DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 39

We came from here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/865505/

To change things up - check out my moth! I guess this is one of those hummingbird moths, huh? I went out to pick a little food for the Polydamas and there were these things flying around. I took a look, grabbed my camera and started shooting. And for everyone who thinks I take good pictures - I had to take 32 shots to get that one good picture! There were about three of these things flying around my plumbagos. They also hovered over the pentas quite a bit; it was about the only time they slowed down!

Melanie

Well, I thought I had posted this one, but it's not there. The aim is off, but the butterfly is so pretty! This Pipevine Swallowtail was the last one to eclose. It was just trying to figure out how to fly.

Oooh...purdy!

gorgeous colors.

Drats...I haven't seen a hummingbird moth in ages! Love that blue on the PVS Linda!!!

FYI: I purchased a Canon Rebel XSI (MEOWRRRR!!!) this weekend but it's been raining (with pretty much a constant drizzle when it isn't pouring) since last week so I haven't had the opportunity to try it out! GRRRR!!! We desperately need the rain so I'll try not to whine too much.

Got a butterfly count this coming weekend though...so do hope the weather cooperates and the butterflies come out to play!!!

This is a photo of a Red Velvet Mite from the ranch still using my Sony H9. The place was full of these buggers. They are sooooo cute!!! I love the fuzzy way they feel. We only see them when it rains and on a whim I asked Dad why -he said it's the only time they take a bath!!! Ah so much wisdom for a 78 year old man! ROLF!!!

At least I learned they eat termites!!!

~ Cat

Beautiful butterflies, Ladies! :-)

Cat _ Interesting Red Velvet Mite! I need them in my yard to prevent termites! That's really cool they eat termites (which are so bad here in Florida!!) I am envious of your new camera purchase! Man oh man!!!

Hear is my clear-wing Hummingbird Moth. He just loved my Liatris.
Yes, it is hard to get a picture of them. They move so fast.
Cat, your Dad is full of 'wisdom' I love him. Let us see some pics when you can take them with that new camera. I want one (when my old digi wears out)

Here is my first Monarch beauty,

Oh Elaine, I'm jealous. I haven't had a Monarch this whole year. That's a pretty one. : )

Elaine, do you have milkweed growing in your gardens, or the wild stuff near by? I never see milkweed around here, so I don't think we'll see many monarchs. I'm trying to grow several different kinds from seed, and I had my sister back in CT send me seeds of the common milkweed (asclepias syriaca) we always had on the rural roadsides up there. They're all so slow growing though, and the darned aphids!!

I'm terribly depressed: my first ever GF, nurtured on my first ever passionvine, pupated I think under my deck, not far from the vine, but something must've gotten to him before he was ready to fly, I found him dead. I thought about bringing in that first batch of cats, but I wanted to see how they would do outside. I guess I'll be setting up another crate inside! Would one of our little lizards bother an emerging butterfly d'ya think?

Yes, lizard, frogs, lots of other preditors.

I've released 14 BSTs so far this year with two chrysalids to go. This was my first year raising cats and it has been a lot of fun. Here are two that I released yesterday.

And here is one that has stuck around for awhile...must like the food here...

Hi all. One slightly shredded Giant tiger swallowtail. Poor thing.

This message was edited Jul 16, 2008 5:32 AM

Silver Spotted Skipper

Thea, I just planted milkweed this year. I have had Monarchs before but did not have any milkweed. Not sure what they were using as a host. I have lots of woods around with honeysuckle and other 'weeds'. Sorry about your gulf frit. I will have seeds of passion vine (incarnata)in the fall. If you want some just let me know.
Lucy,, I'm sure yours will be showing up soon.

Bordersandjacks, the shredded butterfly looks more like a Tiger Swallowtail to me. Beautiful pics!

Linda, you're probably right. I just assumed and didn't look it up.

A relatively new visitor came to my garden today. She's mid-size 2-2.5" ? wingspan. Smaller than the G.F. but larger than my hairstreaks. Have I got 'American Painted Lady'?

Another view...it seems to be nectaring from various flowers in the garden. Got spook by my camera thus landed here, and not pudling....

Lily, I'm not an expert, but I think that is a Common Buckeye. : )
Maybe someone else will know for sure.
~Lucy

Lucy, looks like you've nailed it. Wooohoooo, I do have Common Buckey b.f. I love to discover new different b.f. since my butterfly gardening project was newly started last year. Thanks so much.
Kim
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1775

Lily, I still don't have a whole lot of butterflies flying around, yet. A few a day. I usually get a whole bunch in the fall tho. : ) My birdfeeders are getting a workout, and I do have a hummingbird that I just noticed a couple of days ago. It keeps peering in the windows and watching us. So cute. : )

Lucy, so far I've seen a handful of b.f. here and there. I've added alot more hostplants to the garden this year for the b.f. garden. I've seen cats. of various kind. But, b/w the pradator wasp, the so called 'goodguys' in the garden, and the birds....I think they keep the b.f. number in check. Argggg! I think I've seen numerous sulphers cats at various stages outdoor few days ago....but now I don't see many, nor did I see any pupated! :((
Thanks for the I.D. of my new b.f.
Good news though, I saw one Yellow Tiger Swallowtail, and a Red Spotted Purple (?) earlier. I wasn't quick enough to get their pix. though.

