant to continue growing and reduces the stress on us...

I thought about this the other day, but never got around to posting it. Just wondering if anyone has tried it.

Russell

Yes Russell, I have done it. It's easy to do with single caterpillars - which is what we did with our tomato hornworm (yes yes we did). It worked beautifully. However, I only have one butterfly enclosure big enough to house an entire plant and change out if necessary.

I have seen plans for and actual screened in butterfly "rooms" which is really nothing more than a small shed or greenhouse frame with netting/screen enclosing the entire space.

The other thing we noted when we changed out plants was that they very rapidly shot out new growth once they were back out in the sun/elements.

A.

I've thought a few times about chicken wire screen cage .

For the time being an ice cream container full of Cabbage White larvae to entertain myself for practice with .
How ridiculous is that ? (sigh)

Not.

Just quick comments...then off to bed.
Amanda.....Caution! Lepfarmer (with all his lic. & permits) had to ask permission from USDA to transport from Dallas to Ft Worth. It is not something worth doing. She needs to look locally for help.
Russell.... I have thought the same thing in the past and realized that if I cover one plant for one or two chrysalis, I would be removing that plant from being a potential host for so many more butterflies because it would not be accessible to the adult. I have tried to net a branch but mixed emotions on that. Plus you could lock a parasite in with the larva.

Juhur..... The wire cages would not keep the deadliest predator out, which is pesticides. Also it is the microscopic fly and wasp that lay eggs inside the caterpillars that have no problem getting in, even with tule fabric. The multi count fabric of Monarch Live cages or fabric like tricot (inside swimsuits) is the best defense.

Well those weren't quick comments so I really need to go get some sleep now. Night all.

Like said here ; it was only a thought to roll around . most ,not all of the comments Ihad given some wit unto ,
Only I have a lot of "IDEAS" I never try ,(took lessons from Wyle E. Coyote ), That kind of thing I remember , most of the time ..)

Yesterday I saw a newly hatched Red Spotted Purple , thought it was a larvae "inch worming"
it's way across a Willow Tree

I don't think the person in the mid-atlantic should worry at all about releasing the butterflies in her area. Clearly if she has the butterflies in the first place, there is both host and nectar supplies available. And they'll likely get to migrating right away if they are so inclined.