DAILY PICTURES # 110

Thanks Domehomedee! That's pretty cool!

nutsaboutnatre, nice pics of a Banded Hairstreak.

Visited the Papilion Butterfly house at Honor Heights in Muskogee, OK. today. Lots of butterflies in the house and just as many resident natives outside in the flower gardens.

1. Queen
2. Julia
3. Zebra Longwing
4. White Peacock.

Very Nice !!!

Nice butterfly pics.
Finally, three monarch cats on the milkweed today. Going to need to get out and sterilize the cat enclosure so I can move them inside. Yahoo!!!

Congrats on the Monarch cats. D.

I'm rich with BST the next generation! I now have nearly 2 dozens cats, and two eggs!
1. 2nd instar BST.
2. Egg
3. Blue Butterflies, these don't fly however. :)

I've used various containers for caterpillar rearing but due to plant consumption and amount of frass produced I now use several olds aquariums with screen tops for aeration.. I have five BST cats on a pot of parsley and coneflowers with emerald moth cats in the current house. I think the BST cats should pupate soon. Hopefully before they devour the parsley.
Although I enjoy rearing the caterpillars, my main reason that I interfere with "Mother Nature" is protection of the cats from the many predators in Cliff's backyard jungle.

Ivy ~ Thank You for the I.D. on the Banded Hairstreak! As I looked through my "Kaufman" book I realized how many Hairstreaks there are, even in my area.

Also, Beautiful shots you took yesterday and congrats on all your "aquarium" activity!

Domehomedee ~ Congrats on your Monarch Cats!

Kim ~ Congrats to you and very pretty flowers as well!

lurk lurk.

I'm just thrilled! This morning while having a cup of coffee I spotted my first (and hopefully not last) Monarch of the year on my Echinacea, sooo... I grabbed my camera and ran outside.

Even though none of the pics are as clear as I would have liked I'm overjoyed to get any.

Beautiful! Both the Monarch and the photos.

I'm so happy N.A.N. that you get to see your first Monarch. Wooohoooo! Marna, any activity where you're?

That's a Dandy !!!

Thanks beebonnet, Kim & juhur!!

I wanted to take more pictures, but I think I must have been creating a shadow because every time I tried to move a little closer for a better shot or angle, it would fly all around then land when I moved further back. I was afraid if I stayed too long It would fly away.

I had the same trouble with this beauty today. He was very intent on a dry stick in a brush pile we have going. Not a butterfly, but lovely and an unusual one for around here. Do any of you know what he is called besides dragonfly? He is a big one, that's for sure.

He's a beauty. Have you put your pics on the Insect I.D. forum?

Hi...Yes and I just got an answer. He is an eight spotted skimmer common to the low lands in Oregon and Washington. Likes being near water or ponds. The Ross inlet is just below our house probably a city block away. Love getting those answers so fast.

That's great! I just looked at your I.D. thread to see who helped you. Flapdoodle had Identified numerous insects for me and has always been extremely helpful so I'm not surprised.

Butterflies can be frustrating to photograph. Survival instinct and great eye sight make them sensitive to shadows, movement, and the infrared beam from the camera when automatic focusing. Dragons can be exasperating too since they often fly about looking for prey, never seeming to land, but often if on a favorite perch they will come back to the same spot shortly after taking flight.
"Be ready" but my experience is easier said than done.

I have seen a small black butterfly or perhaps a moth flitting around in my flowers lately. I will try to shoot a pic of it, but it moves very fast. We will see. I believe standing still and letting them come to you seems to be the best.

BST cats. happily camping indoor. They apparently are not picky at what they munch on, whether it's parsley or dills. :))

I think sometimes the most frustrating part for me is getting outside before they're gone, like yesterday. I saw a Black Swallowtail from my kitchen window and almost tripped trying to get out the door fast enough. But, of course, it was gone before I got there...sigh.

Good luck trying to get a pic of your small black butterfly/moth, beebonnet.

Kim those cats are boootiful! Yay!

My first BST to eclose this afternoon. I named it 'Speedy', it only spun its chrysalis first week of July, and today, here it's! I carefully transferred it into a glass jar, then brought it out into the garden and released it. Nice journey 'Speedy'.

OMGosh...Speedy is stunningly beautiful. You must have had a lump in your throat when you released him.

Congrats! She's gorgeous! Maybe she's in a hurry to start making more beautiful BST's. That's so cool. How many more cats are left?

