Oops, I forgot to make a post to say that I sent a Tree-mail to DomehomeDee to work out a trade for the seeds.

Here is the only photo of the mystery caterpillar that visited our local plant swap. Any idea what it was?

Greene, looks like an armyworm of some kind. Definitely don't think that's a butterfly cat.

I went outside to pick Frogfruit and was almost finished when I was attacked by fire ants. I didn't even see a mound nearby so I'm not exactly sure how I disturbed them. Plus, when I was brushing them off, some stung me on my hands. I put vinegar on them, which does take the sting and itch out, but I'll still end up getting the pustules in a couple of days which is going to look great on my hands. One even got me right between the fingers! Not cool. For those who have never seen one, this is a fire ant mound.



I did take a few butterfly related pictures despite the stinging pain. I noticed my bigger Viceroy cat was up on the lid last night and he appeared to be making a silk button to attach to. I didn't think he was big enough to be pupating, but he decided otherwise.



Long-Tailed Skippers are still hitting up my porterweed.



My Corkystem Passion Vine is getting egged again.



I was a little worried because I haven't seen any caterpillars, but I looked closer and found this Gulf Fritillary - along with more eggs. FYI, the eggs are probably all Zebra Longwings eggs. They tend to lay in clusters whereas Frits are more the "one egg at a time" variety.



And since he's getting big and will likely be pupating soon, I took a picture of my White Peacock caterpillar. It's funny that such a plain caterpillar turns into such a richly colored butterfly.



I'm off to nurse my wounds with some lemonade and "Days of Our Lives". You know, I still have scabs on my feet from the last fire ant attack.

Maybe domehomedee will share just a half a dozen with me and most of them with you, Greene!

Owie! I'm so sorry about the fire ants Melanie. You KNOW I can relate. Honestly, if you can get to the vinegar fast enough & hold it on there for at least 2 or 3 minutes & THEN apply Benadryl Gel -- you can actually NOT get any pustules. I swear. Recently I went to get a FedEx delivery down at our gate - it's a good ways down there. It was a box of baking flours & somewhat heavy so I hefted it up & was carrying it hugged up high & close to me like we used to do back in the old days with brown paper grocery bags. UH OHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had failed to look at the bottom of the box before hugging it to me. FIRE ANTS!!!! No nest in the area. They must have been out foraging. My chest was on FIRE. The box went flying & I ran as fast as I could back to the house to get the vinegar on a paper towel on the bites. My chest burned all the way. I never got a blister. Gotta tell you, I was in pain for a while though.

Yikes!

Thanks for the ID on the armyworm.

I feel bad for you guys with the ant bites. This morning I got stung by a big red wasp so I can feel your pain.

It's one of the hazards of gardening, I suppose. Between sandspurs and fire ants, I rarely went barefoot once I was old enough to know better. It's still so weird to me when I'm in WV and I really can go barefoot. Gotta be a little careful if the bees are on the ground, but they tend to just move out of your way.

I have not been stung in ages , However a bruised eye about 10 years ago when a big old Bumble bee flew right into me when I was walking around the corner of the garage ,
I am allergic to Giant Hornets , others only itch a little sometimes

About Five years ago a Raccoon came running out of the Garage and attacked me
Snapping and hissing at my feet and ankles , doing the wildcat rolls and things trying to get a hold of me , I had a defense staff , in my hand at the time to tap on the ground between those teeth and my feet and legs ,, Funny now ,, but not then ,
Rubber moves with the legs , use of the staff ,, and : : Your never to old to dance "
It takes a lot more energy , or seems to , when older though
I hate That , when that happens animal attacks

Oh my gosh Jim!!! Good thing you had the staff with you.

Keeping with the thread I will say I have seen a Gray Hairstreak and a Woolly Bear caterpillar this past week , Cabbage Whites are still here ,
And I have no identity that keeps getting past me , Could be an American Lady , or the tortoise shell butterfly , it keeps going past about 12 ft high and over the roof

As to the Above , It made it real clear why explorers use to carry a wooden pole they called a Staff sword , and why older Gentlemen , use to carry a cane ,

Yikes, Jim! Wouldn't want to tango with a racoon!

I can't go barefoot here either, too many sticking things and stinging things on the ground! Plus, if you do come across a snake or racoon or something else, want to have some protection!

Used to get the ants coming up on the porch to bite us! They were everywhere! Finally, we've moved them waaay back!

jimard8 said: Keeping with the thread I will say I have seen a Gray Hairstreak and a Woolly Bear caterpillar this past week , Cabbage Whites are still here ,
And I have no identity that keeps getting past me , Could be an American Lady , or the tortoise shell butterfly , it keeps going past about 12 ft high and over the roof

As to the Above , It made it real clear why explorers use to carry a wooden pole they called a Staff sword , and why older Gentlemen , use to carry a cane ,

And my husband keeps harping on me to take the walking stick with me every time I go down to the mailbox or walking the property & I keep rolling my eyes at him. I think I'll stop rolling my eyes & take the darn stick.

