DAILY PICTURES # 110

Sheila...Domehomedee thinks the bush in Sunkissed's photo is Eucalyptus and i think she is right. Some species of Eucalyptus.

Shelia, that was taken on the west coast of FL, I'm not sure I'll get back over there to capture a photo of the bush not flowering.

Here are a few more photos that show more of the leaves, maybe they'll help.

I did see many monarch cats on the milkweeds along my walking route yesterday, so the cold didn't bother them any. ☺

happy holidays everyone from all the bordered patches :-)

Thanks for the Eucalyptus id and pics. I recently saw some of the fresh in a flower arrangement and it had the seed / blooms. Good color for a winter fresh flower display.

Thanks virtrsna for the Border Patch too. The first one of those I saw and took a picture of was under the roof of our shed and had just emerged from it's crysalis. Cute little flutterbys!

The December group of engaging Monarch caterpillars began eclosing yesterday, the 3rd of January. This morning, i observed 12 Monarchs eclosing within a one hour period which averages one Monarch every 5 minutes :-).

The 1st photo is the butterfly just out of the chrysalis outside under the patio table

The 2nd is a pre-flight Monarch on the Senecio confusus

The 3rd is a group photo of the pre-flight Monarchs located under the patio table on what i call the butterfly jungle gym (really a shelf from some organizer modular unit). I put this under the patio table when the caterpillars begin to pupate. Sometimes the caterpillars will find it in their search for a safe place to pupate, or travel to the base of the table close to the underside of the table top. Generally i've noticed that caterpillars are quite clever in choosing their places to pupate. When i have time, and after a group has formed chrysalises outside, i will check to see who might be located in a place that is particularly vulnerable to predators (like the Areca palms and the Jatrophas). The day after the chrysalis is formed in one of these places (when the chrysalis is mature and hardened), i will relocate the chrysalis and tie it to the jungle gym. Then i will move the jungle gym, with maybe 9 or 10 chrysalises into the house until a day before the first ones are expected to eclose when i move the jungle gym back out to the patio and place it under the table. Always there remains a group of chrysalises outside on various vegetation and structures...some that i can see and some that i don't know about. I don't always go through this process, occasionally i do. It seems like just about everyone with a butterfly garden has his or her own method. This is just the way i do it, with minimal interference in the natural process.

The 4th photo is of a Monarch who has just completed her first flight and is exercising her wings.

vitrsna, love all the new youngsters. I would like to know for future use how you detach and reattach the chrysalis ?

Hi CA...Monarch chrysalises are the easiest to detach and reattach. It can be done with other types of chrysalises (Swallowtails, etc) but it is more challenging. I am sure you know that during the chrysalis-making process, the hoof of the caterpillar becomes the single black stem which is attached to wherever the caterpillar decides to pupate with silk as the glue and i guess maybe some spit (if caterpillars can make spit, or maybe the silk is already sticky, this i don't know).

At first the chrysalis is lumpy, not fully formed and very soft so normally i wait until the next day to do the attaching and detaching. I think the new chrysalis actually hardens after an hour or two or three and can probably be moved, but i am extra cautious and don't like to cause any trauma in the process. If you have seen how hard the pupae work to create that chrysalis you gain respect for what they have accomplished.

To detach the chrysalis, i use a strong but light piece of sewing thread, tie it around the black stem and gently pull sideways which normally takes the silk along with the chrysalis. Then i use what remains of the attached thread to tie the chrysalis to wherever. In my case generally the caterpillar jungle gym but sometimes to another safer plant or location outside. Let me see if i can find a photo.

I have a question too, that i've been wondering about and will be back with my question and hopefully a photo of a reattached chrysalis.

Okay, here you can see the empty relocated chrysalis. This is a heavier string i found somewhere around the house that is composed of three strings and am just using it up, but a single thread is sufficient.

My question is, over the years, i have noticed that when all the new butterflies leave the garden, usually one is left behind that may overnight in the garden or often times wait until an hour before dark to leave the garden. I've always been curious about this behavior. I wonder if it is to protect the territory for future egg laying, or if they are waiting for any more brothers or sisters to come out of the bushes. Or maybe both. I am curious because i've seen this happen so many times over the last 6 years. Anyone out there who has noticed this as well? Anyone have any ideas about why?

Greetings - just checking in. I had a very very slow season last year - diminished counts of all pollinators and zero caterpillars. Hope this season will be better.

Still winter here ,, Amanda) Sounds like somebody is ready for Spring !!! couple months to go until that happens here ,,

I here the BF's are doing a little better (Monarchs)

@Ivy....The silk pads can easily be scraped off with the fingernail. I then take a straight pin and attach them with that to Styrofoam covered with material. The reason for the material is to give them something to crawl on without falling. I did put a spot of hot glue on the board and press the tip of the Monarch's chrysalis and silk into it; but quickly changed my method after getting fingers burned a lot!

I got a nice confirmation letter in my E-mail from BAMONA this past week , They added my Duskywing (funeralis) to the sighting maps ,
Some you may remember that this past season , when I got a pic of one of a couple a saw during the summer ,, rare here ,,

I think that is COOL !!!! lol

J7...I think that is COOL too...it is great to get some confirmation now and then and really nice when it involves a rare siting. By the way, i've moved over to ATP (Allthingsplants) website and only have time for one forum so i won't be checking in here...i'll miss you guys, you are the best!

vitrsna Well I will go over and read once in a while there ,, so I won't have to miss you or millielong , for that matter
so even if I don't say anything ,, I will be watching Hmmm Butterfly police ?

Thanks for Cool Like ,, !!!

