Hi everyone! One of my laptop's memory sticks decided to crap out on me last night. It's built with two so I can still sort of function, but it's straining my resources. I ordered a new one and it is estimated to be here Thursday. Until then, I'm trying not to tax my computer too much so I might not be on here much for the next few days.

In other news, I took Mom to the rose show today and took lots of photos. I can't wait to upload them all - when I get another memory stick!

Funny story, I was picking Senna this morning and there was an Orange-Barred female flying around laying eggs. I broke off a piece with a couple of flowers on it since the caterpillars like to eat those. I'm holding it in my hand when the butterfly comes up to try and lay an egg on it! I shook it and yelled, "No!" And when I shook the branch I whacked the butterfly! She was okay, but she flew away pretty fast. I bet she came back when I was gone, though. They can't resist their host plants.

I'm borrowing Mom's brand new shiny computer! Seriously, she bought it last week. Mom is funny in that she's a retired computer technician that doesn't know how to use a computer. She's all hardware. She diagnosed my computer and took the memory stick out and got it working again (sort of, it freezes because I think it doesn't have enough memory). But she's trying to set up her new computer and last night she's like, "How do I install iTunes?" And I tell her go to the iTunes website and click the button that says "Install iTunes". But I did it for her anyway and got her iPod all updated. Plus, I took her to that rose show and we ate at Red Lobster. I got lots of shrimp so I'm happy. Shrimp scampi is definitely a Melanie host food.

I slept all day today and only got up about an hour ago. Two more Spicebush hatched. One didn't make it and the other is super pale. I'm kind of hoping I have an albino. I don't even know if that happens, but it would be super cool. Spicebush cats are a light brown when they hatch and they do tend to darken a bit, but I've never seen one this pale. I tried to take a picture but it's so small it's hard to pick up. It's that thing right under the egg. I'll let you know if he stays that way. I hope so!



Meanwhile, I was outside picking food and one of my Zebra Longwings conveniently made its chrysalis right on the obelisk.



And the smaller of the two Zebra Longwings got big! They grow up so fast!

Mellie I think you need to send some gulf frits and spicebush north - just do the butterfly whisper thing and tell them there is a garden in Atlanta with maypop and spicebush for them! here's what I did see here puddling spring azures, snout, red spotted purple - I never tire of their beauty. And just for fun my four babies

Fabulous smiles on those beautiful girls! The dogs aren't half bad either.

Meredith, even butterfly yelling doesn't seem to work! You think this heat would be enough to move them north. Besides, I've never seen a Snout and you've got Red-Spotted Purples so I'd say you're doing well enough as it is! The butterflies are always better on the other side of the state line, I suppose. Your "babies" look quite grown up and I'm sure they remind you of that fact quite often! Hope you had a great Mother's Day!

Well, I've got some pictures but they're just going to sit on my camera for now. I made Mom's new computer freeze up today when I was posting all the photos from the Rose show. Yikes! Don't know why that happened.

Two of my newly hatched Spicebushies died so that's got me down. Still lots of eggs to hatch, though. Sometimes these things just happen.

In funnier news, one of my Facebook friends liked a post that had a caterpillar joke and I thought it was silly so I have to share. It said, "Two silkworms ran a race. It was a tie." I must admit, it took me a second to get the joke. I'm a little slow on the uptake today.

I had a banana party!
Red Admiral

Red Satyrs are all over the place

Question Mark

And a bad pic of a very faded Red-Spotted Purple

This is a Monarch I raised...I thought it is was ready to fly, but then had to keep it a while more:

Very nice! I've never seen a Red Satyr before. We don't get those here as far as I know. Very pretty. I think those Red-Spotted Purples must be tough butterflies. I've seen some incredibly faded ones still flying around like everything's fine. Technically, we get Commas and Question Marks in FL, but I've only ever seen them in WV and KY. I saw so many Question Marks last September in KY and WV it really gave me a good idea about how to distinguish the two. They're so cool-looking. Topside and underside! And congrats on the Monarch release! I think you Texas folks are an integral part of saving the migration so good work!

I have 3 baby spicebush cats! Never saw the mama oviposting, but saw the evidence

How do these guys do - ok on the plant, or bring them in?

Woo hoo! Spicebush cats! Congratulations! I've brought mine inside but that's because I enjoy the caterpillars so much. I've lost three hatchlings, though. Don't know why but sometimes them's the breaks. Still have a lot of eggs I'm waiting on to hatch. But if you leave them on the plant, I think they generally do pretty well. I'd just look over the plant for things like spiders and make sure it's not in a bird-friendly area.

I'm still on Mom's computer so no photos for now. But Dell is going to fix my computer for a reasonable rate (it's not under warranty anymore). Only thing is I have to ship it to them, they fix it, and ship it back. They estimate 12-15 days. One of the memory slots is bad so they have to replace the system board.

memays said:I have 3 baby spicebush cats! Never saw the mama oviposting, but saw the evidence

How do these guys do - ok on the plant, or bring them in?

Yippie Meredith!

