You lucky Jack, Jack! It's really wonderful to know that ditch has remained there growing a diversity of wildflowers & providing food for pollinators since the mid 80"s! And we can now call you a "ditch fan".

It sounds like a lovely outing for all 3 of you & you are very smart to make sure you have a "spotter" when you go into that ditch.

Speaking of Plato ---- the pets thread needs to see some more photos of him. (hint, hint)

Buckeye - first this year


C. Whites
2 >

Sulphur - alba form (w/ white coloring on wing)

Very nice Jay, those Buckeyes are so beautiful, I love them

Spicebush Swallowtail

Oh my!! that is a gorgeous Spicebush Swallowtail Dave! I wish they came over to here but they don't come to our area.

Looks like a pretty fresh one, too! Still has some really long tails, and the colors are very vibrant. Great photos! Rain here all day long but I did release my last Viceroy while it was sprinkling lightly. Took some caterpillar pictures, too but right now I need a nap. Will upload later. Must put brain into sleep mode now.

A couple more from late this afternoon. Monarch and Dark Form Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Looks like after a slow early summer everything is starting to show up now. The butterflies are swarming the Joy Pye weed and Lantana.

Monarch







Dark Form Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Wow! those are gorgeous pictures, how do you manage to catch them so well?

Good photos require patience and a zoom lens, my young Padawan learner.

Just a few pictures today. This first one is from the other day and you can consider it my PSA for the month. Paper wasps are bad for several reasons. I have learned they will eat caterpillars. Mom saw one sting a Monarch. The smaller ones they will carry back to their nests to feed their young. The bigger ones they take pieces out of after they sting them! It's just too horrible to contemplate. Secondly, they can sting you. And it hurts. I know from experience. I have been stung once in my life by a bee (not anybody's fault, he got tangled in my hair while swimming somehow) and once in my life by a paper wasp (my fault). The bee panicked my parents because I was 10 and have allergies so no one knew if I would react or not. But all it did was itch a little. I've had ant bites that were way worse. Mostly, I was annoyed they made me get out of the pool. About eight years ago, I was trimming the palmetto in the backyard, cutting off old branches and such, when I disturbed a nest of paper wasps and one got me on the fleshy part of my non-existent triceps. It hurt! And it swelled up and was really red. I wore mostly short-sleeve shirts to work back then and people asked me all week what I had done to myself.

Now, paper wasps generally like to build their nests in the entryway of my house, on the side by the eaves, and all around Dad's little shed. But there are a few plants they really seem to go for, the aforementioned palmetto being one of them. Another is pipevine. Mostly the tropical variety with the big flowers. I don't know why they're attracted to this plant, but they seem to be a real nuisance. I don't find them on my other vines or even other caterpillar host plants so I'm not sure how they're deciding to build their homes. If you don't want to use a commercial wasp spray, Dad has been using a spray bottle with water, a bit of Dawn soap, and a drop of Clorox. I used it on the following picture and it drops them dead real fast.



In happier news, my last Viceroy became a butterfly today. I managed to catch it before it knew how to fly and took some pictures in my room. I closed the door in case it did know how to fly! And yes, I've totally had butterflies flying in my house before. Dad thought it was hilarious. Anyway, I released this one after a few more hours into a light drizzle but it flew across the street to the neighbor's house. Butterflies can fly in a light rain, by the way. I saw it when I was at MOSI last week when it first started raining and I was still gathering food. But then it rained harder and we all got chased into our respective hideouts (mine's better because it has air conditioning).



And like I said earlier, the Sulphur cats appear to be Orange-Barreds. It's been a really good year for them. I had them as early as February which is unheard of. There's just been a ton of them. Usually, the Cloudless outnumber them but I think it's the other way around this year.

Great Pictures Melanie!!

Melanie, you can make a non toxic wasp killer for those ones that build nests around the entryway, eves & shed. Dishwashing liquid, alcohol & soap. Put it in a garden pump sprayer & go to town. Make sure to do it when it's dusk & they are all home, otherwise, the ones that were out foraging will come home & just carry on.

I was out taking photos today & the butterflies were teasing me. Flitting about, zooming close & then off they went -- zoom, zoom! I was running around like an absolute fool trying to get photos. The sulphurs did not want to pose. A swallowtail tried to get me to run acres for a photo op. In my zeal, I got nailed by fire ants. Yes, I was wearing flip flops but socks & tennis shoes don't keep them from biting you; you just don't know you've stepped in them until they make it up to your calves & *then* you're *really* in trouble!!! One foot has about 10 bites & the other got 4 or 5. Hard to tell as some of the bites are almost on top of each other. I ran in, plopped my feet in the tub & poured ammonia over both feet/ankles & nearly asphyxiated myself in the process.
Anyway, here is today's net.
One zebra longwing, although there were 3 flirting with me.

yikes! what we do for butterfly photos!

I am sorry about you ant bites, they sure can hurt.
The Zebra Longwings sure are beautiful, we don't see them here very often.

Cat, I was hiking in a preserve once that borders private land. I saw these two Zebra Swallowtails mating and of course, they flew across the fence into the private property. There's a barb wire fence that separates the two but it's only a few feet high. There was also a depression under one part of it, like maybe a gopher tortoise had dug under it. So I belly crawled under the fence, Marine style, just to get those photos. Thankfully, no one saw me because I wouldn't want to meet an angry property owner here in Florida! You know we've got those Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground laws that have made so many headlines. So yes, I agree the things we do for butterfly photos can be quite insane at times.

Ann, I am feeling your fire ant bite pain! Mine always turn into those little pus-filled blister thingies. I think Dad must be controlling them well because I haven't had an experience with them in years. But back when I was around the infamous wasp palmetto, I also got fire ants crawling up my jeans. I took off for the nearest door which was locked. Luckily, my brother likes to open the curtains so I yelled through the patio sliding door, "ANTS IN PANTS!" He hurriedly opened the door and I ran to my room as I was taking my jeans off. Luckily, they didn't get too far up, if you know what I mean! Still a very uncomfortable experience. Dad and I (ok, mostly Dad) were shoveling composted horse manure into his trailer one time and I painfully found out I was standing in a fire ant nest. Those things are just bad news all around.

Thanks Josephine. They sure do feel like fire as those of us in the south can attest!

That's about the only poison I use is Amdro. No other thing for fire ants. I have read though that some scientist in Texas has developed or found & is breeding a beneficial insect that (a wasp I think) bores into the fire ant head & lays it's eggs so the fire ants become somewhat like drones until the eggs hatch at which time the larvae feed on the ant. At least, that's what I recall. I sure wish they would become available b/c we need them NOW.

If you get the ammonia on fast enough, you don't even get those awful blisters. I usually do the ammonia outside where there is plenty of fresh air but this time I couldn't take the time to get it & get back outside with it so just did it in the tub. Right now I have no swelling, no itching, just a few red spots.

I do have a picture from today, I just hadn't downloaded it until a minute ago. I went out to pick pipevine for the caterpillars this morning and saw this Polydamas laying eggs. We both got chased off by the rain, but I snagged the clump of eggs she laid right before I ran back to the house. Found a few more caterpillars, too.

I love her red dots.

Saw my third Monarch of the year today but I was busy detailing the truck so I didn't get the photo. I did capture this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail after I got out of the shower.

Wow! great pictures Malanie and Dave.