Melanie went into a coma, but managed to make it to MOSI. Then, she reentered her coma, only to awaken for dinner (Baked Ziti). It looks like you guys have been busy while I was gone!

Let's see, I love drunken butterflies. I've never been able to attract any to rotting fruit and such, but I don't get a lot of the varieties that do that in my area. Jack still holds the record for Red Admirals, I do believe. Hmm...caterpillar or cutworm? Not sure. Lots of moths pupate underground so I tend to let things be unless I'm sure of what they are. And speaking of not being sure, Christine that butterfly is amazing! I have no idea what it is, but I would love for you to send it to BAMONA. I know sometimes you Texas folk get strange things flying your way from all different sides. I'd love to know what it is.

Well, let's start with Saturday. I didn't go too crazy buying plants. Only spent about $83 of the parent's money. Part of it was they didn't have some of the plants I was looking for despite them listing them on their website. I did have a lot of fun talking to people and got an invite to teach a class but I was like, "I live in Lutz." Everyone in the Tampa Bay area knows we don't like to cross that bridge. Well, there's three bridges that go between the counties, but the traffic is bad on all three. I also finally joined the Native Plant Society so I got 10% off my purchase. So what did I buy? Let's see...they did have the Florida Pennyroyal I saw while hiking so I got four of those. I got a few Blanket flowers to take up space while I start some seeds. I got two Rouge Plants because I really like the ones we have at MOSI. I got Dune Sunflowers to go in the middle out front since they can take the heat. And I got some Partridge Pea seeds since they didn't have any plants. Oh, and I bought a Wild Lime and I have no idea where I'm going to put it. But it's a host for the Giant ST!

The nursery carried a lot of natives and also some "regular" plants you see for sale everywhere. I understand the prices being a little high for natives because they can be hard to find and cultivate, but I thought the prices were a little high even compared to other nurseries I go to in my neighborhood. Gallon pots were $5.50 or $5.99, for example. Maybe I'm just turning into my mother and getting cheap! I also can't bring myself to pay for things I can dig up on the side of the road. Dad said he almost laughed at a lady buying Spiderwort and even I rolled my eyes at the Frogfruit (which they were calling Matchstick Plant). Speaking of common names, I asked if they ever have Spicebush because I didn't see it on their website. Well, one of the guys said yes, those were his babies. So I followed him only to find...Spicewood. I was like, "No, Spicebush. Lindera benzoin. Host plant for the Spicebush Swallowtail. In the laurel family. Related to Sassafras, Red Bay, Swamp Bay." Okay, at that point I was showing off. But this is why it's important to know your Latin names!

Despite it being cool and very windy (we were just a couple of miles from Indian Rocks Beach), I saw a Monarch.


Far more interesting things were happening at my house because, let's face it, my yard rocks. Pulled in to see this Gulf Frit laying eggs on the Corkystem Passion Vine volunteer. I tried to chase it over to the 'Lavender Lady'. The Corkystem is growing up a Podocarpus and the butterfly missed and laid an egg on it instead.



I came in, and saw a moth on the patio screen so I threw down my bag and went wandering outside. BAMONA says this is a Brown-Shaded Gray, which I've seen before.



The Fir Tussock Moths are back. I am not a fan.



Saw a cool inchworm, or looper moth on the bottom of the well so I picked him up for a photo.



Dainty Sulphur hanging out by the road.



Had a couple of Ceraunus Blues down by the road, too. Probably because that plant it's on is a host plant. I think that's Creeping Indigo (Indigofera spicata). I need to pull it because it can poison horses and cows and you guys know I have cows just across the road. I mean, they're not my cows, but I don't want the plant seeding in their pasture because I like cows. They give me cheese. And cheeseburgers.



I was picking Tussock moths off my Pipevine when I noticed another caterpillar. Now, plenty of things fall out of the oak trees this time of year so I wasn't surprised. But this guy was actually eating the pipevine! BAMONA says it's either a Fall Webworm or a Salt Marsh Caterpillar.