I can't believe it . . . the cats are already showing up. My milkweed plants are barely leafing out, just the ones that are always early have any leaves at all. I've also spotted several cocoons. I'm watering the plants in hopes it will inspire some new growth but the sun isn't high enough in the sky yet, I live in a canyon and it's pretty shady here in winter. I could sure use a few hot days to inspire the plants to break dormancy.

I had a Zebra laying eggs on the wee bit of new growth on my passiflora. I really don't like that because there isn't enough for them to eat and some plants last year are really struggling because they eat them to the bare stem way too early.

Yeah, I wish they would wait until I have more food. I have found several sitting on bare plants and then I end up moving them to plants that have some foliage. I enjoyed having them in the garden so much last year I treat them like pets.

I actually took cats to my friends passiflora once, she thought I was nuts, but she has it growing all over her garden everywhere. ☺

Sunkissed, that is how I first got my start of GFs. Another DGer brought me caterpillars and they kept coming back then for years later!

So I'm debating .... my maypop is emerging in a couple of spots that are close by not at the original space. Do I dig up the runners or let it sprawl?

memays, I pull the new plant shoots that I don't want and leave only a couple to grow. I usually train them to grow up and around a tall support. Be aware that the offshoots can appear great distances from the original plant.

Awww, where I live the shade area is increasing year by year. However, people claim Maypop has tendency to spread. I used to have them, but for the last years, I've seen a decline. I'll be very sad (for my butterflies) if they don't show up this year.

After two cold winters in west central Arkansas, there were no Gulf fritillaries last year. The passion vine grew to the top of the house and in October the Variegated fritillaries found it and began laying eggs. I still have several chrysalis on nearby bushes that should be emerging soon.
With the warming April weather, several butterflies have been visiting backyard flowers and redbud blooms.

All of the passion vine varieties I have will come up as much as 10 foot away from the original spot. I dig them up pot them and put them in a shady spot until they show new leaves. Then you can give them away to those who want them.

Lily if your maypop doesn't come back I'll send you some. I followed Sheila' s advice and moved the strays (thanks Sheila) I am hoping for lots of butterflies this year. I've been fortunate it seems the more I plant does lead to more activity. My problem is I have mostly summer blooms and don't have stuff that brings them out now.

Memays. Your offer of may pop plant is much appreciated. I read your posting earlier and it booster my morning. Thank you for your thoughtfulness. Usually May Pop doesn't 'pop' off the ground until May in my garden here where I am. So by June if I don't find any sprouting I may consider replacing some. At the meantime I have purchased a blue passion vine (passi. Caruelea --spelling? ) and it's in a sunny location. Hopefully this one will thrive as a substitute for the native May Pop as needed.

Speaking of caring for our butterfly garden and promoting/attracting butterflies into our garden. I just realized I am now more aware of creatures big and small; for instance I so interested to find out what this little guy is. LOL

That ""little guy"" is a Sphinx or a Hawk moth larvae .

I had to move a cocoon the other day as it was on the greenhouse trash can. We didn't have the proper equipment so my daughter came up with the idea of using tree sap to attach it to an area were other cocoons have been successful close by. Bad idea, it just made it sticky and wouldn't take the weight. Out of absolute panic I ended up using a paper clip, the clamp kind I had in the green house. It worked great and it was easy to string it up too. I think I'll take some of the small clamps to the greenhouse in case of another cocoon crisis.
Reading a couple good books, "The Butterflies Daughter" and "Butterfly People". Both are enjoyable reads for us butterfly folk.

Yesterday I saw a gorgeous luna moth at the base of a tree in south central VA.

Same region, I saw dozens of black swallowtails and yellow tigertails too.

I wish we lived farther out in the sticks. I was very disappointed in the number of butterflies/pollinators last year and attribute it of course to the increased use of pesticides in an urban/suburban landscape. :/

Oh how I have missed all of you! It was a rough winter, and my laptop repair as well as Internet service, were non essential and had to be jettisoned til finances got better in spring. (The life of a painters wife) I'm using my new phone,. It is taking some getting used to.
Milkweed is coming up nicely in garden, and in seed trays. I hope swamp my emerges soon. Saw admirals, tigerstripe st and unknown blue/black bf all in last week.
It's good to be back!!

I was potting up plants and arranging them outside yesterday for a while , While doing so a Cabbage White Butterfly flew past the edge of the garden ,
One of my Golden Ragworts has returned , Difficult to get those to grow around the garden area ,, even though they cover fields as a weed ..
I keep at the BF plant growing , Mostly , Buckeye and Cabbage BF' though , the Buffalo of the Butterfly world those two ,,.

Hi all - my sightings from yesterday (birds) and today - first butterfly for me at home! Started transplanting all the winter sowing.

Memay, nice basking Red spotted Purple. I occasionally get one to land on the backyard crossvine for a brief warm up but none so far this year. I've had a few tiger swallowtails and hairstreaks visit flowers. Hopefully more to come with spring sunshine.

Awww, I'm so ready to see more butterflies. Not that I don't have enough flowers in the garden. I've butterfly bush fixing to flower. I have host plants. But there isn't much that I can share lately.
1. Tropical MW flower buds. 2. Native May Pop finally "Pops" out of dormancy in my garden. 3. Native butterfly bush (blooms --earlier than the hybrid BB). 4. Clematis. 5. Native MW. Com'on butterflies!!!

Spicebush cats! And a caterpillar condo

Starting to see more monarchs. No cats since the heat spell in March but it shouldn't be long, with the butterflies chasing each other around the garden.
Lots of flowers and bees. I'll try to remember to take the camera down to the butterfly garden tomorrow. I need to get a picture of the baby birds in the rat-tail cactus pot too, what a choice for a nesting spot!

Please share pics.

Domehomedee, I was in Northern Ca. last week. I thought I saw Monarch in the Merritt Lake park, but I decided, it could have been the Viceroy that I saw then.