Sunlover, you are so lucky to live close to a preserve, I hope you will continue to show us the butterflies from your part of the world.

Hi everyone. I had a really bad day yesterday so if you want to send me those little hug emoticons, I'll happily take every one. As most of you know, I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. The fatigue is worse than the other. Also, I volunteer at MOSI on Sundays (note to self: add signature). So you can imagine that I spend Saturday taking it easy and tend to go to bed early. Well, my brother (who I really don't get along with anyway) and my dad kept me up past midnight because they were watching boxing (my room is right off the family room). Then, my brother couldn't sleep so he got up at 5:30 and started banging around the kitchen. This, of course, woke me up. FYI, I set my alarm for 7:30 and allow myself three hits of the snooze button so I usually get up around 8:00. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't so I waited for it to get as close to sunrise as I could and just left for the museum. I already "had a good mad going" as my grandmother would say, so I figured it was probably best to avoid people in general. I was nice to the lady at Starbucks because I didn't want her spiking my latte with something gross.

I spent about an hour at MOSI and then came back home. Since I had a lot of rage, I figured I'd take it out on my garden and get rid of the plants I've been meaning to eradicate. I also killed two invasive Cuban Tree Frogs. Note: I don't like killing them, but if I don't, they kill off the native species. So I'm cutting my Sweet Almond Bush which I thought was native, but recently found out isn't (failed to do my research and that's my fault). I got rid of some Firebush which are native but I just have too many of them and I want to diversify. All was going well until I was raking some of the weeds in the butterfly garden. I leaned the rake against the garbage can I was using to collect the weeds. And - you know what's coming next - I stepped on the rake and the handle bashed me in the left eye. This would have been hilarious if I was a cartoon character, but alas, I am human so instead I fell to the ground clutching my eye. You know how sometimes things hurt so bad you can't even cry, you just sort of whimper? Yeah, that's what I was doing. I guess I'm lucky that the distance from where it was leaning to my face was fairly short. If It had gone all the way from the ground to my face I would be in much worse condition. So I'm laying on the ground thinking, "Do I need to go to the ER?" Then, I hear a car go by so I get into a seated position because no way am I going to let my neighbors see this (social anxiety mixed with a good dose of pride is a powerful thing). Then, I realized my contact wasn't on my eye anymore. It was in my eye, but on the white part, not the brown part. But that's okay because at least I didn't lose it completely. (FYI, I wear rigid gas permeable lenses, not soft contacts.) I eventually managed to get inside, get my contacts out and my glasses on and inspect the damage. Surprisingly, I do not have a black eye. No idea how. I once got a black eye from running into a garage door (totally not kidding). I think I was spared this time because I hit the bones and not the fleshy part of my eye? I do have a red spot under my eye where I busted a bunch of capillaries and my lower lid hurts to the touch. So yeah, bad day all around. Sometimes I think I just shouldn't get out of bed.

I did take some pictures for you guys at the museum and around the house. Because it was so early, and cool outside, I turned on the heat lamp in the flight cage. So if the lighting looks different, that's why. Most of the butterflies were still dormant, too.

The Zebra Longwings were roosting, as usual.



I don't know if Julias roost, although they are Longwings like the Zebra. But they've been congregating in our kumquat tree for weeks. Not only when they're "asleep", but they also bask there in groups during the day.



I had a dead Giant ST but I also released one. We still don't seem to have any eggs, though! I even added rue to the flight cage last week since the kumquat has this fungus or mold that's attracting ants. But still, no eggs! It's like they're not even trying! That's it, I'm bringing the iPod and playing Barry White until I see some progress.



Also, released a Monarch.



This other Monarch perked up when I turned the heat lamp on and was enjoying these purple flowers. I need to find out what they are because the Monarchs have been all over them.



The Malachites were all dormant. Most of them were hanging on the concrete walls, but this one picked a plant to hide on.



I wonder if this is one of the Gulf Frits I caught last week?



So you know how I found the Polydamas chrysalis the other day when I pulled the pipevine? When I was taping it to the side of the critter keeper I did a census and found I only had three (including the new guy) that hadn't emerged! That's insane for a species that is supposed to overwinter. Then, on Saturday afternoon Mom tells me one had emerged. I thought it might be the one I brought in and that the change in conditions sparked it to come out, but it was one of the other two! It was too late to release it so Mom put a towel over the cage. I decided to release it at MOSI because it would have a better life. Plus, we had one in the flight cage last week so I thought there might be a small chance for it to mate.



