Congrats on the chrysallis, Terri. We had a rare visitor today...a Zebra Longwing...they used to come along more often before the drought, now it's a very long time between sightings!

Thanks. Nice visitor!

Just a few caterpillar updates here. All of my Silver-Spotted Skippers died. My dad was spraying around the house for wasps and mosquitoes but insists he got nowhere near the False Indigo. I tend to believe him because the Trilobed Pipevine is growing literally underneath the False Indigo and if one had been sprayed you would assume the other would have, too. But I'm feeding the Trilobed Pipevine to the Pipevine ST cats and no one has died yet. Although, in bad news I have one cat that is, well, ill. To put it bluntly, his internal parts are sticking out of his anus. I was going to put him out of his misery but he keeps wandering around and today it actually looks like it went back inside some so I just can't bring myself to write him off yet. I had another Pipevine ST cat that had some watery frass or liquid coming out of him and it isn't gut purge time so I don't know what to think there. He seems ok for the moment. I gave them some fresh food just to be safe. I found a few more Long-Tailed Skipper cats so I brought them in. I'm probably going to have to take some to MOSI (they don't have any so that will be good) but I need to ask my boss if she has enough plants for them to eat first.

Saw a Cloudless Sulphur today but wasn't quick enough with the camera. Sulphurs are so fast. This one was on the plumbago which they do eat occasionally but they seem to have other favorites. There's a bee I keep trying to get a picture of but it's very elusive. I just want to know what kind of bees I'm hosting. This one loves the porterweed. I've seen a few Tiger STs while driving but no one has found my host plant, yet (Sweetbay Magnolia).

Just one picture today and it's of my Polydamas ST cats. About half of the first group has decided to build their slings. I cut the stem they were on and taped them up around the cage to keep the other cats away from them. Although, if you've got one in the wandering phase, it can end up anywhere! My second group of Polydamas are about ready to be upgraded from small tupperware to medium sized critter keeper. They grow so fast! Like I've always said, Polydamas are pretty chill caterpillars but you can see the one is stinkhorning me in the picture. They were all doing that because once they get in their sling they literally have no other defenses. So I can't blame them. They don't know I'm helping; I'm just big and scary. Every year I question why I raise such stinky caterpillars, but when the butterflies come out, I remember why. Look forward to it in about two weeks!

I think I need a new camera (or, could be the operator), but I got a picture of a Mourning Cloak (1st time I've ever seen them in my garden, heretofore, seen in a near by state park) and a Red Admiral today.

I don't see much wrong with that photo. Wish I could do as well.

Mellie, sorry to hear about the dead cats.

Jmorth--your echinacea are blooming!! I hope mine bloom pretty soon! I'm only a little way north of you. :)

My one little cat wasn't done metamorphosing when I took my picture... it's all brown now. I won't inflict another crappy phone pic on y'all.

Tiger Swallowtail thinks he's hiding in the Hoya blooms. Can't miss those wings !

Thanks for the sympathy, Terri. I'm used to losing cats but not whole batches of them. Booooo!

MJ, I like the plant AND the butterfly! I've seen more Tiger STs lately but usually when I'm driving. I keep checking my host plant, though.

Today's pictures are caterpillars because I was at the movies most of the day. Did a double feature - "The Signal" and "The Rover". Because if you don't support independent films, Hollywood will keep making "Transfomers" sequels. Ok, I'll probably see that one, too. Loved that cartoon growing up. Anyway, by the time I made it outside to pick food it was getting pretty cloudy. I hope we get some rain. I had a lady come by the house the other day and talk to my dad and she liked my Angel's Trumpet so much she wanted a cutting. That's the first time in 10 years anyone has ever wanted a cutting from my garden. So cool! She gave me a potted Angel's Trumpet from her yard and brought a bloom from it so I could see the color. Apparently, she doesn't have one in my shade (pink?) and wanted it. Well, Dad forgot to tell me she brought me a potted plant and so it didn't get watered for a few days and it's June in Florida...but I think it's gonna make it. I was just so tickled someone wanted something from my garden and appreciates my flowers (sniff, sniff).

