Looking good Melanie!

I think that's another reason to mix nectar plants with host plants. So everything doesn't get eaten to the ground! But I always tell people, you can't just plant a lot of flowers and expect them to come just for the nectar. I mean, they'll come for the nectar, but they'll stay for the host plants. So I've got the Rue for the Black ST and Giant ST, I have the Sweetbays for the Tiger ST, the Carolina Petunias for the Buckeye (and maybe White Peacock, I've heard), Passion Vines for the Zebra LW and Gulf Frits, even the Pentas host the Tersa Sphinx Moth. My Pipevines are just to the right, and then to the right of that my Sassafras and Spicebush are just starting to leaf out. Sennas are out on the corner by the road since they're nigh indestructible. I was talking to my False Indigo today but it's always the last thing to leaf out. It hosts the Silver-Spotted Skipper which I am lucky enough to get on occasion.

I've gotta clear some space for the milkweed seeds in the fridge. I think I know where I want to put them but I'm going to read up on them again just to be sure it's the right amount of shade and sun. Which reminds me, Dad and I are pretty sure we saw a Monarch near the end of the day but it flew across the road so we didn't get a good look.

Busy, busy Melanie!

And after I watered in my garden, that 30% chance of rain has landed right over my house. Not complaining. Those transplanted Corky Stem Passion Vines didn't have as much of a root system as I expected so they need it!

We got a sudden pop up today too.

First Monarch of the season has egg-bombed me! Woo hoo! And on my native Ascelpias tuberosa, by the way. I collected nine eggs and brought them inside. Which means she's probably going to lay some more.



Also, saw the first Tussock Moths of the season. Don't ask what I do to Tussock Moths.



I also get these caterpillars climbing the house every year. I'm going to ask BAMONA what they are.



And since my well is a hotbed of activity, I checked it out. Found a couple of Tussock Moths, but I also found these small green guys and another tiny guy I couldn't get on camera. I brought the green guys and the little one in to raise. So far, they eat oak which makes sense because I found them under an oak tree. This is how you do it, folks. Science, that is. You want to know more about something? You want to know what something is or turns into? Do it like the original explorers. Stick it in a jar (okay, tupperware in the modern age) and see what it becomes. Updates as they become available.

Tussock moths...
How many of those little green guys have I seen? I guess now I'll find out what they are.

for Monarch egg bombing!!!!

One of my little green guys died. He appeared to be settling in to molt, as he had been on the side of the container for several hours. But then he was laying on the bottom dead. Let's hope the other one makes it because I want to know what this thing turns into. I even went back out to the well to see if I could find some more, but I didn't see any. I'll keep checking. I picked a new leaf for the other one and he's already eating it so that's good.

Slept a lot today but went out about 3:30 to water in the new plants. I saw this skipper all over the Tampa Vervain. It's either a Fiery Skipper or a Whirlabout. I just had BAMONA confirm some pictures for me and one was a Fiery Skipper and one was a Whirlabout. I sat there with my book open and I can't for the life of me see the difference. I got some good angles on this one! They don't usually open their wings that much.



And for my PSA of the day, check your weeds before you trash them (or compost or whatever you do with them). This thing probably emerged a couple of months ago, at least, since I haven't had caterpillars for that long. But I just saw it today when I was getting out of the car. That's a Monarch chrysalis in case we have any newbies or lurkers.



I get to start training my new volunteer tomorrow at MOSI which means I get to talk butterflies and caterpillars for hours! Woo hoo!

Just heard back from BAMONA. My Tussock Moth is the Fir Tussock Moth which doesn't eat firs but eats oaks and cypress. For more than you ever wanted to know about Tussock Moths, check out this link to UF: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/crea... There's some good info that applies to all caterpillars, too. Like parasites and the virus they get that causes them to die in that pose where they hang by their prolegs. I see that a lot at the museum.

And the other guy is a Forest Tent Caterpillar Moth. I thought I looked it up once and that it was some kind of tent caterpillar. So I'm learning! Although, apparently they don't build tents. Who is naming these species!!?? For more than you wanted to know about them, here's UF again: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/crea... This article also includes a picture of a caterpillar that has succumbed to that virus. At least I know what does that now. I figured it was some kind of disease but now I can tell people it's caused by "a nuclear polyhedrus virus" and sound all science-y.