And now for some caterpillars because I feel like I've been neglecting them. I found seven Sulphur cats two weeks ago and we had four yesterday, although one was in its sling. It amazes me sometimes how fast they grow. They were my little babies two weeks ago. By the way, when I first found them I couldn't tell what species they were, but this being January, I thought they must be Cloudless Sulphurs. But last week they were big enough that it was clear they were Orange-Barreds. In January! Last year I had Orange-Barreds in February and was freaking out about that! I get the feeling we're in for another weird year. That, or global warming is progressing fast!



And if it keeps up, maybe we'll get Malachites in the Tampa area without ordering them from a farm! This guy is a little shiny because he got a bit wet when I was adding food to the tank. By the way, this is one species I don't recommend handling too much because those spikes do get a bit prickly after a while. It's not like a sting or even an allergic reaction. I had the same thing happen when I held the Imperial Moth for a few hours. I guess it's like if you kept rubbing a hairbrush across your skin, eventually it would be abrasive. Anyway, here's a prickly Malachite with it's space age antenna.



So back at the house I was doing the rounds, ripping up my other non-native pipevine, killing Cuban frogs, and just causing general destruction while listening to the best alternative hits of the '90s. (In case you guys were curious, I'm 35 so I think I'm a bit younger than the average user on here. But I totally still live with my parents. ) I walk by the pump thingie for our well and notice someone didn't tighten the spigot all the way and it's dripping. So I fix that. And I notice there's a lot of activity going on. Now, the pump often gets covered in tussock moths in the spring due to its location directly beneath a very large Live Oak. But yesterday, I had an inchworm or looper caterpillar. (I hate when people call caterpillars worms. Two different species, folks! Heck, two different families, for that matter! I had to correct my grandma that a "Catalpa worm" was in fact a Catalpa Sphinx Moth. Plus, I have this conversation nearly every week at the museum.) So here's a looper caterpillar, so-called because they don't have the usual amount of prolegs as other caterpillars and make a loop when they walk.



He was doing a pretty good "I'm just a piece of a stick" impersonation. If I didn't have superhero-like caterpillar spotting abilities, I probably would have overlooked him.



Then, I saw something that looked like a bunch of dirt, but the shape was strange. I found some kind of moth!



And just to show that I love all Lepidoptera and "I ain't 'fraid of no moth", I did this.



I also put him on the top of the pump thinking it might be warmer up there in the sun. Plus, I wanted a good picture to send to BAMONA. When they get back to me in a couple of months, we may find out what this guy is!



By the way, this pump thing is about the size of a propane tank. Okay, maybe a bit larger. But it still wasn't done! Well, to be fair this thing was on the post with the spigot; you can see the blue pump thing in the background. But there was a lot going on for one little piece of yard. I found this bagworm, which again is not a worm because there's a caterpillar in there. Just trust me on that one, because I try not to mess with things if I don't have to. After raising caterpillars for so many years, I've found that my intervention usually just makes things worse. Also, if it can't make it on its own, it probably wasn't meant to be.



Well, thanks for listening to my tale of woe. I hope the pictures made up for it. And call me crazy (my psychiatrist and mental health counselor don't like that word, but if I wasn't crazy, why would I be paying them), but I think I'm going to go back out there after the sun comes up and do some weeding. Since I had to cut yesterday short, there is still much to be done. Oh, I think I forgot to mention this but I ordered some native milkweed seeds from Everwilde Farms. http://www.everwilde.com/ They have milkweeds for all over the country so it might be worth checking out. But do it soon because they were already running low on one kind that I ordered!

Edited to say: Look, I added a signature! This is a link to the bosses' blog. It also has info about the exhibit and the museum. There's lots of good butterfly and plant info so check it out if you get a chance.

The boss also answered me as to what those awesome purple flowers are. You know, the one with the Monarch on them. The one that was covered in Monarchs last week. (See photo.) The one even the Malachites, who are supposed to eat overripe fruit were on. It's heliotrope! Maybe that's why the flight cage smells so good? Isn't that stuff supposed to smell good? I'm going to sniff it next week. Well, if you can grow it in your area, Melanie is giving it the thumbs up. Well, the butterflies are giving it the approval. Anyone else grow heliotrope and have success with it? I'm only familiar with it through my catalogs which is why I didn't know what it was. Thought it would be taller for some reason...