Ok, enough of my blathering on. Here's some pictures! I was up late last night and noticed the Long-Tailed Skippers had come out of their hidey-holes. So here's what they look like.



And today the younger Polydamas cats were snuggling, as Mom says. Did you know a group of caterpillars is called an "army"? Personally, I think the Polydamas should be modified to a "cluster". They seriously hang out like this until they're pretty much in their last instar. It's weird. And yes, I got to clean all that frass and yes it smells like Pipevine. I did upgrade them to a new home today so they have more room to roam.



My Sulphurs are most definitely Orange-Barreds and I found them a new friend today out on the Senna.



Ok, ignore the Orange-Barred Sulphur cat on the left of this picture. I only have so many hands! I wanted to show the three tiny Long-Tailed Skippers preparing to make their homes. You can see how they've each cut into the leaf. Next, they will silk it up and fold the flap over to create their nest.



But when they get really big they make really big nests with multiple leaves. This guy is so big he might be getting ready to make a chrysalis soon. And that is the face of an angry caterpillar. He's mad I ripped apart his home. They're such good architects, too! Just look at all that silk!



And here's a couple of Monarchs because, why not? I don't have hordes of them anymore, but I've got a good, steady population going.

We have a good population of the Tiger's here. Lots of host plants available.

My Pipevine plants are thoroughly pruned. I didn't get a chance to get a pic but SO stopped counting at 80 cat's on the plant, then he started seeing them on the ground, and gave up. Most likely the last crop we'll have this year of the Poly's as there's no food for Cat's for a while till the plants resprout.

Mellie, Don't know what's up here but very very few Monarchs and I've got the stuff for them.

Thought initially I was going to get my first photo of the year of a Monarch but atlas it is a Viceroy. Beautiful but.... I apologize for it's choice of nectaring. I was actually glad to find out it wasn't a Monarch doing such a digusting thing. I have every butterfly attractor known and it seems as though I may have wasted my money!

Dave, I don't think any of the butterfly books tell you to just leave your dog poo in your yard. But that may actually be good advice depending on who you want to attract. And no need to apologize; it's important to see all butterfly behavior no matter how it appears to us humans. I have to admit, I thought it was weird seeing an orange Viceroy because here in Florida they also mimic the Queens and are much darker. And don't worry, some years are just bad for butterflies but you shouldn't give up! Maybe next year or even later this summer into fall will be better for you. Also, sometimes you really have to go looking for the butterflies. I have my regular visitors, but there are some species I hardly ever see (or have never seen in my yard). Viceroys are really rare in my yard because I don't live in a swamp where the willows grow. There are some growing one street over but some butterflies will not fly far from their host plants (Zebra Swallowtails do this, too). And sometimes you just have to go seek them out, even in weird places. For example, years ago I arrived early for my psychiatrist appointment and noticed he had willows growing behind his office in a little ditch area. I found two caterpillars which of course I showed him and then took home. (Another pro tip: Always carry a caterpillar container in your car.) So sometimes you have to broaden your horizons.

In other weird butterfly behavior...years ago before I ever started raising butterflies I was visiting West Virginia. Dad, Grandpa, and I were going to this cemetery on top of a hill (looked like a mountain to me but I'm from a very,very flat state). At the base where we parked there was a bunch of big yellow butterflies (that I now think must have been Tiger STs) puddling. And Grandpa said, "A horse must have peed there." Of course, that didn't make sense to me at the time, but Grandpa apparently knew nature pretty well and knew that butterflies were attracted to those areas. He might not have known they were getting minerals out of it, but he knew that was common behavior. A little gross for our tastes, but I've had butterflies drink my sweat to steal my salts and minerals so you get used to it. I tell people at MOSI that's actually one of the few reasons butterflies might land on you - to drink your sweat!

I was out picking food once again because I am a slave to the caterpillars and just don't realize it yet. In good news, my Corky-Stem Passion Vine has several leaves on it now. In bad news, the caterpillars are still finding those few leaves. I relocated six Gulf Frits to the other passion vine which is pretty chewed up.



