Okay, I had to take a little break because I got really mad at Mother Nature yesterday. I posted all the details over on the Bee thread, but long story short, a dragonfly ate one of my Checkered Whites about five seconds after I released it.
And this one could fly - it caught it in mid-air! If you want the whole story with pictures, you can check it out here:
http://garden.org/thread/view_...
But for now, I'm keeping this thread happy. So Mom and I went to the movies yesterday and when we got home I laughed and pointed out the flying Gulf Fritillaries that also happened to be mating. They were being chased around by what I presume was a competing male. They found refuge on the plumbago.
So last year I planted four Carolina Petunias, mostly because they're a host plant for the Buckeye. We had them at MOSI and the blooms were cute, but they didn't flower much. Well, mine must be really happy because they're blooming up a storm. And they have lots of buds on them! Oh, and they self-seeded all over but that's cool. But what's really great is that I've seen the butterflies using them for nectar, too! Including this funny little Skipper who literally crawled in the flower. FYI, this isn't even one of the original plants - it's a volunteer!
A bee tried to join him...
But the flower was only big enough for him!
Extreme close up!
And in he went again!
I feel like this Gulf Frit has a surprised look on its face.
Zebra Longwing cats. Don't they look like gummy worms?
And I totally saw this coming because you can't release that many Pipevine Swallowtails in your yard and not get egg bombed.
And another Spicebush egg...
I may be melting and will possibly contract the Zika virus before the summer is over, but you gotta admit, we get some nice butterflies in Florida. Like the official state butterfly, the Zebra Longwing! On the non-native Jatropha.
I was down by the road picking Peppergrass (the stem in the middle of the photo) for the White cats when I saw a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar. You can see the Corkystem Passion Vine seeded itself below, but to be fair, the Peppergrass was likely dormant when the Passion Vine started growing. I can't believe the cat got that big, but to be safe, I brought him over to the 'Lavender Lady'. FYI, I do plan on digging up those volunteers and putting them in the yard, but it's just one of those tasks on my never ending to do list.
All right, moving to today, I found more Pipevine ST eggs but couldn't seem to focus my camera.
Zebra Longwing cats are molting together. These guys I'm leaving outside, but I'm still raising my batch in my room. You can see how these guys are starting to change from the light orange color they start out as to the white they will become.
Speaking of, a little further down on the plant I saw this bigger Zebra Longwing cat.
And the adults are never far away. I included the first picture just to show you guys I take many bad photos, too. Why do they always fly as you click the button to take the pic?
Also, my new hummingbird feeder is in the shot!
I saw something on the ground that looked weird, so after making sure it wasn't dangerous, I picked it up. Looks like a cocoon! I just know I have moth cats up in my oak trees. I need a cherry picker!
The Gulf Frits don't seem to care that their nectar choice is a horrible fashion choice. That orange with that shade of pink-purple? Ghastly!
This Gulf Frit cat was on the Corkystem right in front of the house. That was the first one I ever planted. It gets constantly bombarded, so I took him over to the 'Lavender Lady' where there's more food. Although, I'll admit the caterpillars have eaten that vine a LOT.
Speaking of the Corkystem in front of the house, you can't see it, but it's on an obelisk to the left of the picture. This year, it started growing over the porterweed and I was like, "Bring it on!" You can never have too much passion vine. But you also can't plant it that close to porterweed and not expect to get egg bombed. Given the eggs are laid in a cluster, the culprit was a Zebra Longwing. And while I'm thinking of it, don't believe that myth about Zebra Longwings preferring Passion Vines in the shade and Gulf Frits preferring those in the sun. In my experience, Zebras like the native passion vines no matter where you plant them. And Frits could care less; they will egg bomb any Passion Vine.
Speaking of Gulf Frits, here's my obligatory cat pictures.
This one had watery frass which worries me.
Then, I saw this. Ants eating a dead caterpillar. There were actually three dead caterpillars in close proximity to each other. They died of the virus; the ants were just cleaning up. They were actually on the Firebush that's under all that Passion Vine. I went inside and got the scissors so I could cut that piece of the Firebush off and throw it in the yard. I didn't want the ants or the virus close to other caterpillars.
Molting is a very vulnerable time for caterpillars.
