Here's all I know! I would've liked a chance to chat with him, but I suspect that he was tired and the heat was getting to him (ask me how I know the signs), so he went into his little RV. Craig the butterfly man, a Lepidopterist...I found him on Facebook! He takes his stuff to schools and events for a little rental fee. Obviously, he loves what he's doing!
https://www.facebook.com/craig...

Neat!

Cheryl found me! I'm in Naples! I already have tickets to the Naples Zoo (with historic gardens) and the Naples Botanical Garden. On Friday, I'm going for an eco-tour boat ride which they market as a Dolphin Ride since apparently, tourists are obsessed with dolphins. Seriously, one my dad's friend's wives works for NOAA. She studies coral reefs all over the world. DO NOT ask her about dolphins. She's so tired of it. But while we're on the boat ride, we will be stopping to do some shelling. And I also have a "free" day where I'm getting a couple of spa treatments. And I'm having high tea on Thursday when they're having a special professional storyteller night. They call it "Tea and Tales."

I'll start my own thread in a bit so I can just post everything in one place. For now, I'm going to check out the huge shower and then watch the Bucs get beat on Monday Night Football.

I'll be there, Monday Night Football, looking for you on the tv...

I'm in a comfy hotel bed watching the game, Jack. Aren't they in Carolina tonight? Yup, looks too blue.

Here's some butterflies I saw at my house before I left.

Giant Swallowtail



Zebra Longwing



White Peacock



Gulf Fritillary - I think that might be pollen on its proboscis. Butterflies are pollinators. Not as efficient as bees, but still.



Okay, this wi-fi is super slow and I'm even using my travel router to amplify the signal! I never thought I'd miss the days of ethernet cables. I have one with me, though. I'm going to ask if they're hiding a hard-wired connection somewhere. I checked all the walls but didn't see an outlet. Maybe the business center has one...

I started my vacation thread here: The thread "Melanie visits Naples, Florida" in Gardening for Butterflies, Birds and Bees forum

I sure am fond of that pastel pink chrysanthemum a lovely backdrop for all of the butterflies.

This caterpillar was in a hurry to go somewhere. Not sure what kind it is. It's harder to guess when they are on the cement and not a host plant.



I'm not sure what I did with the egg photo but they looked like this: http://garden.org/thread/view_... still think some kind of moth. Strangely, I've found these many times on the house and they seem to disappear over night. Somebody must find them tasty?


Down by the pond saw this pretty Viceroy land.

Lovely pictures Christine, and I don't know what it is..

Got the Silver Spotted Skipper today Most fluttered away to fast

Sitting on a Zinnia

I knew you going on a vacation and thought it must be northward, I now know more precisely your whereabouts. Overall, wasn't much of a game excitement wise but I'm happy Tampa Bay won.

Heterocampa umbrata moth caterpillar , near as I can tell Christine

http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

Kurt, that sure looks right!! http://www.pbase.com/image/651...

Thanks.

Once again, I accidentally put these in the wrong "butterfly" forum.

They look pretty in both places.

Christine, what a cool cat! When I Googled the Latin name of it (thanks, Kurt!), I saw pictures of caterpillars that were different colors. Then, I found an article that says they come in different colors: http://www.fnanaturesearch.org...

But I like that one the best!

Char, you really captured the blue shimmer on that male Pipevine!

Forgot to say how much I liked the caterpillar mass that Christine shared. That's a "wow" photo!

Sulphur



an almost...

Hey everyone, a new butterfly gardener needs opinions. I'll chime in a bit later; my spa appointment is in a few minutes. Check it out here: The thread "Host plants" in Gardening for Butterflies, Birds and Bees forum