Mom and I are going on a food run, but I have pictures! (Ann, I'm expecting those pictures from you, too.) Mom, the retired computer tech, had a great idea and put my hard drive in her new computer. That way I could access all my files and save them to my external hard drive. I have over 16,000 pictures dating back to 2006! Plus, I had a lot of genealogy stuff and boring (but important) things like my tax returns. I also got to finally download my pictures off my camera. So you'll get to see a few days worth. Right now, Mom and I are going to seek out our host plants. I think Mom's involves lemon donuts. I prefer the Boston Cream species, myself.

Okay, I've eaten so I have just enough energy to type and click. I was working in the garden today moving some bromeliads. It was so hot outside and it's so humid and I don't know why I think it's not going to affect me. I still have more work to do, but that can wait a few days until I recover. In the meantime, let's get caught up on some pictures!

I saw the hummingbird on the firebush today, but it doesn't pose for pictures like the Zebra Longwings do.



Not a butterfly, but there are a LOT of dragonflies this year. And I like the blue ones the best.



Two of my American Ladies came out on the same night. The third chrysalis is dark but I don't think it's going to come out. Anyway, I put them in the bathroom where it's dark to spend the night. I was sure they'd fly off as soon as I opened the lid so this is a picture of the captives.



But when I opened the lid, one lingered for a moment! Then, it posed on one of my bromeliads. I like the picture on the cheesecloth because I think the colors look better in the shade.



I still have Gulf Frits everywhere.



Reason why - check the evidence in my hand. The three white ones are Zebra Longwings, but I found all these cats on my three tiny Passiflora lutea plants that I transplanted a few weeks ago. They only have five or six leaves each! But don't worry, I moved everyone over to the Passiflora 'Lavender Lady'. I saw two of the Zebra cats today and everyone is munching away. More on that in a bit.



One of my Orange-Barred Sulphurs built his chrysalis on another chrysalis. It happens sometimes.



Problem is, the top one had a bit of trouble getting out of the chrysalis. Luckily, I was about to go to bed and did a final caterpillar check and saw it emerging. His wings eventually mostly straightened out. I took him outside and he flew a little ways and later in the day he was gone. I'm assuming he flew even further away.



I think I may have found a Cloudless Sulphur amongst all the Orange-Barreds. But with all these cats eating flowers and changing colors, I'm not so sure of myself anymore. I even Googled it and other people are equally confused.



And speaking of flowers and Sulphur cats - what have we all learned when searching for them? That's right, check the flowers and buds if there are any. And since they can get tall, look up!



From the size and the current prevalence of the species, I'd say this is an Orange-Barred Sulphur. But I say we just call him a biggun' for now. Look at him compared to my finger!



So I saw one of my Zebra Longwing cats munching alongside a Gulf Frit cat and for some reason, "Ebony and Ivory" started playing in my head.



I took this picture of a Zebra Longwing head capsule to show you guys the spots on it, but Mom says it's "adorable".



And the adult version was nectaring on the Duranta today.



My Duskywings are still hanging around.



Spicebush on the Jatropha! I even got a shot of it flying away.



Skipper in the backyard.



Buckeye in the front yard.



A Cloudless Sulphur actually let me get a photo! The power of the Jatropha is strong.



My Spicebush cats are being worrisome. Of the six or so that have hatched, only one is still alive. The other eggs are changing colors but taking their sweet time hatching. As for the big ones, they are getting far too cozy with each other. It's bizarre.



My first Palamedes chrysalis is starting to turn a little dark. The other one detached through an accident that was entirely my fault. I think it will be fine, but I took the opportunity to take pictures of it in case you wondered what their chrysalis looked like.

Okay, Mom's computer recognizes my camera so here's today's pictures! It's kind of cloudy and a little breezy out there. I should have worked outside today but there's also a 50% chance of rain so that might not have worked out. Anyway, one of my Florida Facebook groups asked what was fluttering around our yards today and posted three pictures of butterflies (Zebra Longwing, Gulf Frit, and a Black ST). Well, I took that as a direct challenge.

First up, I said I was waiting on a Palamedes ST to emerge. You can even see the stripes on its body which is one way to distinguish it from other Swallowtails. Spicebush and Black STs have spotted bodies.



The Zebra Longwing chrysalis on the obelisk emerged! Could it be this one that was flying around the garden this morning?



Then, I got real excited because I found two Giant ST eggs on my rue! I thought to myself, "I should go back in the house and get a container." But I didn't and used my hand instead. I only found two eggs and I knocked one of them off somehow! First, what kind of butterfly only lays two eggs (one on each of the two Rue plants all the way to the right) when I have eight Rue plants? And then said butterfly doesn't use enough egg glue? So now I have one egg. Maybe she'll come back to visit. Anyway, just so we all learn something...both the Giant and the Black ST use Rue as a host plant which is pretty much why I plant it. More bang for your buck, especially in a small garden. So how do you tell which is which? Pretty easy. Giant Swallowtail eggs are reddish-orange and Black ST eggs are cream colored or yellowish.



Speaking of eggs, the Gulf Frits were doing their acrobatic egg laying on the Passiflora 'Lavender Lady'.



Even though I already have plenty of caterpillars on the vine. Sing it with me, folks! "Ebony, ivory, living in harmony..."