Melanie, so sorry you had such a bad day, I hope you eye and cheek are going to be ok. Thank you for keeping us informed about the wonderful world of butterflies!

Aw Melanie, it really wasn't a fun day for you yesterday was it? Watch that eye -- it could still get sorta blue -- if it doesn't tomorrow then you're in the clear.

Wonderful photos as usual!

Thumbs up for the signature and link!

Thumbs down for folks who don't respect your right to rest and sleep.

Hurray for you making the best of a day that started on a sour note. Glad there was no black eye.

Thanks, everyone! back at you! I decided to take it easy and stay inside today. It was rather cool for Florida, even if it is January. In cool news, the BAMONA folks got back to me super quick on my moth. I think they have a different guy for moths than butterflies because it tells you who approved your entry and the moth guy is a different name. He's also the guy that approves the photos I take in WV. I used to think it was regional, but maybe it's tied more to their area of expertise? Anyway, it turns out the moth basking under my oak tree was an Oak Beauty! Now, check out the link on BAMONA and look at the caterpillar for it: http://www.butterfliesandmoths... Doesn't that look like the looper caterpillar I took a picture of near the moth? Now I want to run out there and look for it but it's dark outside. I'll have to check the situation tomorrow. I just think it's cool that I might have had the caterpillar and adult right there by each other. If I find the caterpillar again I'll try raising it. We certainly have enough oaks to feed an army of caterpillars!

Also, the bosses updated their blog today so if you click on the link in my signature, you can read about British entomologist Eleanor Glanville. She's one of only two British entomologists to have a species named after them. Hers is the Glanville Fritillary. Her son used her odd butterfly collecting habit to prove she was crazy and overturn the will she wrote. Not cool. But I guess she came out on top in the end because her work lives on. Very cool historical figure to read about so check it out if you're into that sort of thing!

I read about Eleanor. Poor lady, born in the wrong time when women were supposed to sit inside & sew all day & of course they didn't have brains & if they showed any brains they were called insane. She was a great woman!

Melanie ((((BIG AUSSIE HUG)))) I loved your post though and all the pictures

Yes, but that was only the British upper crust women that at least had the privilege of sitting around! Many of the poor & servant class women of that time had it worse. Like daylong hard drudgery just to survive, outright abuse, bad food, and no education at all, etc.. I think I'd choose the restrictions of the upper crust woman of that time and place, admittedly even their life could be hard in some ways...they usually had no say in who they married and could also be subject to emotional or physical abuse from their fathers and husbands. And of course, conventional education that their brothers had & a career was normally denied them.

flaflwrgrl said:I read about Eleanor. Poor lady, born in the wrong time when women were supposed to sit inside & sew all day & of course they didn't have brains & if they showed any brains they were called insane. She was a great woman!

LindaTX8 said:Yes, but that was only the British upper crust women that at least had the privilege of sitting around! Many of the poor & servant class women of that time had it worse. Like daylong hard drudgery just to survive, outright abuse, bad food, and no education at all, etc.. I think I'd choose the restrictions of the upper crust woman of that time and place, admittedly even their life could be hard in some ways...they usually had no say in who they married and could also be subject to emotional or physical abuse from their fathers and husbands. And of course, conventional education that their brothers had & a career was normally denied them.

All true Linda. I'm just glad I wasn't born in that time.

Glad you survived your encounter w/ the rake Melanie. Reminds me of a blues song 'Bad Day'.

I was thinking I was in the mood to listen to the blues the other day. I did have Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay" on repeat for a while. Good lyrics, in that. The eye seems to be okay. It never did turn black or blue. It's still sensitive to the touch on the lower lid, but thank goodness I didn't seem to break anything. I've never broken a bone and I'm not keen to start now! I'll have to remember to mention it to my doc next time, though, just in case she wants to keep an eye (no pun intended) on it. I smacked myself in the mouth with my laptop once. I was laying on the couch and had it propped on my knees when it tilted forward and into my mouth. At the time I thought everything was okay, but a few years later my dentist told me I needed a root canal on my front tooth because the nerve was dead. He asked if I had been hit in the mouth, maybe by a ball playing sports (no chance of that), and it took me days to remember the laptop incident. So I just want to make sure I don't have any lasting effects.

Since I've taken it easy the past couple days, I guess it's time to continue my garden work. It's been really cloudy here but I just checked and for today it's only going to be partly cloudy and highs in the low 70's. So I won't complain. Maybe I'll get lucky and see a butterfly! I got my shipping confirmation on my milkweed seeds and they should arrive Friday. I hope they're as easy to grow as Tropical Milkweed. I prefer to direct sow seeds because I'm a horrible transplanter. I also need to figure out where to put them - and clear the weeds away from that area!

