My moth was identified by My BAMONA. http://www.butterfliesandmoths...

Hello folks,
I was out in the garden the other day and came upon this neat spider that now has it's web suspended between two daylily scapes. Thought I would try and share a picture of it. The object at it's head is something that it has wrapped up and must be storing for a later meal.

Cool Margaret!

Karin, cool spider pic. Hummmm... spiders make their own ziplock baggies.

Cool blue there dave!

Ann, those Zebra Swallowtails (back on the 21st) were delightful, the Zebra Swallowtail is my favorite indigenous butterfly.

I've but 1 BF pic for the last couple of weeks as my time is consumed accompanying Plato.
When outside, Plato morphs into either 'the cricketeer' or 'the investigator'.

Thanks J. Nice sulphur there as well as the cricketeer. Pups sure will take up your time. At the risk of going a little OT here for a moment..... We've the opportunity to get a "brother" for Pearl (same breed), he's 2 yrs. old. Discussing with my hubs & he says he wants to wait a few years & then get a puppy. Not sure I want to go through the puppy thing again. On the one hand it's great, on the other hand, it surely does monopolize your time -- lots of work involved there.

Margaret, that's so cool that you got an ID on your moth. Looks like they don't have too much info about it yet, but that's why it's important for us citizen-scientists to help out. There's a whole lot more of us and we have lots of data and info to contribute. Also, that's a really pretty moth!

Melanie, I thought it was pretty cool too, I have another one that I am going to ask for an ID when I get time.

Ok, I have a few pictures from today and a few sightings to report. Yesterday was my brother's birthday so we went out for BBQ for dinner. As we were leaving, I saw another Palamedes ST on the plumbagos. Didn't have my camera, of course. When I went out this afternoon to take photos, I saw a Tiger ST flying up through the oak trees but couldn't get a picture. Still no caterpillars on my Sweetbay Magnolia, either. Saw a Dainty Sulphur this afternoon, too but those things are small and fast!

But let's look at things I do have pictures of! First up, it's my caterpillars! I was picking food for them and cleaning their tanks. One of my Orange-Barred Sulphurs is preparing to make a sling. I told you they like the cheesecloth on top. Most caterpillars change color or lose their color or become transparent as they begin to make their chrysalis. I always say Sulphurs look "glowy" to me. Like, neon-ish. Compare it to the caterpillars (big and small) that still have the prominent blue markings on them.



My big Polydamas ST gut purged so he's ready to make a chrysalis. Apparently, he's found his place on this stick, as well. Swallowtails seem to shrink after they purge (which makes sense) and before they make their sling they kind of "scrunch up" like he's doing.



Well, I headed outside and lo and behold there was a pale-form female Orange-Barred Sulphur laying eggs on the Senna! This has been a really good year for this species. I started finding the caterpillars in February! Usually, I have more Cloudless Sulphurs, but this year it's been Team Orange-Barred all the way. Even at the museum they've outnumbered the Cloudless. Also, I haven't seen this many pale-form females in forever. Must be the heat. If I could turn any whiter (which would basically mean I'd be an albino) so I could reflect heat better, I would totally do it. It's face-melting hot outside. I couldn't get a good shot of her laying an egg even though I saw her do it because Sulphurs lay eggs one at a time and move very fast. In contrast, Polydamas move fast, but they lay in clusters so they tend to have to stop for a few seconds.



And speaking of Polydamas eggs...they usually lay in clusters, but sometimes you find weird lines of eggs like this. I also found more Pipevine eggs on the vine which I rescued. FYI, my boss at MOSI posted a blog about how Polydamas eggs vary in color which I had noticed but never thought much about. They're usually kind of golden but she was pointing out some that were more greenish-yellow - maybe to blend in better with the plant. The eggs in my picture are actually kind of dark for Polydamas eggs.



Lots of Zebra Longwings out today and I saw two enjoying the Mexican Flame Vine. I'm glad I planted that thing. They were also snacking on firebush (like always), porterweed (also like always), and Sweet Almond Bush.



I was trying to take a photo of a Gulf Frit that was laying eggs when along came a male that kept harassing her. I tried telling him she was already fertilized and he was wasting his time, but he didn't listen. As you can see, she took refuge resting on a plant while he continued to fly around like an idiot. Sounds a bit like the bar scene, doesn't it?