Our garden visitor is back..this time on Crassula Springtime..I guess it prefers pink blooms!
I am thrilled when it really stops awhile, makes it easier to take some photos.

Ah, the Painted Lady again. Nice photos! Painted Ladies are cool because they are so widely distributed. And I'm talking worldwide, folks! That's one reason you can order those butterfly kits where you raise them at home. There aren't too many places you can't ship Painted Ladies to because they live nearly everywhere! Of course, I think that takes the science out of it. First, a big part of raising butterflies is finding them on their host plant - and knowing what a host plant is. Those kits have this "food" that's like some kind of...well...I'm not sure how to describe it. It looks like something I'd add water to and spackle something with. Now, how are kids going to learn that caterpillars eat plants if you're feeding them that stuff? This is why I tell people to plant some milkweed and just give it time.

Sorry, had to get on the soapbox there for a minute. I'm super excited about having a new volunteer tomorrow! You guys get my knowledge in rationed doses but she's going to be inundated! Let's hope she decides to come back!

Just a little bit ago I saw a Red Admiral. I'm so excited b/c I have not seen one of those here before. And NO, I didn't have my camera with me. I was rinsing some equipment out with the hose when I saw it. I just looked it up to see what it nectars on & it all makes perfect sense now. The hose is located right where my dh just got finished doing some hedge trimming -- the Red Admiral adults prefer sap flows on trees & bird droppings so it was after the sap from the hedges --- Sweet Viburnum to be exact as well as that's where 1 of the birdbaths are & there are quite a few bird dropping around there.

There were 2 flitting together but only this one wanted to hang around long enough to smile for the camera.

Shoot, getting just one in a photo is hard! I notice Sulphurs seem to be a lot like hummingbirds. They like red, tubular flowers. Is that Coral Honeysuckle? I saw them on that yesterday at MOSI. They also like my neighbor's Firecracker Fern. And speaking of the museum...

I had a new volunteer yesterday and I think we're going to get along wonderfully! But I did end up spending seven hours there which is a new record for me. I totally crashed when I got home. I woke up, ate, and then crashed again. I also didn't take too many photos; I guess since I was busy. But I took enough to enjoy. So let's begin! I started near the parking lot since I said I would meet her there. I figured I'd pass the time looking for Sulphur cats and I found more. And this time I found Cloudless Sulphurs and Orange-Barred Sulphurs! Also, some of the little guys from last week grew up to be Cloudless Sulphurs so we've got a good mix of both. Here's the Cloudless Sulphur caterpillar.



And this Orange-Barred caterpillar molted right after I found him! Remember, never disturb a molting caterpillar. If you can't tell, just pick the whole leaf they're on and don't try to move them.



Julias love geraniums. That's the name of my new garden-rock band.



Because "Zebras love heliotrope" would be a mouthful.



Monarchs also like geraniums, but mostly just to pose on. Posers.



And Gulf Fritillaries like posing on bolts?



So I had a family from Louisville, KY yesterday with a two year-old. He was pretty smart. He knew the Monarchs and could kind of pronounce it. The parents told me they have this butterfly book and one of his favorites is the Orange-Barred Sulphur. Luckily, I had one in the flight cage so they had a lot of fun taking pictures. I also brought one of the caterpillars out so he could see it. And with his dad's help, he petted it, too.



Somehow, we acquired two Queen caterpillars. My picture sucks. I'll do better next week. We found a bunch of Monarch cats outside so I was showing the difference to my trainee. My dad says you can tell the Queen cats because they're the ones singing "We Are the Champions". Dad thinks he's funny.



I spotted my first Polydamas Swallowtail yesterday which is a little odd. They seem to be the last Swallowtail to come out each year and I theorize it's because they're more tropical. But we broke a heat record in Tampa last week so maybe these above average temps got them confused. I tried to catch it, but failed. Couldn't net any Sulphurs, either. I did catch five Gulf Frits, though so at least I wasn't empty-handed. Still, it was hot, I was tired, and the butterflies were fast.

