Wow, Margaret! That Silvery Blue sure lives up to its name. And it's hard to get a shot of any Blue, but near impossible to get one with the wings open. You have a great camera; I love how you can see the hairs on the body!
Mom's watching baseball so I've got her computer for a while. I got out and did some gardening today because I woke up shortly after 6 am this morning. No idea why. But once my brain starts going, I can't stop it so I just get up and try to make myself useful. I moved more of my bromeliads but that got really tiring really fast because they are quite heavy and in full sun. So I figured I would just keep moving them a bit at a time. After my water break, I went back out and weeded the butterfly garden which wasn't bad. Dad laid down some pretty thick pine bark mulch. But he didn't pull the roots of some of the plants that were there before and they started coming back so I had to pull those, too. At least I was in the shade.
I usually post in chronological order, but today I'm going to start with the last photo I took. I had to go fetch more caterpillar food this afternoon and I thought I saw something on my Sweetbay Magnolia. Then, I figured out it was that moment when you realize it's not a caterpillar that looks like bird poo, it's actually bird poo.
The morning started with a butterfly release. I had a male and female Orange-Barred Sulphur come out last night. I put them in the bathroom where it was dark all night. What they did in there is their business.
This is the female. They are way more marked than the male, as we'll see in a minute. The markings vary throughout the year; they are usually a lot more marked than this one. But if I remember correctly, it's the winter form that is more marked.
Here's the male in the container and then on the plumbago where he flew and rested for a while. You can kind of see the orange bar in the second picture.
And I still have one Orange-Barred Sulphur caterpillar left. He was freaking me out a while ago because his prolegs were all attached to a stem, but his real legs and his head were just dangling to the side. It didn't look good, but now he's crawling around like nothing happened. Weirdo. Anyway, I really liked the position he was in this morning with the hump in the middle. This is actually a pretty typical pose for them.
Meanwhile, my only Cloudless Sulphur cat (this whole year!) decided to pupate. You can tell because he's not green anymore and he's got that translucent look which you can really see with the sunlight aiming through him. Also, the blue marks are starting to fade. He made his sling later in the day and is currently hanging from the cheesecloth.
Wow, I'm still talking about Sulphurs? Well, remember I said one of my Orange-Barreds made his chrysalis low in the tank and the pointy end of the chrysalis got a little messed up? I remembered to take a picture of it. It should be fine because I've seen many Sulphur chrysalises right before they emerge and nothing actually forms in that space. So it's not going to make the butterfly misshapen.
I chased this White Peacock through two neighbors' yards! What am I, chopped liver?
This Gulf Fritillary was resting on a leaf almost the exact same color as it! At first, I thought there was another Frit on the ground and it was a male trying to mate with a female. But it was just a leaf.
Something has been eating my pentas and it looked like the work of a caterpillar so I started looking for Tersa Sphinx Moths since they're the only thing I know that uses pentas as a host. I found a caterpillar which is clearly a hornworm (the Sphinx Moths have that horn thing on the back which is where they get the name). It didn't have the eyespots I'm used to seeing on a Tersa, though. So while I was on my water break, I did some internet searching and it says the early instars often have very faint eyespots that can't be easily seen and that instead the striping is more prominent. I never found a Tersa this small before, so it could still be one. I brought it inside and have it under surveillance. Remember, we are not simply gardeners. We are scientists!
I had my first Black Swallowtail sighting! Which reminds me, the females have way more blue and less yellow than the males and are also probably mimicking the Pipevine Swallowtail. I forgot to mention them yesterday. Anyway, this is her egging my Rue.
The culprit then fled to the yard to bask. Remember, you can tell the Black Swallowtail from other species by the black dot inside the orange spot at the base of the lower wings. I took a butterfly identification class and the teacher called it a "bullseye". I then gathered the evidence off of the Rue which consisted of three eggs. I searched the crime scene later for additional evidence, but found none.
Sad news, though. When I added the eggs to the container, I noticed my Giant ST cat in distress. It molted, but it still had the head capsule stuck to it. I managed to remove it, but I found him dead hours later. I suppose I don't really want to add a butterfly to the gene pool if the caterpillars can't even molt correctly. Still sad, though. And I did see a Giant ST flying through the yard today. I yelled at it, but it kept flying.
I had a Monarch that was flying around all day. It hit up the pentas, and then went for the Mexican Flame Vine. I'm still loving the Flame Vine. I think every butterfly I photograph looks better against that flower. It really makes them "pop"!
I didn't see any Zebra Longwings today which I thought was weird. But I went out this afternoon to pick another penta leaf for my possible Tersa and there was the Zebra, egg-bombing the Corkystem Passion Vine.
I also saw this super tiny moth on my Salvia 'Mystic Spires'. I'm going to ask BAMONA what it is.
And in case you're curious, here's a picture of the butterfly garden from March 11, when we planted it, and then one from today. It's really filled out, huh? And we mulched it. The only thing that didn't make it was the Blanket Flowers which is really weird. Never had a problem with them before. Also, I have host plants and nectar plants all over the yard. The butterfly garden is just where I concentrate my efforts the most. It's also a good chunk of what used to be lawn that I persuaded Dad to donate to the cause.
Okay, that's it for now. Time to harass people in other threads!