More Cassius Blue love going on. I felt bad they had to keep flying away from me as I was placing the Gulf Frit cats on the passion vine nearby. I hate to disturb butterfly love.



And to my surprise a Pipevine ST showed up! I think this is a female but she flew right over my Pipevine which is probably a good thing. I lost two more Pipevine cats but to be fair, they were the smallest of the bunch so it may have been a genetic issue. My Wooly Pipevine has grown back some so I put some of that in their food tank today and figured they could decide which pipevine they wanted to eat.



And the Gulf Frits are always around. They're by far the most abundant butterfly in my area.



One of the Zebra Longwings was on the Spanish Needles which was odd because unlike everyone else, they usually don't go for it. Especially since I have massive quantities of Jatropha and Firebush right next door for them to eat. But this one must have liked it because it was there for quite some time slurping away.



In news to look forward to, my boss at MOSI sent me a message that she has some Malachite chrysalises she ordered from a butterfly farm. We had them last year, but normally Malachites are only found in extreme South Florida. They're more of a tropical butterfly for sure. But very stunning! I'm supposed to count how many do or don't come out of their chrysalis okay because she has some kind of money-back guarantee on them! I didn't think butterfly farms would (or should) do that. So expect some neat pictures on Sunday!

Melanie we don't routinely leave that poo in the yard. It is just sometimes with 6 dogs we miss a pile. Invariably the butterflies, especially Red Spotted Purples, will find it and be on it. They are our official poo spotters. I typically have an excellent variety of butterflies here but it has been slow thus far this year. I do go on routine butterfly counts with the local NABA chapter.

Six dogs! Oh my goodness! I'm allergic so one dog is too many for me. I was actually thinking about Red-Spotted Purples in regards to butterflies that don't usually eat nectar. They're one of my favorites but since my black cherry is so large now I sometimes see the butterflies circling over top of it but that's about it. I did see some activity on my neighbor's cherry trees but no caterpillars. They had been there, though.

And for those who don't know, Red-Spotted Purples and Viceroys are like cousins in the butterfly world despite the different appearances. So it makes sense they would have the same behaviors. The caterpillars look really similar, too! Thank goodness they have different host plants or we'd never be sure which one was which (although some people say Viceroy cats are more green and RSP cats are more brown).

Dave
I can't be bothered to pick up dog poo in my back yard... but then, I only have one dog.
Now I have a GOOD reason to leave it!!

No Malachites today at MOSI so I guess we'll all have to wait until next weekend. I did have a pretty good variety, if I do say so myself.

First up is a Cloudless Sulphur.



Still plenty of Eastern Black STs. I found about fifteen more caterpillars out in the gardens today so we'll have plenty for a while.



Julias are back again.



Blurry Gulf Frit.



Zebra Longwing



This Monarch looks sort of wrinkled to me. I hope he's okay.



Great Southern White. Only one I saw in the flight cage today.



This is an Orange-Barred Sulphur. I wouldn't be sure from the pic but I saw it flying around so I'm sure.



We had a couple of Giant STs emerge.



Out in the garden this Long-Tailed Skipper was all over the sunflowers.



I can't tell if this is a Spicebush or a Black ST because it was way the heck up in a Cedar tree. I was leaning toward Spicebush when I saw it but now that I look at the picture I'm thinking Black ST. I'm not going to think to hard on this one; I have a headache already. Just enjoy the pretty pictures, folks.



Also in the garden was a Sleepy Orange. It took me a while to get it to sit still. It seemed to be laying eggs on the cassia in between nectaring so I'll have to check the plant next week.



I had a Pipevine ST emerge so it was back to the flight cage to release it.



And while I was in the flight cage I realized we had a Sleepy Orange in there! But this one is missing part of a wing so you can see the black that's on the top of the other wing. FYI, in both of these photos you can see part of a Zebra Longwing that kept flying through my shots. To be fair, the Sleepy Orange is sitting on passion vine so the Zebra Longwing probably thinks that's its territory.



The Regal Moth cats (aka Hickory Horned Devils) seemed to have molted and turned orange and black. They all seem to sit like this one, kind of curled up. I guess that's their thing.