And finally, I had seen the Polydamas flying around but figured I had no chance at getting a photo. But I managed to get a couple while it was nectaring on the plumbago. That plant seems to be a favorite of all Swallowtails.

Well told, as always Melanie!

Well, the power went out and it woke me up a little earlier than I intended this morning, but that's okay. I went out to check the pipevine for eggs and caterpillars and to pick some food. I figured I better do that first and then take my shower because two minutes outside right now will have you sweating buckets. I wish I was exaggerating.

I did find a bunch of Polydamas eggs and some Pipevine eggs. I found two cats that had hatched and based on their proximity to another reddish-colored egg, I think they were Pipevine cats. They'll all be going to MOSI tomorrow. I also found another wasp nest and boy, did I come close to getting stung! I actually felt them land on my arms a couple of times - scary! But now that I know where it is, I just have to wait until dusk (when they all return to the nest) and ambush them with Dad's special wasp-killing spray!

But in happier news - butterflies! Here's a pretty ragged Zebra Longwing who also likes my Mexican Flame Vine.



Here's a cute, little skipper on the Spanish Needles Dad didn't tear out. They're down by the road.



Okay, these aren't my greatest photos, but this is a Cloudless Sulphur laying eggs and then resting in the Spanish Needles. The sun was shining full-force on this side of the yard so I couldn't get the lighting right. Now, some of you may be saying, "Melanie, that looks an awful lot like the pale-form female Orange-Barred Sulphur you pictured the other day." And I would say yes, they are similar. But the Orange-Barred females have a pattern of grayish dots along their upper wings that are visible even in their pale form. Cloudless Sulphurs don't really have many markings at all, which may be why they're named that? Anyway, you kind of have to trust me on this one.



Heading to the front of the house, I saw a Tiger ST! Hooray! Here's a bunch of pictures because who doesn't love a Tiger ST? FYI, I think this one is a boy because females have way more blue on them while the males only have a little. So I didn't yell at him to go lay eggs but I did yell at him to go hook up with a female. And once again, the jatropha attracted a Swallowtail. They usually hit the plumbagos instead. Quite odd.






Here's a Monarch cat.



And I have a bunch of really big Gulf Frit cats again. Notice in the second photo you can see the frass right above him. That's a really good way for predators and people to find caterpillars.



In other sightings, the Gulf Frit was flying around but not stopping. I saw a Polydamas ST but I think it was a male because it didn't even stop at the pipevine. Probably just patrolling for females. And sadly, I had a Spicebush ST on the jatropha but scared it off as I approached. I didn't realize the Swallowtails like jatropha so much but it's been a real attractant this year. Generally, the Zebra Longwings dominate it and even the Cassius Blues will leave their host plumbagos to come over and nectar. But the Swallowtails like it, too. Good times!

Really beautiful pics of the TST! Yes, who doesn't like them?!

I haven't seen butterflies much lately... partly because I can't make myself go outside!

The last one I saw MIGHT have been a monarch. But it was flying over the neighbor's roof when I saw it, so no way to get a positive ID.

I have not had any BST cats at all on my fennel this year. Very discouraging.

Gorgeous as always Melanie, your love of butterflies shines through all over.

Moth belly

Jack, I'd say rub its belly for good luck, but you know my feelings about touching butterflies and moths.

FYI, everybody, I'll be going up to KY and WV next month for a week or so. You might get to see me get all excited about different species. I usually don't visit that time of year so who knows what I'll see! I'm going up there to attend the Eastern KY Genealogy and History Conference and then I'm going to go visit Grandma. I need to look at one of those Monarch charts to see if I'll be in the right latitude to see them migrating. That would be super cool. The conference is in Louisa, KY which is a special place to me because it's where I saw my first ever Red-Spotted Purple. It was puddling after a brief rain outside the Wendy's where we were having lunch.

Guess what? I was mowing today and saw a hummingbird moth in my tall phlox! And there were so many flowers for it to visit that I was able to run in & get my camera and still find it when I came back out.

I wouldn't have had any idea what it was if it weren't for this forum.






p.s. wish I had a better camera... oh well

HBM's are always a thrill to behold.

Very Nice Terry, I think Phlox is great for butterflies and moths.