Here's some more friendly caterpillars, Gulf Fritillaries, on the P. 'Lavender Lady.' Side note...a guy found one of these on a passion vine for sale yesterday and was talking to the teacher who invited me to her class about it. I pulled out my "Espejito" trivia bit and I think it impressed. I also had my "Field Guide to North American Lepidoptera" t-shirt on so I pointed out which butterfly it was going to turn into. Naturally, the picture was near my boob and I heard a snicker from another customer. C'mon dude, they're boobs and you're a grown man. Anyway, here's some caterpillars.



And here's another Tussock Moth cat I found. And subsequently killed. Don't worry folks, their numbers are legion.



Back with pictures from MOSI in a bit...

I am still laughing!!! What a great post!!! Cheeseburgers.....

Okay, I made it out of bed and to MOSI today. Not much going on in the flight cage but it was in the 50's and windy. We have tons of caterpillars and chrysalises, but not much in the way of adults. Next week should be super fun, though!

I did spot a Luna Moth.



I got to release a fresh Buckeye. They're so colorful when they're new; I just love them! They look like someone painted them.



Got to release a couple of Malachites, too.



Monarch, too.



The ever-present state butterfly, the Zebra Longwing.



My boss posted on Facebook last week that we had 987 caterpillars in the lab, but that she stopped counting at that point. Over 400 of them were Great-Southern Whites. We're feeding them Collard Greens and the lab smells like it. Whew! Despite our best efforts, these cats always seem to find a way out of the tank, even though it had a lid. So they end up pupating all over the lab. One of the lids didn't fit too tight, so the boss put a heavy tape measure on it to weigh it down. You can see the cats still pupated on the outside of the tank, though.



I thought this male Orange-Barred Sulphur would emerge at any moment, but he didn't while I was there. You can clearly see the orange spot which is the "bar" across the upper wings that provides its common name. The chrysalis was actually a lot brighter in color; lighting in the lab is so-so.



Back home, my Passiflora 'Lavender Lady' is loaded with buds and blooms. Not for long, though! The first little cat there is on the plumbago growing underneath. I moved him back to the Passiflora. And the second cat there was on one of the buds which is why I won't have flowers for long.



And in my bedroom, the big Red Admiral cat was showing off the yellow triangles that run down the side. You don't tend to see them because these guys are always curled up in their nest. They kind of have to stretch out before you can see the yellow.

Incredible work and gorgeous photos! What a dream job!!!

I'm not sure if this is an inch worm but it reminds me of one.


Cheese and cheeseburgers are very important!

Okay, so I'm not a member of BAMONA but am sending my pics to you, Melanie so you can get an ID? If it's a problem, I will join and submit my photos.

Here's another picture of the same butterfly with wings open, if that helps ~

Charlotte, I'm actually just a volunteer. I go every Sunday morning. I started back in 2008. I get a lot of people asking me where I got my entomology degree and I love telling them I actually have an economics degree!

As for it being a great job, my boss, who is actually a paid, full-time employee, has a different view. While it definitely has its perks, there's a lot of behind the scenes nastiness. This is what she posted about the Great Southern Whites on Facebook the other day: "My hands smell like consumed, digested and excreted collard greens. ‪#‎BestJobEver‬" Believe me, I was throwing my share of dead caterpillars and ones that just didn't pupate all the way into the trash today and it was not pretty. And sometimes I have to euthanize butterflies that are too messed up to live by cutting their heads off with scissors. But we try to focus on the good stuff. At least I don't have to get in the pond exhibit and clean out the scum! Although, I did have to dispose of the Tilapias when they froze to death one winter. I definitely do a lot of interesting stuff and I meet a lot of cool people. Plus, I get to play with way more caterpillar species than I can find just at my house!

Oh, I forgot to mention that I did take some of my Pipevine ST cats to MOSI today. They're all surviving really well - much better than last year! They're also my boss' favorite butterfly so it was kind of an apology for missing the last two weeks. I know I can't control being sick, but I still felt like a jerk.

Sounds like an interesting place to volunteer, and I'm sure you collect lots of stories to tell. So are all of the butterflies released into the wild? And what is MOSI? I'm fascinated.