Back home today I saw a neat moth on the screen so I took a picture and sent it to BAMONA. My camera never takes good pictures against screens. Must mess with the lens or something. I thought this might be an Eight-Spotted Forester Moth because I saw one of those before. But I looked in the book and they don't have quite the same spot pattern. Also, they don't have spots on their body but this guy clearly does. Hopefully, BAMONA can tell what it is.



I went back out to the well about an hour ago. I was just going to pick a leaf for my green caterpillar, but since the well is such a hotbed of activity, I checked it out. I killed a few Tussock Moths, saw a looper which may have been an Oak Beauty moth. And I saw this guy. I brought it inside and he's eating oak leaves in captivity. I sent this one to BAMONA, too. I hope they can help.

Yes Melanie, it's a coral honeysuckle - this one:


I have a Major Wheeler too but it isn't as large yet. The Blanche Sandman is going into it's 3rd year & leaping. The Major Wheeler is going into it's second year so I expect it to creep but lookout next year!

My Wooly pipevine is in its second year and I was trying to remember that saying about vines. I know they don't get as big as the tropical species but I'm hoping they will at least grow faster this year. My plants just arrived from Mail Order Natives so I guess I have to do some planting. Dad still has the trailer hooked up to the truck so he was like, "Do you want to get mulch today?" And I said, "I don't want to do anything today." He feels the same. So we're going to be bums. At least my brother is applying water seal to the new fence. But he's only allowed to do the sections not near my plants - thank goodness!

Yep, first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap.
Well you can get mulch tomorrow.

Exactly, why do today what you can put off until tomorrow? I went outside and checked the milkweed. I got an egg that I assumed I had missed the other day. But when I came in to add it to the container, I noticed nearly all of my eggs have hatched! One egg looked like it was about to hatch and the other was gray. The one I picked on the leaf was still white so it must have been laid later. I better go check the plant again. I'm waiting a few hours until I go water the new plants. No sense letting the sun absorb all my water. Also, that weird caterpillar I found yesterday is eating a LOT of leaf. I think he grew half an inch last night!

Okay folks, gather 'round and get ready to learn a thing or two. This time, with pictures!

Both this skipper and a human female were observed with their noses in the Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. I saw the skipper (Fiery Skipper or Whirlabout, I don't know) and my brother observed the human female while he was water sealing the new fence. The thing is very fragrant and we get a lot of joggers and dog walkers so I guess she wanted to sample it. But this skipper wanted to eat it. Yum!



There's still a Swallowtail flying around but I only see it through the sliding glass doors. It disappears when I'm around. I think it's that Spicebush. The Sassafras is leafing out very quickly, thank goodness. But in the meantime, this Gulf Fritillary was being much more cooperative. Now, the one picture is kind of blurry, but I think it works because you can kind of see how those spots on the underside are actually silvery when the sun hits them. It's so hard to photograph because they usually appear white.



Now for the educational part of today's post. Believe it or not, plants don't always appreciate having caterpillars munch them. I know, I know, it's hard to believe, right? But they seem to have something against it. Passion vines, in particular, evolved a method of making butterflies think that eggs had already been deposited on the plant. The plant developed little thingies that look like eggs! You usually find them on the base of the leaves. Here's some on Passiflora suberosa.



Even my cultivar, P. 'Lavender Lady' has these little spiky things near the base of the leaf and on the leaf itself.



But the butterflies have obviously figured it out, or just don't care. Because here's a Gulf Frit egg I found on that same 'Lavender Lady".



And just to demonstrate how small caterpillars are when they hatch, here's a look at my Monarchs. I found one more egg while I was outside. So there's one blurry egg to the right, one clear egg in the middle, and a blurry little caterpillar on the left. They're super tiny. But they don't stay that way!

I read this in the paper this morning, don't know if it is only here or in the States too.
~~

Art Knapp Plantland has told its suppliers they will no longer accept nursery plants treated with neonicotinoids. "We are ensuring that we don't purchase anything that contains neonics, all our suppliers are to inform us if any of their products are treated".

Home Depot has pledged to label plants treated with pesticides.

Canadian Tire declined to answer directly when asked if their plant suppliers use neonics or if treated plants would be labelled. Guess I won't be buying any plants from them!