Hey all have to share the caterpillar condo my hubby made for me.

Meridith, that is awesome!! Your hubby did a great job, looks like it will be very colorful once you finish painting it.

I was outside most of the day and saw a Blue Azure, a Sulfur, not sure which one, a mourning cloak and a Fritillary, none hung around long enough for me to get a photo. But I was happy that I saw them.

Thanks Margaret! Hey question for mellie - how long and any tips for the spicebush cats? I raised gulf frits last year the were easy. The spicebush do their hiding thing and I keep peeking at them then worrying that I'm peeking.....

Meredith, peek all you like just don't provoke them. They have the smelliest stinkhorns of all the Swallowtails, in my opinion. Although, the Palamedes are pretty bad, too. I still don't understand how they can eat such nice-smelling plants and yet smell so bad themselves.

They naturally build those leaf-shelters so I would be more worried if they weren't in hiding. Just keep giving them fresh food and keep the cage clean and they should be fine. Also, don't be freaked out when they gut purge. Have you raised any kind of Swallowtail before? Also, they will turn yellow-orange before they pupate so that's normal. If I didn't know my caterpillar changed color, I would probably freak out when it happened. Give kudos to your husband on the caterpillar condo!

Sadly, my Spicebushies are not doing well. Of the eggs that did hatch, only one is alive. I still have some eggs that are gray, but never hatched. And some were gray, turned clear, but there is no caterpillar. I'm wondering if I have a predator in the container somewhere? There were these very small bugs in the container, but I thought they were something that naturally came in with the Spicebush. Also, my big Spicebushies are eating, pooping, but have stopped growing. I had this happen with a Spicebush cat last year and I don't know what causes it. I'm giving them both Spicebush and Sassafras to eat, but I wonder if it's a virus or bacteria? Maybe the county sprayed for mosquitoes? It's depressing.

My Sulphurs are still doing fine and I do have a Cloudless among all the Orange-Barreds. I also saw a new (to me) butterfly the other day! I'm going to leave you in suspense for now until I get my external hard drive and hook it up to Mom's computer. My laptop got picked up by FedEx yesterday and is on the way to Dell repair so I haven't had computer access like usual.

Okay, hunger is setting in but I feel like it's too early for lunch. That's what happens when you have breakfast at 5:30, I suppose. I like caterpillars - they set their own hours. Which reminds me, Meredith, your Spicebushies will likely come out at night and eat, although they do it in the day, too.

As for my Spicebushies, I found four eggs while picking food today. I totally cleaned out the container I had the little guy in. He's the only one of 18 eggs that survived. He's molting right now so I left him content in his leaf shelter with fresh food awaiting once he, himself becomes fresh and renewed by molting into a new skin. Let's hope the new generation does better.

So something really weird happened at MOSI the other day and my boss posted it on Facebook. This photo is one she posted so all credit is hers. In the flight cage, a Polydamas and a Pipevine decided to hook up. She isolated them in the lab with host plant and nectar but no word yet on if either one has laid eggs. Or which one laid eggs. Inter-species breeding isn't unheard of, but is pretty rare. Since nothing is eating my Wooly Pipevine, I offered it to her if she needs host foods for the mutant hybrids.



Things are much more mundane back at my house. Let's see, we have some catching up to do, don't we? My eldest Palamedes emerged and I put it on the Jatropha where it's in nice, full, Florida sun. Nothing warms up a cold-blooded insect like 90 degree weather. Identifying features of the Palamedes include a striped (not spotted) body along with that nifty yellow line on the underwing that is parallel to the body. Also, I never noticed but apparently when the sun hits them just right, the antenna appear to glow red, as if lit from within.



So I've been doing some cleaning recently and I finally got around to putting out a piece of garden art that I bought some time ago. I don't have much garden art because for me, the plants are the art. But I saw this little turtle with a butterfly on it and I thought, "That's so cute. It's two things I like in one!" I set it on the front doorstep a few days ago and it attracted a visitor. I knew it was a Hairstreak, but it didn't look like one I'd ever seen (and I've seen the rare Fulvous Hairstreak). I submitted it to BAMONA since nothing in my book looked quite right. They came back and said it was an Oak Hairstreak. Now, that's not in my field guide so I looked at the scientific name (Satyrium favonius) and realized my book calls it the Southern Hairstreak. Either way, it's a new species for me! With all these oaks around, you'd think there'd be more of them. I liked that I had a butterfly posing on a butterfly. It was very "meta" as the kids these days say.



Okay, I'm out of pictures and I can feel my blood sugar crashing. So I shall go find a host food on which to nosh. If only I could molt so that I might shed my wrinkles, past sun damage, and other imperfections.

Thanks Mellie! I have just 2 cats and they still have the bird poop coloration haven't gone green yet. I had a panic today because one had gotten off its leaf and was on the floral water tube in the side. So I moved him (or her). I also have some sort of egg - I HOPE it's another spicebush but it was on a tree that I don't recognize. So we'll see what that becomes. I'm hoping for more visitors - got lots of pretty milkweed but no monarchs. The hummingbirds are pretty active though so that is fun. Love all the pics! Keep em coming.