MOSI is the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, FL. You can check it out at www.mosi.org I grew up in Tampa and my elementary school is only a couple of miles away so I went there a lot as a kid. Went with the Girl Scouts, too. But it's so much bigger than it was when I was a kid! I volunteer with MOSI Outside which is basically all the stuff outside the building. We also don't have to wear the dorky volunteer uniform (white shirt, khakis) because we get down and dirty! We have the Backwoods area with trails and lots of cool plants, including host plants I check for caterpillars. We have gardens on each side of the parking lot filled with host plants where we also capture caterpillars. Sometimes, we catch butterflies if they're one that's hard to raise in captivity. We only raise native Florida butterflies and moths which makes us different than a lot of other butterfly exhibits that have to order from butterfly farms. The mission statement is, "Making science real", so I like showing people that these are all butterflies they can attract to their own yard. We raise the caterpillars in the lab and then we release them in the flight cage which is like a screened-in patio.

The rest of the museum has stuff like robotic dinosaur thingies, a planetarium, an IMAX dome where I watched "Flight of the Butterflies" with Mom a few years ago. It was about the Monarch migration and we both teared up. We've got one of those driver-less cars outside that takes people on a loop. It's more of an open-air tram than a car. There's a whole area for kids and the museum does a lot of Scout activities where they can earn merit badges. I'll have to take some photos of the place so you all can get an idea of it.

FYI, I sent in Christine's butterfly to BAMONA so let's all sit and wait now!

Melanie, thank you. I'm excitedly waiting to find out about the butterfly. Patiently.

Okay, so I'm not all that patient. I was looking around the web and found this picture that looks alot like my butterfly ~ Goatweed Leafwing http://www.butterfly-fun-facts...

Edit to say we do have a lot of Croton growing around here.

Yeah, I bet it's a Goatweed! I finally got some pics of the cats I'm raising inside! These are Tiger Swallowtail cats, either the eastern or the two-tailed...I can't ID until they turn green.

And a Red Admiral cat on pellitory...there's tons of those weeds!

On my Sweet Everlasting plants, there are small American Lady cats. I opened up a leaf nest...lots of frass there!

And also, American Buckeye are around...there's small Agalinis plants on my place, but don't know if they're laying eggs.

Really good cat pictures, Linda.

I'm also thinking the unknown butterfly is a Goatweed. Here's another link http://texasinsects.tamu.edu/i...

I just ran the Entomology category on "Jeopardy!" Pretty easy clues, if you ask me.

Christine, I do think you have a Goatweed Leafwing. Seeing that picture of the top helps as it looks just like yours.

My sleep schedule is all over the place, but the date and time stamp on the camera says I took these this morning. I do have a vague recollection of feeding the caterpillars.

I missed an egg on the pipevine because look who I found! He's part of the group now, which you can see in the second picture.



A male Tiger ST was all over Dad's Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow plant. I hope this butterfly already mated because he is pretty torn up. No female is going to want him looking like that! Even his body looks kind of messed up. Must have escaped some close calls!



And this little Skipper was hanging out in the circle.

So now we wait and see and BOMONA agrees with us.

Speaking of today's 'Jeopardy!' show, did they show a photo of Catharanthus roseus instead of a photo of Impatiens in the "Gardening" category? (The question was "What are impatiens?") I'm pretty sure that they did but I just got a quick glance of the photo so I couldn't swear to it. American TV shows never seem to get botanical facts right.

Danita, I missed that clue (I was on my exercise bike and could only see part of the TV). I just checked the "Jeopardy!" Facebook page and many, many people called them out on that. The people at home are hardcore! And apparently gardeners are super hardcore! And they say it's a Vinca (or Periwinkle, if you like).

The Indian Blankets are starting to see a lot of butterfly action.

You take wonderful photos, Char!

#1 Painted Lady
#2 Dainty Sulphur
#3 Checkered Spot something or other, I think will have to look...

#3 Isn't what I said above. It might be a White Checkered or a Common Checkered Skipper. Not sure.

Do you guys get the Tropical Checkered Skipper in TX? Those are the most common of the Checkered Skippers here. And I agree, those are fantastic photos!