DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 24

Yes that was cool Cat even if you didn't get to see it in person.. :-..... Your bait did the trick!

Cathy that is a stunningly clear shot of the Gulf Fritillary! Great job! Do you have passionvine in your garden?


Everyone & all!!
I plan to continue keeping the Daily Butterfly thread going even through the winter. So please keep on posting your butterfly pics as you get them. I will be available here if anyone needs anything. All are welcome to dmail me as well. I will pass on anything I have to whoever needs it.

:-)
debnes

Debnes, thanks! That's my first clear shot of a GF.
There are many little "volunteer" passionvines from a momma plant that I put in the ground 10 or more years ago. They pop up in the now-shady area under several oak trees, so they never get really big- that and the cats eat them! I'm working on a new butterfly/hummingbird garden that will basically cover most of the front yard. Have been collecting plants and seeds (seed swap YAY!) to fill in a fairly large area- I'm really excited about it.
This is a structure my DH fashioned out of the 4 supports that held up an overhang on the carport. I've been saving them for years, knowing that they could be put to good use somewhere in the garden, someday! I have a pipevine that will go in the center, and some hyacinth bean seedlings also to clamber up the supports.
The weather is cooperating with me, so I hope to actually start planting stuff within the next couple weeks. One more bf garden in the world!
Cathy

Cathy,

Those decorative supports are lovely. I remember lots of folks had those holding up their front porch roof. I've been on the prowl at flea markets looking for a few of those myself...but haven't found any yet.

The new houses nowadays don't have them...they use cantera/columns.

Am sure any vine will do great on that!!! Happy planting!

~ Cat

Cathy.... that is so neat. I can already see beautiful vines growing on it. : ) You and your DH are very clever.
~Lucy

Thanks Cat & Lucy! I have a friend that had a trellis made out of rebar that she had covered with pipevine and it always had so much action going on, I just had to check it out first thing when I visited her! I have a new fascination with vertical things in the garden, so trellises, tuteurs, obelisks, and teepees are all good!
Cathy

that is really neat ......... one thought that I have, is that it would be a good time to paint it some gardeny color ( just a thought :o) ......... not to say that white is not a gardeny color!!)
before the vines take it over.

james t

Thanks for the suggestion James! I did toy with the idea of painting it, but decided against it. It's hard to see in the picture, but when you see it up closer, there are a bazillion nooks and crannies on the cutouts, which I think would lead to a paint job I'd start, get bored or frustrated with, and never finish.
The supports are made from aluminum and were painted white while on the house, which has flaked off over the years, giving them a neat antiquey look that I probably couldn't achieve even if I tried doing some sort of faux finish!
I have a neat old metal table and chair set in the back garden that I want to paint bright Mediterranean blue. Have the paint, still haven't painted it yet! Projects.... I'd rather be palying in the dirt!
Cathy

I understand completely : O)

Cat,

When is the best time (month or season) to visit Edinburg
to get some butterfly pictures, i.e., the ones we don't see as a rule inland?

And, here is a shot of the second Black Witch photographed in Roswell, NM. Female, taken 4th of July 2001.

Rod

Rod...

That female BW looks quite ragged. Guess it had to fly quite a long distance to get there. The ones out here are usually always fresh looking. They probably breed somewhere nearby.

The best time to visit the Lower Rio Grande Valley is during the Fall season. We have an annual butterfly festival the 3rd week of October. There are numerous trips to various cities along the border to see butterflies from the dry scrub brush to the wetlands. We get most of our record breaking sightings during the first two weeks of December. There are so many good parks and places to go...it's hard to choose. I pretty much stick to going to our local NABA IB Park - as I want that place to get more recognition.

Check this map out - it shows the butterfly gardens, parks etc. around a tri-county area of the LRGV.

http://texasento.net/LRGV_trail.htm

~ Cat

Looks like the perfect vacation spot(s) for nature-lovers. I wonder if I could talk my DH into a fall vacation on the Texas border. Hummm... What's the difference between the red and blue markers? They both pop up information on parks and trails.

Looks to me like the red are bridges, & roads; mostly from TXdot info.

Yeppers...the red flags bridges and tolls.

~ Cat

It was a delightful surprise to have found this G.F. in my garden today this late in the season.

Kim, what a great shot. The orange and periwinkle color combination is beautiful! Lucky you!
Cathy

Thanks Cathy, it's really a double lucks - day that I saw this fella too.

Speaking of GF late in the season. My SIL were out cleaning up things in the back and I found a chrysalis attached to the curtain of my gazebo. We removed it and put it on a Porterweed plant inside the mudroom area. Not long after that temps were warming up to around 68, then 70, and voila!! The GF eclosed!

Not in a big hurry to fly away.... It's kinda windy out today but I left the back door open so he can fly out when he's ready.

:-)

I put some more bait on the log and of course I had instant Red Admirals...

This one has seen better days.

