krobra said:Very Beautiful Ronnie

Salt Marsh moth or sometimes called Acrea Moth



Gulf Fritillary



Black Swallowtail..?? is that correct? (I was incorrect...) Melanie says this is a Spicebush Swallowtail

Goat, you're like one of those contestants on "Jeopardy!" where I can't figure out how they know some things but not the others. That's a Spicebush Swallowtail.

mellielong said:Goat, you're like one of those contestants on "Jeopardy!" where I can't figure out how they know some things but not the others. That's a Spicebush Swallowtail.

I searched but wasn't sure of the ID ...ya never know unless you ask...
and.... Well...a feller just can't know it all...

Our collective knowledge makes this site the best!

I sometimes get confused with the black swallowtails too.

Poor tattered Buckeye on spearmint

wildflowers said:I sometimes get confused with the black swallowtails too.

Poor tattered Buckeye on spearmint

That Buckeye has traveled a hard road for sure.

Wow, you guys have all really outdone yourselves in a short 2 days!!! My eyes are bugging out at all the amazing photos that have been posted!

It looks like August is starting out with a bang already! I have noticed more butterflies around here in the last 2 days almost as if the first day of August sent some secret signal to butterfly world to get busy & make up for lost time.

Last night on the local news there was an investigative report where they help consumers with problems. In this case, it was a homeowner who had a new home that became infested with termites when the cabinets were installed. And the reporter talked about "frass, or insect droppings" being all in the cabinets. I got so excited to hear the word "frass" on the news I yelled (with a mouthful of taco), "Did he just say frass?!" Then, my brother shushed me. But I was excited.

I saw number 4 Monarch yesterday , A little Hairstreak or blue is out there with this this one I did get ,



Ann: Lot of great photo's here

Very lovely Jim, I wish I had time to post pictures.

frostweed I wish I had time to get all the things I would like to do done ,
Sometimes the Camera is in my pocket while I am doing outdoors ,,
When I am wide awake is does not take long ,, When I wear down , it takes me a while post ,

mellielong said:Last night on the local news there was an investigative report where they help consumers with problems. In this case, it was a homeowner who had a new home that became infested with termites when the cabinets were installed. And the reporter talked about "frass, or insect droppings" being all in the cabinets. I got so excited to hear the word "frass" on the news I yelled (with a mouthful of taco), "Did he just say frass?!" Then, my brother shushed me. But I was excited.

Frass on the brain then? LOL

frostweed said:Very lovely Jim, I wish I had time to post pictures.

Josephine, you're not alone with feeling overwhelmed sometimes. Betcha our plates are usually full. I have to go back to work on the 15th and the extra free time is all over. Had dbl foot surgery in June. Look if you dare to be grossed out:

On a lighter and much prettier note:


You'll see a black dot smack in the middle of the red on a Black swallowtail's hind wing on the its topside. The boys have a lot of yellow on all wings too. Spicebush SW
just have dull orangeish spots w/o the black dots.
Please somebody enlighten us about the black phases of yellow Tiger Swallowtails- I'm lost with that one.

Here's a few..

Took these a few minutes ago
Swallowtail on Knapweed






ouch to the Sore foot

I'm about to fall asleep but real quick, the female dark form Tiger ST has a solid black body while the Spicebush will have spots on the body. The Tiger is usually noticeably larger. Also, the blue scaling comes up much higher on the wings of the Tiger. I'll try to find some pictures for comparison in the next couple of days. Or someone else can feel free to do it, too! Or link us to a website with good pictures. This is a group effort.

Here's a link with the black form TST:
https://wisconsinbutterflies.o...

Wohoo....Tonight on my walk around the garden I saw these on my neighbor's Butterfly Bush - all at the same time.

Fritillary - not sure which one
Monarch (this is only like the 10th one I have seen this Summer) (Still no eggs or cats)
Two Swallowtail - one I think was a Spicebush

WRT the Swallowtail, don't know if it was mating ritual or males fighting, but I was mesmerized watching them do their thing for well over 10 minutes. Such energy!

And a ton of little guys and cabbage moths and you name it :-)

I now see at least 2 Swallowtail every day. In past years I never saw them at all. Nor the Fritillary.

Regarding both, I am still trying to learn which they are.

In other news I had the huge hornworm on my Datura that he devoured. Looking closely today, I found 6 hornworm eggs. Two have changed from lime green to a tan color and you can literally see the cats forming inside the egg.

I also salvaged a small Sphinx moth at the Extension office. They had it in a see thru container and it apparently eclosed many days ago and they had not gave it food or water. They were just gonna let it die. Gonna observe it for a few days. I gave it some Butterfly Bush and Joe Pye weed flowers and it did feed for a little while. Also a very shallow small dish of water. If it does not recover, I will likely euthenize it.

Here's a link for the pipevine:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths...