Glad I haven't given up on the chrysalis I have still hanging around....two BSTs came out last week that have been there since before the 100 degree days started.
Nice Tiger Linda!

They are nice, for sure. What worries me is that I haven't found any eggs or cats on the host plants for that species since I released those butterflies! It's so bad this year!

I'm finally seeing some Flutters! No eggs yet, but just about every time I peak outside, I see some monarchs and yellow ones (that, ashamedly, I have no idea what the name of them are and I'm too lazy to look it up). That's encouraging!!

Not good news about the Monarchs I was raising. Only one made it to be a chrysalis. I think that's called Black Death or something...a disease, nothing you can do if they have it.

Hi everyone! Just wanted to share photos I took around our garden with the butterflies and other insects that I see at times. I have been consulting Janet of Bugs cubits in getting the ID of these wonderful critters. The critters often hover around my Gaillardia, Golden Yarrow and Lantana. In our garden I notice the yellow butterflies were more active in Spring. It is funny sometimes there are critters that look like bees but were in fact not Whatever color or purpose our critters have...I feel they add extra life in our gardens as the seasons change..For this year, yeah, the butterflies were not around as frequent as they used too..but I have other critters around

A butterfly by the golden yarrow


I was waiting for the hummingbird, but I got a shot of this one instead:


This lovely dragonfly grips tightly our aenoium arboreum
during a windy day.


A very lovely butterfly resting on the Schefflera


This one is a Skipper butterfly


This one, I thought was a bee, and I was told it is a Syrphid fly on enjoying the Gaillardia:


A moth who loves to camouflage itself by our stucco


I know most people would not like to have a black widow near them, but I tolerate them,
they are quite shy and nocturnal, so I make sure I really wear gloves..do not want their bite

Yes, here, too! to what I have read in this thread.

Last year and the year before...a ton of Butterflies...this year, but a handful. a bit worrying....

Beautiful pics, tarev, thanks for sharing them! We also had some bad butterfly years during the drought before that ended in 2009. But this time our drought became state-wide and even reach other states. So the damage is more widespread! I did see a tiger a couple days ago (not sure if it was the two-tailed or the eastern)...just once, then I never saw it again. I'm sad...we should have lots of butterflies in October, but there just not here...or if they come, they leave again.

Well, even though I haven't spotted any American Lady butterflies, they must have been here (at least one has), because there are caterpillars out on the Sweet Everlasting!

I managed to use 40 of my 50 tags for the Monarchs but the last 10 are iffy. I am only seeing this one male floating around each day. He looks faded so I am sure he won't be one heading south. We have nice weather this week and maybe the cold front they say is coming later will be pushing a few more in.

I've got tons of these critters on my flowers this summer.



This little moth is pretty too. Been sitting on my back door screen all morning.