The milkweed appears to be Asclepias asperula. Check out more of Dirt's photos on the page: Antelope Horns (Asclepias asperula)

Thank you all!
Thank you greene!!!

Yes, it is A. asperula. It is not the only milkweed that grows itself in our parts of the mountains, just the cutest.

Nice photos, Ronnie!
Very cool-looking milkweed, Dirt!

I think I spoiled the Polydamas. They ate all the stem and then they were all wandering around the tank. I thought maybe some of them might be ready to molt again but they mostly looked like they were wandering for food. There were still perfectly good leaves in the tank; they just weren't eating them. Since it will be getting dark soon, I went outside with my scissors and cut two good lengths of pipevine for them. Maybe that will keep them occupied tonight.

In good news, my mystery egg on Frogfruit is changing color so it should hatch soon!

In even more good news, I just found my first Phaon Crescent in a J position! Make those chrysalises so I can stop feeding you! FYI, the blurry thing on the stem with him is the molted skin of another caterpillar I had to evict. I taped this guy to the side of the tank so I can keep a close eye on him. Oh, and you can totally see what I did to my finger in this photo. I admit, I was a little scared to use the scissors today.

Nice pics Ronnie!

I just joined a couple days ago. Seeing this forum, I thought I would share a picture. I was saving this from the Labrador, who has big feet.

I was thinking Asclepias asperula too. There's a pasture down the road from me where it grows wild like crazy... I've been eyeballing it for years trying to figure out how to go about collecting seeds It's just a matter of time, I'll have some.

Handsome guy you got there, Patti! Glad you were able to rescue him.

dirtdorphins said:
Yes, it is A. asperula. It is not the only milkweed that grows itself in our parts of the mountains, just the cutest.

Pretty - this is one I do not have. Tried, but germination failure. I love milkweed aside from the benefits to Monarchs - which IS a plus.

That's a beauty, Tuckersmom!!

the little guy was smack in the middle of the sidewalk. I had never been this close to a butterfly. For me, it was truly a spiritual moment.
Patti

I had a moment like that with a woolly worm.
I get it.

Love those kind of moments!

Have had a few moments like that over the years.

Me too a few days ago when I discovered what was devouring my Contorted filbert - a Luna Moth Cat.

Not quite the same, David, but that's a good thing!!

I Just saw a Luna moth! well, not too long ago. First time seeing one too.

Under the porch, looks like something may have tried to get it, one wing is torn.

I saw a red Spotted Purple early this morning all I got was this .

Two silver spotted Skippers , One with the wings down and open , unusual ,





I love caterpillars also ,I enjoyed Cabbage White Larvae so much , that green with thin yellow racing stripes , Thought that was so cool , I invited them in for a salad and lunch ,Thought they might spice up the salads , didn't work out that way though , just made the salads gooey ,, arghh!!!

Yes Melanie ,, Grandma's house story , I remember ,, and remember ,, and remember

I'm back! And I've been busy!

Patti! We're a fun bunch, and the best forum on ATP, but then I am a little biased.

Let's see, I woke up this afternoon because I stayed up all night reading. I had two Dorantes Skippers waiting to be released. One headed straight for my bougainvillea.



The other sat there for a minute before flying off.



I had to go collect more caterpillar food which means I am invoking my Fifth Amendment rights about my exact whereabouts. And there was a Buckeye laying eggs! I couldn't get a good photo, but you get the gist.



Now, one reason I've never raised Buckeyes (at my house, we've had them at MOSI) is that they use a wide variety of host plants. Like, a pretty big variety for a butterfly. So it's hard to find the little guys. But when you've got a female laying eggs in front of you, it makes it a little easier. For the record, she was laying them on some kind of Agalinis spp. which we call "False Foxglove" down here. It's a pretty plant. Here are some of the eggs I collected!



Back home, it was cleaning and feeding time. But I did see one of my Pipevine Swallowtails flying around. And yes, it's the red pentas again. I'm beginning to think they're producing butterfly crack.



So one of the eggs that I collected on what I believe to be Partridge Pea hatched. The others look like they'll hatch soon. I was a little worried because the caterpillar, which is some kind of Skipper, didn't seem interested in the leaf. I got worried, so this afternoon I picked four other plants in the bean or pea family: Beggarticks (Desmodium incanum), Native Wisteria (Wisteria frutescens), Bastard Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa), and Butterfly Pea. It ate some of the wisteria! So I feel a little relieved that he won't starve. You can see him in the middle of the picture. His head is that brown spot.



I found another Phaon Crescent in a J and the other one made a chrysalis! It's so tiny and cute!



With all the small stuff going on, I tried busting out my new microscope again. The single egg I found on Frogfruit hatched. I still think it's bigger than the Crescents were when they hatched, and it looks darker in color to me. Couldn't get a good shot with the microscope.



These are some of the Buckeye eggs.



I was watching the Skipper to see if I could tell if he was eating anything. It didn't look like it. I don't know what kind of Skipper he is. The eggs were a little yellower than the Skipper eggs I find, but they were fairly large. I guess we'll find out as they grow up!

I had some BF pics from today but posted them over on the bee thread
The thread "Beefriends(tm) and other Garden Guests - threeeeeeeee!!" in Gardening for Butterflies, Birds and Bees forum

Shameless plug on a topic we share a love for:
http://garden.org/ideas/view/C...