I had an interesting and productive day. Not as productive as the other day because it was quite warm outside and that just saps my strength so fast. But I feel pretty good for me. To start with, I have exciting news from BAMONA. They have confirmed that Hairstreak I saw at MOSI a few weeks ago. It's not a White M Hairstreak, it's a Fulvous Hairstreak! I've never seen one before. They're not even in my book. That's probably because they came to Florida in the 1970's so they're not really native. In fact, their host plant is the terribly invasive Brazilian Pepper tree! Here's the link to the identification page where you can see he says it is uncommon to rare in this area of Florida: http://www.butterfliesandmoths...

I had some butterfly sightings today since it was plenty warm enough. The first was a Monarch that flew by me and right toward the neighbor's yard. I guess it's better than flying toward the street, I suppose. Never did get a picture of it. Then, a Zebra Longwing flew by when Dad was out there with me and it was flying rather fast for a Zebra. They normally act like they've got nothing better to do than to float right by, but this one was in a hurry for some reason. Finally, I spotted a Barred Sulphur (BAMONA calls them Barred Yellows).



And shortly after, I walked around front and saw a Long-Tailed Skipper on my blanket flower. But it soon flew over to the plumbago to nectar. They're rarely on this plant. Usually they stay on the porterweed but it's not blooming right now so they don't have a lot of choice. I guess it's "eat what's blooming or don't eat at all!"



I've still got Monarchs on the Giant Milkweed munching away. I call these "Fat Man" and "Little Boy".



I was putting away my tools when a Zebra Longwing hit up the Duranta (common name: Golden Dewdrop).



I was doing a final walk-around and saw this Monarch in its "J" on a dead part of a Spanish Needles plant. What's funny is earlier in the day, Dad looked at that patch up front and asked me why I (or he) hadn't removed it. I said there was a milkweed there until a few days ago so that's why we hadn't touched the area around it. But both of us totally missed this guy. I brought him in to the house where he can safely pupate and become a butterfly.



In butterfly related things, I have a new pillowcase. You see, Mom's church has a sewing club and they met this morning. They've been making pillowcases for cancer kids. The kids get to pick one when they go to the hospital to make it more "homey". Mom picks fun kid-friendly fabrics and makes all these pillowcases. So she had them in a stack on the table to take with her to church. She generally shows me the fabric, but I saw one on top that I didn't recognize. And it had butterflies on it! So I totally stole it and claimed it as my own. To be fair, I volunteered to donate to her fabric fund to replace it. I thought you guys would like it. Look at all those blue butterflies - beautiful!

Love your butterfly pillow case, so pretty. Kudos to your Mom for making them for such a worthy cause.

Mom says thanks, Margaret! By the way, is your avatar picture an amaryllis in celebration of amaryllis week? I had a "duh" moment this morning and realized I had pictures of the amaryllis that bloom at MOSI each year. According to my photos, they bloom in February so I'll be looking forward to them soon. I've gotten a lot of thumbs for them, which is cool. In fact, you and Jack gave me thumbs, I believe! I was just glad I had something to contribute. Now, we just need to convince them we need a butterfly appreciation week!

That would be neat...

Keep those plant pics coming...

Jack, I'm on a personal crusade to defeat the Daylily people. I will admit I'm not a huge Daylily fan. Can't say why, just not that into them. And it just seems like half of the random pictures that pop up when I refresh the page are Daylilies. Another 20% are Irises and the Sempervivum folks are getting up there in numbers, too. I like the Irises a lot, though. I have been trying to take more pictures at MOSI because the bosses are pretty good about making lots of signs for the plants so I know exactly what species they are. We have a native Florida plant called Starry Rosinweed that just bloomed so I added some pictures of that to the database. I'm usually so busy chasing the butterflies or looking for caterpillars that the plants are kind of an afterthought! But I will attempt to do better and fill our database with fabulous photos!

Out of curiosity, does anyone else notice the random plant as much as I do? And when you see the thumbnail, do you try to guess what it is before you open the full picture? I totally play that game. Sometimes I get it right, sometimes one plant looks a lot like another, and sometimes I find out about a plant I've never heard of! So that's fun. Just...less Daylilies, please. Seriously, when we have Daylilies week, I may go on hiatus.