And maybe it's just me but I've said some of the caterpillars and chrysalises seem larger this year. Case in point, this Orange-Barred Sulphur seemed HUGE to me. So I took a picture. You can see his skin looks like it's about to burst if he eats any more. I bet he's in a sling soon.



Back home, I was picking food and this White Peacock was hanging out around the bromeliads. They keep hanging out there and I'm not sure why - other than the fact that I haven't weeded the Spanish Needles and apparently they're yummy.



And by some miracle, I got a shot of a Cloudless Sulphur on my Jatropha. I have this theory that Sulphurs prefer red flowers (see Sleepy Orange, above). They really go for my neighbor's Firecracker Fern.



Ok, I took some Advil so I'm going to lay down now and try to get rid of this headache. Happy butterflying everyone!

Pearl Crescent on the Lantana

Juilias

moth on me

I think I'm melting - or maybe that's just the pooling of my sweat. It is so hot here. If you've ever traveled you know the sun is much more intense closer to the equator. Today, I can attest to that. I think I got sunburned in the ten minutes I was outside picking food. Ugh. You know, when I would come home from college in Philadelphia, my eyes always had to adjust to the brightness of Florida sun. It was kind of weird. But I'm a native Floridian so I adapt, much like the butterflies I raise!

Dad said there was a reported sighting of a Giant ST today but I never saw it. I did see some other neat folks outside, though. First up is the official state butterfly, the Zebra Longwing on Duranta (aka Golden Dewdrop). People try to sell that as a Florida native, but it's really not. But it is a good butterfly attractor and a nice vine kind of thing. I keep trying to get mine to grow up an oak, but it just spreads outwards instead. There were actually two Zebra LWs on this flower cluster but one flew off before I could click. I like this picture because once again, you can see the pollen it collects on its proboscis. So cool! Oh, and those flowers are way more purple than blue; why can't cameras capture the difference?



And the Gulf Frit was checking out the pentas so I was like, "Ok, I'll take your picture, too."



And the White Peacock is still in town!



I was checking out my Passiflora "Lavender Lady" and saw a most unusual sight - a Zebra Longwing caterpillar! Now, I know you're thinking, "Melanie, why is that unusual when passion vine is their host plant?" Well, the Zebras tend to stick to the native passifloras and the only time I find them on the other is when I put them there. I did place some caterpillars on it a while ago, but they would be butterflies by this time so I don't think this is one I moved, although Mom may have done it without me knowing. We're trying to let the Corky-Stem Passion Vine recover from the relentless caterpillar onslaught of the spring. And check it out - the caterpillars have little faces! Despite appearances, they are safe to touch and don't sting. But like I always tell the kids - don't touch it unless you know for sure!



Also on the passion vine is the ever-present Gulf Fritillary caterpillar which cannot be confused with the Zebras because they're orange! But also spiky, yet still safe to touch. There's a lot more of these guys on the vine.



Two more of my Pipevine STs made their sling! I took a picture of one and I took a picture of another one just chilling on the new leaf. You know, it's hard to take pictures of these guys because their front tubercles are always moving and it makes the picture blurry. It's pretty cute, though.



And finally, my first Long-Tailed Skipper is going to make its chrysalis soon. He's probably super mad I tore apart his home for about the fifth time, but he can't do anything about it now. And don't worry, he'll be fine because there are no predators inside the tupperware so he doesn't really need to hide. You can see how his color has faded and he looks a little transparent - that's how you can tell he's almost ready to pupate!



Mom just got home from grocery shopping and told me she saw a black Swallowtail on the plumbago. And that's black with a little "b" because when I quizzed her she couldn't definitively say which one it was so it could be the Eastern Black, Spicebush, or the Pipevine. I may be able to teach her one of these days.

Ok edit to say that I was just flipping through my pictures and Mom stopped me and said, "What's that white one?" in reference to the caterpillar. And I answered, "A Zebra Longwing". And she gasped and said she moved it and an "orange one" from the Corky-Stem to the "Lavender Lady" earlier today. So it looks like my hunch was correct. Although, how that caterpillar got that big on my stripped down Corky-Stem is beyond me.