The butterflies in my yard this week are mostly the yellow ones (don't know which type), a few Cabbage Whites and the long tailed Skippers. But there is a medium size orange one that never stays still long enough for me to get a good look. By process of elimination I think it must be the Gulf Fritillary?

Greene, the yellow ones are probably in the Sulphur family so you can just say Sulphurs. They can be hard to tell apart, especially when they're flying around. Does your orange butterfly have black markings or the silvery undersides like a Gulf Frit? One thing to watch for (this applies to everyone) to identify butterflies is how they fly. For example, an orange butterfly with black markings could be a Monarch or a Gulf Frit (and maybe a Viceroy if you don't live in my neighborhood). Now, Monarchs are a little larger but that can be hard to tell from a distance. One thing you can tell though is that Monarchs tend to flap, flap their wings and then gliiiide. On the other hand, Gulf Frits flap their wings a lot. So while you're out there butterfly watching, pay attention to how they fly. Sometimes that can be a big clue as to their identity. Also, it's simply fun to watch them!

Weather permitting, I'll put a chair out back and observe...with camera in hand.

Rainy but warmer today--didn't see any butterflies but did see some huge carpenter bees nectaring about.

I definitely wear shoes, and maybe I should consider a staff as well!!

crittergarden said:ooo - I have some asclepias tuberosa seeds I could trade for that one I've never seen.
It would be an annual here.

In your zone, you are going to have to start them (Gomphocarpus fruticosus (Swan Plant) indoors in winter to see a bloom. Either that or over winter the plants indoors.

The temperatures have gone back up and the weather lady said it was "muggy" today to which I replied, "No kidding." But mid-week looks like it will be a little better. I switched to Allegra yesterday and it seems to be working pretty well so maybe I can sit outside without scaring all the critters with my sneezing.

It's funny you guys are talking about walking sticks because I was talking about the man I acquired mine from at dinner tonight. In May of 2006, I was up in WV visiting the grandparents. I had been doing genealogy for a few years and I had found a listing for two cemeteries in Johnson County, KY. One was where my 3rd great-grandfather and family were buried; the other was where one of his sons (my 3rd great-uncle) and family was buried. Grandpa had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma (cancer) and had become frail in the past two years or so. But we made the trip over there. We hit the uncle's cemetery first since it was (relatively) easier to find. And that still involved asking some locals who lived at the bottom of the hill. Well, the night before I had prayed for help in finding these cemeteries since I know rural KY isn't as easy as telling someone to turn right at the McDonalds. We're up there on the hill and here comes a man with a machete. Turns out, he's Grandpa's second or third cousin and his mother is buried up there (they had never met previously). The machete was for clearing the trail and the cemetery. He told us he would take us to the other cemetery where my 3rd great-grandparents were buried since it's actually behind someone's house on private property and you can't see it from the road.

Then, he invited us (me, my parents, and grandparents) back to his house where he gave us food and offered cake. He and Grandpa exchanged stories and he shared his photos with us. He also told us he liked to make walking sticks and gave one to my dad and one to Grandpa. They were tobacco drying sticks, my dad told me. Our cousin had used a wood burning tool to personalize them with his name, and the place, Oil Springs, KY. Dad gave me his, and I've been using it when I go hiking ever since. It lives in my car.

Grandpa died in September of that year, so that trip was the last time I ever saw him. Grandpa was not a very emotional man, but he told my dad that that day was one of the best in his life. He lived 83 years and to think I gave him one of the best days of his life brings tears to my eyes. Grandma said he talked about it a lot in the months before he passed.

And to tie this in with butterflies...some of you know the Zebra Swallowtail is my favorite butterfly. Part of it is the way they look, part is that it was one of the first butterflies I ever raised. And a big part has to do with their host plant - Pawpaw. See, in WV, you call your Grandpa "Pawpaw". And my Pawpaw also liked to eat pawpaws. My grandparents live right by the Guyandotte River and Grandpa planted a bunch of seeds from the pawpaws he ate and now they're everywhere. So when I see a pawpaw plant or a Zebra Swallowtail, it just reminds me of him. I didn't start raising butterflies until a year after he died, and I sometimes wonder what he'd think of me feeding caterpillars that probably plagued his vegetable garden. But I think he would have liked it. When we were going to another cemetery in WV we had to park at the bottom and climb the hill. There were a bunch of Tiger Swallowtails puddling. I didn't know what species they were or what they were doing back then. But Grandpa took one look and said matter of factly, "A horse must have peed there." He knew more about butterflies and nature than I did.

As for my 3rd great-grandfather whose grave we visited, it's reported that he also carried a walking stick or cane. Only his had a sword in it. He was a Civil War veteran (Union, 39th KY) and never went anywhere unless he was heavily armed according to oral history.

So now you know about my walking stick and its history. And some of my history. I ate a pawpaw for the first time last year; I had never been there when they were ripe. I liked it, but I don't think I could have eaten a whole bushel like Grandpa used to.

That is so interesting about the swan milkweed (formerly known as Asclepias physocarpa)! It is not a kind of milkweed I'd heard of before. Found some interesting info on the Monarch Watch sight. Thought I'd share in case others haven't seen it.

https://monarchbutterflygarden...