Well, I guess we know where all the Sulphurs are at! Jim, I think you have an Orange Sulphur, not an Orange-Barred. Aren't they the same as what Jack has in his pictures? Help me out, Northerners!
Shh...I'm hiding. My brother invited a couple of ladies over and I think he must like one of them because he's going all out cooking dinner. He also went into a manic phase and cleaned the house this week which sent Mom into a manic phase when she found out he threw some of her stuff out. The joys of living with bipolar people. My anxiety is keeping me in my room. But I knew they were coming at three so I made the most of my time before I had to go into hiding.
First, I made a Starbucks run because I was needing it today. I asked Mom if she wanted a Caramel Frappuccino (her fave) but she said she had no money. Dad gave me $5 to get one. I think he's trying to get back on her good side after aiding and abetting my brother. I did feed my Pipevine ST before I left. He had been wandering around last night; I noticed when I got up around 1 am for some Benadryl. After, some Zyrtec and Mucinex, it was time to clean the caterpillar cages. Everyone thinks it's all magical until they have to clean up frass. That brings you down to earth real quick.
The mystery cats were congregating around stems, kind of like Polydamas do, come to think of it. There are actually five cats in the first picture but you can only see three (one is by my thumb) because the other two are on the other side of the stem. Did I mention how tiny they are?
Okay, Mom just called me from her bedroom so we had to chat. She has a "good mad going on" as my grandma would say. I see Cinta posted some awesome photos while I was chatting. Jack, I think that's a Comma because the Question Marks I've seen have larger "tails". Now, where was I? Ah yes, Phaeon Crescent eggs. Some are turning dark so I assume they're going to hatch soon. They're all laid in groups, but some almost look like they were stacked on top of each other, they're so thick!
Outside, I went to pick Desmodium for the Skippers and the mystery cats. Oh, like three more of my Dorantes pupated so I moved them to the pupation chamber. Forgot to take pictures of them, though. I found a few more mystery cats outside including this relatively large one. Dad was like, "Hey, even I can see that one!" Notice I tend to keep finding them on the flower stems. If you want to find caterpillars, you have to know where they hang out!
Once everyone was clean and fed, I went out to the side of the road to collect more Phaeon Crescent eggs and cats! I spotted my first adult.
I call these my "Safari Hunter" photos because it looks like I'm trying to sneak through the vegetation to find the butterfly.
Here's some more normal pics of the Phaeon Crescents.
I found plenty of eggs, but I noticed something strange. On some of the leaves, there would be clutches of eggs that were slightly different colors. My book says the eggs are light green but some of them had a blue tint to them. I don't know if it's natural variation or if some of the eggs are newer than the others. I don't think they're different species because the only other species I know that uses Frogfruit is the White Peacock and they lay eggs singly.
There were a couple of Dainty Sulphurs chasing each other around but I managed to get a decent pic of one.
I went inside with my collection and hydrated. I came back out to some activity in the butterfly garden. This Monk Skipper was enjoying the pentas.
And this other Skipper was on the penta plant just below.
I must have gone back inside. This is my Phaeon Crescent egg haul.
I was taking pictures of an anole on Dad's trailer when a Spicebush stopped by. Again, with the red pentas!
These Skippers had been on the corner all day and I kept trying to get decent photos. I think they may be Fiery Skippers which means I'm probably wrong. I'll let BAMONA sort it out.
This photo is not upside down! One way you can distinguish the Phaeon Crescent is the band on its upper wings. You see how it's a lighter yellow color and doesn't match the orange on the rest of the wings? That makes it a Phaeon.
I was sitting on the curb since there was still a little Frogfruit in the neighbor's yard, even though the daughter mowed. I found some more eggs and even a couple of caterpillars, like this one. Dad got all worried at me half-laying on the ground and yelled to make sure I was all right. Speaking of that, only one person honked at me today, too. I'm definitely losing it.
Now, I took some pictures to give you guys perspective on where I'm finding all these wonderful things. You know I'm an advocate for leaving a section a little weedy if you can and I'm going to explain why. First, take a look at my neighbor's side of the street.
All those white spots are Spanish Needle blooms. You guys know what a great nectar plant it is, and it also hosts the Dainty Sulphurs you saw above.
There's some kind of Sida spp. growing down there. It's a good nectar plant, and it also hosts the Gray Hairstreak. Which means I'm going to have to go on another hunting expedition.
And of course, there's the Frogfruit which hosts the Phaeon Crescent and the White Peacock. The Crescents like to nectar on it, too.
Don't worry, I'm going to add some of those photos to the database in a minute. But right there are three host plants. And I'm not sure of everything that's growing in that area! I've noticed on ATP, and not just in this thread but many, that people are often shy about taking pictures of their whole garden or a large area around a plant because their garden doesn't look like a catalog. And I am here to say that's a good thing! I am Melanie, I speak for the weeds!
Seriously though, if you want to be a great butterfly gardener, you have to embrace a lot of things people consider weeds. Come to think of it, there was some Desmodium down by the road, too. People are always commenting about how many butterflies we have in the yard, but I haven't heard anyone say how many weeds we have. Of course, they probably wouldn't do that to my face, anyway. But don't worry if your yard doesn't look like a catalog or a magazine. Is your yard teeming with life? Isn't that better? Now go forth and garden! (Drops the mic.)
Three Monarch having tea 
Orange -Barred Sulpher , Male ( Melanie ,,, See , They do come here , Really ! lol )
Here for the Sunday Meeting
(what else ? 
Transportation riders some yeas they likely are