Thanks all, I was excited to let 'Speedy' go. She hung around a good while to dry out her wings before she took off. She has roughly 2 more dozens sibling awaiting on the wind. I'm so pleased as how they develop this year.

I found a lone 3rd instar BST this early morning. It amaze me to know it has been well hidden from wasps, spiders and all, all this time! Well, as I brought in fresh dill for the caterpillar pavilion. I brought it inside with the others.

It's great that you found another one!

I spotted a beautiful TST on my Coneflowers earlier today.

Wow N.A.N. those are fabulous pictures of the TST!

Beautiful, beautiful photos and butterfly.
What is TST again??

Butterfly and zinnia go hand in hand. Not sure which I enjoy more, the butterfly or the zinnia. But it sure is a treat to have dozens of butterfly flying about here and there.

Your butterfly pictures and different species in various locations makes for an interesting look-see, I was even noticing the difference in plant species. I really liked the roadside milkweed in Barling, AR.

brendak654 How about this for being a copycat , sure that monarch was not here ,?

Really great pics all ,, Wonderful !!!

Thanks Kim & beebonnet!

Beebonnet ~ TST is Tiger Swallowtail, in my case, it's the Eastern TST.

Kim ~ How are things with your BF nursery...anything new going on?

Yes nutsaboutnature I meant your TST was really pretty and Wonderful too ,!!!
Like the Silver Spotted Skipper I sit on on the fence full of indecision sometimes ,

Here's a TST here earlier this year ,,

Last is a Red Spotted Purple siting on a Queen Anne's Lace after chewing on some plums

Beautiful TST and other, Ju. Bee' you'll catch on with many butterflies, and their abreviations that we use here. :)

N.A.N. The BF nursery is going well, it seems every time I go after fresh dills and parsley for these munchers, I will find a new instar outdoor.

Oh, if I didn't mention, they eat me out of the house. They finish up what fresh food I brought in once, sometime twice a day.

My first Black Swallowtail eclosed yesterday. They are gorgeous freshly emerged. After drying her wings, she flew to a hibiscus plant before flying away. Lots of chrysalis so more adults to emerge soon.
I've noticed Orange Butterfly weed blooming with Orange sulphurs, Great Spangled frits, and Spicebush ST's at the edge of the Ozark National Forest. My Orange Butterfly weed bloomed for a coupe of weeks in early June. Does Orange Butterfly weed bloom several times or different subspecies blooming at various periods during the summer ?

Ivy, Really wonderful pics , BF's are so nice to see . Mine in the backyard (A.Tuberosa) bloomed a long time this year , about six weeks or longer , all July anyway , The age of the plant , sunshine any particular season , things that likely have a lot to do with bloom length .

Lily ,, the Cats can eat a bunch , !!! I have seen them mow a field ,, not as likely anymore , but I have seen that ,,

I've the Mexican MW that bloom all summer here, some are more than other depend on the location as to how much sun they get. Most are piggy back on my other container planting. Still no Monarch yet here. My common MW still isn't blooming even though I gave it more sun, fertilizer. It just sits there. :(

Currently in the BST nursery. I've 5 chrysalid, one spun silk on top of another, and at this stage I afraid to disturb them for it's such a sensitive period of development. I really don't know what to do? 5 chrysalid, 3 spun silk, and maybe 8 other still are munching.

Lily you do have BST I have not seen one all year , Saw either a Spicebush SWT or a red spotted purple zoom by from a distance this morning , Both the host plants for those are pretty well chewed up ,

I am seeing 1 to 3 monarchs everyday now , at least this week ,, A male has been patroling all day around the place , so maybe their not done yet ,, ?

This morning I got this , feeding on cynachum (milkweed Vine )

Juhur, good to see that you have Monarchs. Send some my way soon.
Felt badly this morning when I noticed only one early instar BST cat on the outdoor parsley. Probably spiders. But I still have several in the pillar house and about a dozen chrysalis.
On the way back from a visit to my son, I stopped next to the Ozark Nationa Forest to look for butterflies on newly emerged sunflowers. Lots of Silver Spotted skippers and Buckeyes. As I started to leave I noticed a basking Tawny Emperor then a Giant Swallowtail. Which made my day to see this immigrant from the Gulf.
1. Silver Spotted skipper
2. Buckeye
3. Tawny Emperor
4 & 5. Giant Swallowtail