Well, I had a Polydamas come out right before lunch today. I knew they had red on the underside, but I didn't realize until I really looked at the picture that the red is mixed with purple. How pretty is that?! Polys always flap their wings so ridiculously fast you can't see how pretty they are.

FYI, if you ever raise Polydamas cats, when they eclose they squirt out reddish fluid. Hence, the napkins and paper towels.

And the topside...

I came home and let the Poly go and checked the air pressure on my tires. While Dad and I were sitting there we were visited by one of the hummingbirds. I park my car next to the porterweed and apparently I was too close to his favorite nectar source. This hummingbird appears to be a dark green when the sun shines on the feathers and has a whitish patch on the breast. It was so weird how it looked right at me. I also find it odd that they always fly in from the same direction and fly off in a different direction. I guess they have some kind of regular route.

Of course, I didn't get a picture of the hummingbird. But while I was out there I saw lots of butterflies. These duskywings have been regular visitors to butterfly plants outside Mom's window.

This Monarch was playing the "You can't see me, I'm invisible!" game with me. It was a girl by the way, but I already have eggs on my milkweed. They just showed up yesterday so it was probably this butterfly that laid them in the first place! I also have a few more eggs on the fennel. Oh, and there were a few on the cassia. Don't they know I'm going on vacation next week?

Of course, if you have eggs you must have the adult butterfly around. So after finding those long-tailed skipper eggs last weekend, I wasn't surprised to find one flying around today. I hadn't seen one in a while so I was a little confused to find eggs. Seeing this adult today made it clear where they came from. Oh, and here's more proof that everyone loves plumbago.

My plumbagos don't seem to be full of blooms like the ones I see on the roadside. Mine usually have 4-6 blossoms at a time and that's it. Do I need to cut tham back to make them bloom more, fertilize them more, or is there some other trick?

The Gulf Frits really seem to be enjoying the Tampa Verbena these days. Glandularia tampensis (it's Latin name) is an endangered species here in Florida. Last year, the head of the Invasive Species Task Force sent me a picture of a patch he found out in one of the preserves. He just wanted to show me that it does still exist in nature. There's a nursery out in Riverview, FL that has been really good about propagating it and selling it through Lowe's and Home Depot. It's hard to believe it's endangered since it self-seeds so easily, but I guess it's hard to grow through pavement. I like it because: it's endangered, it's named after my city, it's purple, it's native, and the butterflies find it yummy! I figure the Gulf Frits have probably been nectaring on it for a few millenia or so; they know a good thing when they see it.

So Melanie's lesson for the day is to try and plant things that are native to your area. You don't have to be militant about it - I like to find native plants that have been hybridized so I can pick a different color or some other feature. For example, I could pick blanket flower seeds off the side of the interstate, but I prefer the "Goblin" variety. I also like to look through catalogs and when I see a plant I like, I research to see if there is a native variety of that genus. I'm sure butterflies don't spend all their time in cultivated gardens, so I like to make sure I have some of the same kinds of plants they see in the woods and fields.

Melanie

Snuzer, are yours in full sun? We don't fertilize ours at all, and I know the ones that grow along the interstate and such don't get fertilized. The increased rain we've had has helped, but they bloom even in the driest months. We do trim ours back quite frequently because otherwise we'd live in a plumbago jungle.

Melanie

Mine are in part sun. They bloomed more last year than they are now. Here is a picture-- Lots of green-- very little blue. I did a bit of trimming last month on one of them, but perhaps I need to do more. I read in another thread that they like to be a bit dry and we have had a lot of rain. However, I don't think the rain is hurting them since the ones along the streets are getting the same amount of rain. Maybe they need more sun. One gets a lot more sun than the other.

BTW mellie, your photo of the tiger swallowtail on the plumbago plantfiles page is gorgeous!

On another note-- In late June I found a BST chrysalis on an amaryllis leaf(next to parsley plant), wondered if I should cut the leaf off and put the chrysalis under my mini BF cage to protect it. About an hour later the chrysalis was gone. Should have acted faster. So a couple days later, while cutting dill & parsley, I found 2 more chrysalises. Of course I put them under my little screen house and on July 4, out popped this lovely guy!

He must have been in the cage quite awhile because his wings were already open in the cage. However, I got a million pictures of him as he just posed and posed.

On July 6, the other one came out. I think she had just come out when I found her(I think it is a girl.) Her wings were wrinkled and hanging down. I got a lot of closed wing pictures, but she never opened up her wings with me nearby until she took off in flight. I guess she was a either a bit camera shy or in a hurry to explore.

One more of the July 4 Butterfly--

Ooh...so pretty! I'm glad you liked my picture! I had so much fun chasing that one around. I can't remember if that was my plumbagos or the neighbor's plumbagos. I often chase butterflies from one to the other. My neighbor also has a firecracker fern that gets a lot of action from the Zebra Longwings and the Sulphurs.

I think you might be right about your plumbagos needing more sun. Nearly everywhere I see them they are in full sun - and you know that's rare in Florida! Glad you are having so much fun with the Black STs! The cats are cute and the butterflies are gorgeous.

Melanie

Mellie...wow! I do wish Polydamas would show up more often out here. We're lucky if we see a mere handful a year.

~ Cat

Mel..your Poly looks like someone painted the squiggly lines of purple red and white with a chisel marker! Cool looking.
Thanks everyone for sharing your pics and stories so I can live vicariously; here is no butterfly land! :-(