DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 42

Mrs E!!! You have some georgeous pictures there, you have reason to be proud. I am so jealous of you guys getting to see butterflies and we have zip!!

i was hoping to see some admirals or checkerspots or something I had not already photographed. Funny how with even all those 42 acres and lots in conservation, I still only saw most of what I had in my yard in town!

Wow Mrs Ed that Giant Swallowtail photo is absolutely perfect! The TST does have a lot of blue! THat is really cool!

Love you butterflie photos Texaspuddyprint! They are all ones I would never see if it weren't for this thread. Thank you : )

I know, I don't usually find the Giant Swallowtails so willing to get their picture taken, but this one was sweet.
Here it is again a bit later.

Pretty! I wish I got Giant swallowtails here. There is one record for nearby Massachusetts but it is one and only and an ancient one so it will probably never happen! I am growing some ptele trifoliata from seed this year just in case global warming ever makes them end up this far north I'll be ready! ; )

Mrs Ed, I'm so envious, I've never seen the GST. Your photos are just beautiful, and yours too Cat, gorgeous!!!!!! That malachite photo is so funny, and the next photo showing his lovely colours is a stunner.
I guess the only BF's that would come to the brew here would be the Monarchs, the American Lady, the Common Buckeye and the Red Spotted Purple, all of which I see in my yard but never yet on the brew! At the Shelter, I see quite a few butterflies enjoying the dog poo; it's just so amazing to see something so beautiful on something so unpleasant.... The lollipop story is so funny!

I love that malachite picture too.


I'd love to see a buckeye.

Thanks everyone. Does anyone know what the black one on the sunflower is?

I meant to answer that Mrs Ed. My vote is that it's a Dark Form Female Tiger Swallowtail - discuss!

Melanie

Mrs. Ed. I think it may be Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Dark form. But I could be wrong.
Really enjoyed all the pictures.

Elaine

Are these ETS cats? I just rescued them late this evening. Found them on a scrawny dill. I put them in with a little fernleaf dill and some parsley. If they are ETS, I know I can feed them azalea leaves since I had lots of them 2 years ago and they loved them.

another view.

Elaine, I'm a little confused. Why would Tiger STs be on your dill? Wouldn't they be Black STs?

I'm also confused about the azalea leaves. I didn't think azalea was a host for any butterfly caterpillars.

This message was edited Aug 17, 2008 10:02 PM

Guess they are black swallowtails. These were on a different dill than the earlier ones, and I had just seen the ETS and the cats in the pictures looked similar. Going to check some more.
Thanks,
Elaine

Love all that blue on the Tiger. We don't get those here...but I'm assuming it's a female due to the blue. Reminds me of all the blue on the female Black Swallowtails.

Don't you just love when those Giant Swallowtails pose for pictures :o)

Sheila....I can't see any difference between what is called a Blue Wave and Mexican Bluewing - however, I noticed the species for Blue Wave is listed as 'cyaniris' whereas our Mexican Bluewing species is 'ethusa.' There is also a Blackened Bluewing in Mexico (which is much blacker) - the species for that is 'cyananthe.'

Thea - we've found that brew made with a banana base is preferred by the butterflies here. Am not sure if it's because of the smell when it starts to ferment or perhaps it maintains a thicker consistency as opposed to blended mango or papaya and such. You might try placing cut up fresh fruit on a shallow tray to see if that attracts butterflies. Will warn you that night critters will steal it away during the night though :o)

Thanks Linda and all :o) Have been looking for native tragia in the back fields - we get lots of Common Mestras - am wanting to raise some to photodoc their life cycle :o)

~ Cat

~ Cat

Yes, think they are black swallowtails.
Now that I am thinking back to 2 years ago, these are not the ones I found eating my azaleas.
E

That one on the sunflower is especially beautiful. I'm voting it's the female dark form TST. The coloring is a little bit unusual, however...I haven't seen one quite that way.

Congrats on the rescue of the BST cats EF!!! You will need the parsley, dill or rue for them. Good way to watch.

I should know what this is, but I don't.

But I was excited to get his picture!

Susan
=^..^=

Thanks guys, you know as I was laying in bed yesterday, I was thinking, "I bet that's a female tiger swallowtail."

It's amazing that I could see two females, a black form and a yellow with blue form in the same place, the same day.

Susan, I think you have the same thing.

Oh my this can all get sooo confusing!!!

Mrs. Ed those pics are fabulicious!

Let's see if I have learned anyhting here....I think this is a female Monarch.

Can anyone ID the plant it is on? The grow wild all over and lots are way taller than me...maybe 6-7 ft. Hummers like them too.

Here is a hummer at one.

It looks like some kind of thistle.

Not sure about this one...and it would not sit still either!

That's it!! I couldn't remember what it was called, a senior moment....

Thank you!

my guess is a black swallowtail on that second one.

I believe you're right Linda, the hummer and Monarch in nanny's pictures is on Artichoke thistle, Cynara cardunculus. I saw one of these plants, also callled Caroon, at a botanical garden and the butterflies and bees where all over it. The plant gets huge!

My guess would be BST also and the plant is Ironweed, I love it.

Thank you all.... I have some Ironweed seeds I am goin to winter sow this year. Yes that thistle is HUGE!

I thought it was a BST, but I am getting confused with the black ones too.

Cardoon is the wild ancestor of all the cultivated artichoke plants. You're eating thistle when you have artichoke, you might say.

I can't tell how big the bloom is in Nanny's picture. I know that the blooms on Cardoon are big., no... they are huge! I gotta get me one after seeing it. And purple ironweed too! So, that picture is of Ironweed thought, a much smaller bloom than the Caroon. I reallly need a better monitor. I wonder, would Caroon be a host for the Red Admiral if its a form of thistle? Naw, I guess it would need to be in the family of thistle.

Cdawg, My last years W Texas mistflowers died out during our drought this year. If yours makes seeds this year, can I get some from you? I have some white mistflowers, but so far all that they have attracted are bees and such, no BF's that I have seen. Well, I take that back, I did see a small brown BF on one.

I sure would love to have some more of the WTM, the BF's loved them. I promise not to let them die out this time. Ever. : )

Not only will you get seeds, I'm packing you up some plants tomorrow and sending them to you, and Elaine. Don't worry if they die, maybe they won't. But if they do, will just send you more next year too. Wasn't it Elaine that wanted some too a while back?

Anyone else want some while I'm digging?

I'm all excited. I love those mistflowers. Not a day passed that they weren't covered in Queens, mostly. : )

oh,, goody, yes, Debra,
now you know I will pay for postage. My milkweed is growing great. Except aphids love them.. Have been out with spray bottle with soapy water.

Elaine, are your beach milkweeds growing? Mine are, all 4 of them.

Yes, 2 of mine are doing good. I just repotted them about 2 weeks ago.

I'm gonna have to plant mine out soon, the roots are already beginning to come out of a gallon pot. Once I transplanted them into those pots, they really took off.