Aw! That little cat is cute. Good pic of the egg also!

Had a Common Sooty Wing emerge today. The sun was out so off into the wild blue yonder it went :o)

~ Cat

Good! It should take advantage...the sun finally came out today here also...after two days of 3.6" of rain! You know, I must admit I'm grateful I only have two RA cats. It's tricky to get more stinging nettle for them and stick the new stem into the water container without getting stung. And as for pics, I can wait on that until they get a bit bigger! Found a second lady cat on the cudweed and brought it in.

Have found lots more RA cats now that they are fourth and fifth instars - the leaves nests are much bigger and of course, much more visible :o) I have six chrysalids - just waiting for them to eclose.

Although I wish I could find RA eggs again - I'd like to try out that reverse macro adapter ring :o)

It rained 3.5 inches each day of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the ranch. Am driving out there tomorrow to see how the caterpillars faired there - I'd seen lots of Pipevine Swallowtail cats of all sizes on the native aristolochia erecta. Considering it is a ground creeping plant - I do hope they survive the deluge!!!

We can always use rain at the ranch - so am sure all the wildflowers are going to be really popping with the good dose of nitrogen enriched rain!!!

Cat and Linda, you are both very special ladies.

Am at the ranch out in the boonies - was able to hitch a ride on someone's unsecured broadband but have a low signal strength - barely squeaking by!!! There are lots of butterflies flitting about - the sun is out - it's humid after all that rain.

Love is in the air!

~ Cat

Still squeaking by - gotta love these butterflies. There are dozens and dozens of them flying around. Guess all the cudweed helped this year :o)

~ Cat

Found this caterpillar using barbados cherry - am thinking it's either a Texas Powdered Skipper or a Funereal Duskywing - or is it Mournful Duskywing that uses Barbados Cherry as a larval host? I forget.

Linda - does it look like a TPS to you? I don't have my books with me. Guess time will tell. Am bringing it back to the city to raise. I have a Barbados Cherry in my yard there.

~ Cat

I'm thinking it's probably not a TPS, Cat. The TPS cat doesn't have a "neck" to speak of. I think that one has one.

Got home a while ago and checked my books...didn't find any photo of a Funereal Duskywing but it does have the pointed head like a duskywing caterpillar. Thought maybe a White-Patched but the head coloring and markings don't match either.

Oh well, time will tell :o)

~ Cat

Ah...a Red Admiral eclosed while I was gone. Let it out along with two more Common Sootywings that also eclosed today. Also had four more form chrysalids.

Cool, Cat! One of my Red Admiral cats...finally decided to take pics, since I had my gloves on to put food in anyway.
The first AL cat is pupating...but I found AL cat #3 on the plant, so will have to go back into town to dig up another plant or two, since this one isn't enough. Maybe they will reseed and I'll have cudweed next year also!

Linda,

Congrats!!! I guess they use that stinging nettle at the ranch because there's lots of it out there...and I usually see RAs flitting about. I'll stick with the pellitory - am so glad that grows wild in my yard and it doesn't sting :o)

More RA cats...I have 3 from Stinging Nettle and now I'm seeing them on Pennsylvania Pellitory. Something had to change this year, because I've had those weeds forever and not found cats until now!

Whew...all the RA cats are now chrysalids! Must be something in the air - I've not seen so many RAs in my yard - this is going to be a bountiful year for butterflies out here.

The Dainty Sulphur cats are growing along - a wee slow but getting there. All the Common Sootywing Skippers have flown the coop - turned the last one free this afternoon.

The Common Streaky Skipper cats are growing so slow!!! Not a chrysalis yet.

The BST cats are pigging out and growing fast :o)

Am not even counting the Gulf Frits - there are so many on the vines now. Saw gobs of new eggs a couple of days ago.

This little unknown skipper cat is growing fast too. Time will tell what it will be.

~ Cat

Good job Ladies!!

Wonderful news from the south! I will be watching for those bfs soon. I have seen two or three whites and sulfurs in the last two days. But the prettiest site was a Tiger ST nectaring on some tall Azalea bushes next door.
I did find an egg or three on the Rue in the front, not hatched yet. It will be a GST or a BST though. (Upper left of picture)

I have small Limes and Lemons on my citrus trees. I know they would grow great in the ground but not sure I want to risk it. anyone have any luck planting them in DFW?

I found a tiny cat on black cherry today and an egg on Hop Tree. Both the tigers are around here, so I might have one of each...we'll see. The 3 two-tail cats are getting bigger. I should take a pic soon!

Argggggggggggghhh! I'd love to see any tiger out here!!!!

Congrats on the rue egg Sheila. Glad you found that egg. They are sometimes so hard to find when they are laid on the flowers - they blend in so well.

The BSTs use rue most of the time here but this season they are using the fennel. The GST usually uses the tangerine tree but - I found a 3rd instar cat on the rue a couple of days ago! Go figure!!!

Love was in the air at the ranch yesterday!

Ooh, I found four more cats and 5 eggs on black cherry! As far as butterflies, I saw a couple of the two-tails, a GST, some VFs...and sulfurs, of course.

Butterflies were on egg laying missions today!!! Had Black Swallowtail make use of fennel, dill and the rue in my yard. Right alongside was a Gulf Frit. Lawd, I have way too many GFs already! A while later I spotted a Red Admiral laying eggs on the florida pellitory. Was able to get some photos of the eggs again. Am not raising those again - they are pigs and I had to clean out their cage every day...no break whatsoever :o)

Had four Red Admirals eclose today so add those to the one I released earlier today that had eclosed yesterday. They are still hanging around my yard. Way cool!!! Also released a Common Sootywing.

Spent the morning cleaning out cages and adding fresh cuttings. Set the cages out in the sunlight for about fifteen minutes then back onto the back porch they went. It got hot quickly!

Saw a Texan Crescent flitting around too - it was nectaring on shrubby blue sage bush so I grabbed the only pot of acanthus wrightii I have and moved it closer to the bush hoping it might be a female and it would lay eggs. Well....when I moved the pot of acanthus I noticed several skeletonized leaves - upon a closer inspection...CATS!!!! YIPPEE!!! A butterfly must have laid eggs on it about two weeks ago because the caterpillars were about 2nd instars. WOOHOO!!! Am thinking they are Texan Crescents - time will tell.

All in all it turned out to be a wonderful Sunday!!!

Linda...think they are Texan Crescents?