So this past Sunday I got to MOSI really early. Mostly because I couldn't sleep. It was kind of nice to be able to enjoy the gardens by myself. Not that I mind the guests, but sometimes I'm just not in the mood.
My bosses replanted the flight cage but they haven't gone full-on holiday, yet. Still, you can see the poinsettias in there. One task they asked me to do was water everything. The butterflies were not happy about being woken up by a blast of water, but they get out of the way pretty quick.
We had some Julias that managed to escape to the outside. I recaptured a few, some as they were laying eggs.
Our outer enclosure has a screen panel that's broken so if they get out of the inner enclosure, they have a means of escape now. So I wasn't too surprised to find a Julia caterpillar outside. Normally, they would not be found this far north.
You guys know I've been collecting the Spotted Oleander Caterpillar Moths, but somehow a regular old Oleander Moth Caterpillar ended up in the tank. You can see why people think Gulf Fritillary caterpillars are Oleander caterpillars. Well, I don't, but I'm educated. You can see the Oleander Moth has more hairs or bristles and they're grouped unlike the Gulf Fritillary caterpillar. Okay, here's the Oleander Moth cat.
Here's a Spotted Oleander Moth caterpillar.
And here are some Gulf Fritillary cats I found at my house the same day.
You can see how people would get confused. But I talk to them about host plants and make it clear these two caterpillars are not the same. FYI, Oleander is very, very poisonous and I do not recommend planting it unless you have some kind of severe infatuation with it.
Back in the lab, some of the Spotted Oleander Moths made their cocoons. They're not very sophisticated, just some silk and hairs in the corner of the tank. They really liked the corners. The discarded skin is on the right side in the cocoon.
We have so many Malachites right now. So many! In fact, one of my other tasks was to cut up some fresh fruit for them to eat. We're using tangelos right now. Malachites will eat flowers, too. They're not quite as rigid as some butterflies who will rarely come to a flower. But they do like fruit. I catch Monarchs on the fruit sometimes, too.
This Malachite wasn't ready to wake up.
The butterflies tend to congregate in the corner of the ceiling where the sun comes up first.
One of the benefits of the job is I get to walk around with butterflies on my hands. I don't do this in front of the guests too often because they think it means they can do it, too, despite the signs in there saying exactly not to do that. I always explain the reason I can do this is that the butterfly isn't able to fly yet and talk about the wing drying process. I admit, sometimes I like to mess with kids when they ask me how I do it. I tell them I'm magic, part fairy, a butterfly whisperer, etc.
But then, since this is a science museum, I have to tell them the truth. Kids are too easy to mess with and I can't help myself sometimes.
Now, this Malachite is on Cleome, or Spider Flower. We generally have this plant around in the spring because it will host the Great Southern White and the Checkered White. I mean, they will just destroy it. As an aside, my mom really likes these. They just don't last in the heat so it's good that the White butterflies peak in the spring.
Look, it's a Julia that didn't escape!
Zebra Longwings are always one of the first butterflies to start flying. I also see them later in the day than you would expect.
This one was practicing takeoffs! No, it's just basking on the Kumquat. It was pretty cool outside and they were still mad about the watering. But if I don't keep their plants alive, they wouldn't be very happy now, would they? FYI, we use the Kumquat as a host plant for when we have Giant Swallowtails.
These Zebras Longwings were hanging with a Malachite.
And the Monarchs refused to come down from the top until it warmed up. I can't blame them.