This RA is in a lot better shape... He was trying to take over the yard and run off the Fritillaries, lol.. He was chasing everyone... Even got in my face several times. Guess they were all psyched because of the weather.


debnes

Could I ask for an ID on this thread of an unknown Larva on my Asparagus Fern? Sorry for the bad pic. I tried and tried to get a better one but to no avail. It is segmented. I can't seem to get close enough to it ,even though I have the camera really close, to get clear lines. It has spun a thin hairy-looking cocoon and it is about an inch long.

Thanks,
Lucille.

Hi Lucille~
Yes!! IDs are welcome here... I am set up to do this, and it is partly what this thread is for. :-)
Looks like you have an Asparagus Fern caterpillar.. aka Beet Armyworm (Spodoptera exigua)

Here is a page out of my book,
Top left, and bottom right pics on this page:

Here is the text on the facing page...

More fun with Frit...

I had to close the back door to go get Ben and this fella wasn't wanting to fly away yet, so I locked up and left.

When we got back Ben just had to hold it...

Then it lept onto his face to get some kisses... very tickley...

That is so darn cute!

That is neat Deb!!

Too cute!!!

~ Cat

Thanks y'all, my butterfly days are dwindling down here, so we are reveling any moments we have left, lol. All I'll be doing soon is watching all of you guys, and IDing cats you guys find.

I'm starting to see the little Snouts now too, but those little buggers are quick! I will get a shot, lol

;-)

Ben talking to those butterflies still I see! LOL!
My last Monarch of the season eclosed today. It was so windy I told the DH not to put it out yet. I forgot it would be dark when I got home due to time change! So I have some lantana and Indigo Spires to let him hang out on until tomorrow. It was dipping to 39 tonight, so one more day won't hurt.

Beautiful Sheila!!

I left my last 4 in Village Mills in an Oak tree... Surely they eclosed by today. I gave them a 250 mile head start.

Thanks forr the ID Debnes. It doesn't have the dark lateral stripes your book describes and it's not olive green,but more of a bright green. Maybe it is not old enough to have developed that adult coloring. Darn, I was hoping it was a cat. or even a pretty moth. I will leave it there on the plant and keep watch. So far it is just moving around inside its hairy little home.

Those are great pics you took. Kids and Butterflies,doesn't get any better than that

LU

Your welcome,
Actually LU the cat was very hard to make out in the pic.... You can try using a magnifying glass over your camera lens until you get a clearer focus.

I typed in "Caterpillar on Asparagus Fern" to the search engine, and it came up with this one. I then looked it up in my book by it's scientific name... It is definitely a moth because of the cocoon it is making. Also as the cocoon is being made the outer skin of the former cat melts into the construction.

In my case, cats related to Armyworms, Cutworms, or Webworms.... They get escorted off the property pretty quick.. They are way to destructive and even more prolific.

debnes

Kids and butterflies!!! Award winning pics. I love them. :-)

OK debnes. I am escorting it right now. I was hoping for something known to turn into a rare and wonderful Butterfly:>(((Bummer!

Well by this time next year you will look back on lots of butterfly caterpillars, believe me!!

My daughter has a soft spot for all cats though.. She will raise just about anything. (I am going to seed her yard with more host plants for next year.) The one she has now is a little more rare, (a Leopard Moth).

The ones that produce 4-5 broods a season are a whole other story. These are the ones I mentioned before AW, WW, and CW. They do way too much damage to important plants slated for specific butterfly species.

No need to feel bad about it, next summer you will be swimming in butterflies.

debnes

Cat,

Thanks for the link to butterflies in your area. Looks like I know were I will be next fall. With Christmas planned for Roswell, NM, I don't think I can cut enough time out to swing down your way between now and then. Been thinking hard about getting another camping trailer (sold my 31' Airstream), so that I can make long visits to places of interest and family.

Rod

Debnes,Debnes, your name sounds so familiar to me.......ha, now I remember, I have packets and pakets of your seeds. No wonder you know I will have tons of Butterflies next year:)))))

It is so warm here. We were supposed to have gotten a cool front this past weekend. Never saw or felt it. Well, I've come to the conclusion that Fall is when the butterflies come to Florida! LOL!

I have raised and released 13 Monarchs. Two more eclosed today and I will release them tomorrow morning. I have also raised 7 Queens, 33 Sulphurs of which I have released all but about 8 of them which are still in their chrysalis. My dh told me that there were butterflies all over the yard yesterday when my son and him mowed and weed-eat the yard. He was amazed! Pretty cool! My cages are finally getting some use. Believe it or not ... my numerous milkweed plants all over my yard (over a 100 of them now) are pretty eaten down. Though I believe the wasps have claimed far too many sweet caterpillars this year. My summer plants are on the down swing, but new ones are sprouting daily. This is crazier than Spring growth! LOL! I think it's going to be an interesting winter this year. I'm thinking we are going to have a warm winter and continuous growth and blooms and winged visitors! Kinda blows my mind! LOL! I've been in the "NO butterfly zone" for about 6 months since late Spring, so this is weird to be getting tons of them now. While the rest of the country is getting winter freezes and dormant garden beds, I'm getting all this plant growth and all these butterflies and even a hummer! HA! Go figure. I guess I truly live in a tropical zone! LOL!