Well, before we went to Outback, I had to set a moth free. It was one of those little guys that hitched a ride with the Checkered Whites. And I should have known better than to open the front door without the camera in my hand because it was an absolute frenzy today! So get yourself a drink, get comfy, and get ready to enjoy some pictures while learning more about butterflies!
The first thing I noticed was a White butterfly that was clearly not a Checkered White. I went running back to my room to grab my camera and then went running back out front. As I ran, Dad commented about how God's plan of using butterflies to make me exercise was apparently working. I told him to shut it.
I didn't have my shoes on, only socks, and I got Spanish Needle seeds on my toes. Ouch! Anyway, it turned out to be a Great Southern White, as I expected. I have only seen these at my house in the past three to four years. I have been butterflying for nine years now. I used to think they didn't live in my area, but something has changed. They use Virginia Peppergrass as a host plant as well, but also a few other plants I don't grow. And I never see as many of them as I do the Checkered Whites. This one was male, and also very, very fast. I didn't think I was ever going to get a decent picture. I only saw it nectaring on the porterweed, by the way. Also, I can tell it's male because females are gray, and I can tell it's a Great Southern White because of the distinctive turquoise-colored antenna clubs. I love that. Nature has a way of surprising me with the smallest of details.
So the other thing that surprised me was not one, but TWO FEMALE Spicebush Swallowtails!
I also spotted the male. This means it's time for a lesson! How do we tell a male from a female Spicebush, Melanie? Well, females have blue scaling because they are mimicking the toxic Pipevine Swallowtail. Males look more silvery-gray to me, but the Spicebush used to be known as the "Green Swallowtail" or "Green Cloud Swallowtail" so some people must see it as green. I have old butterfly books that refer to them by this name, and I met an old-timer once at MOSI who knew it by that name. Remember, some scientists think Florida has its own subspecies, so your Spicebush butterflies may vary a bit. And if they do, share pictures!
Okay, so this is the female on the left, and the male on the right. If you're not my father, you can probably tell the difference. (Dad's a little colorblind. We still argue about the tile in our old house.)
Well, I made Dad look and even he could tell the difference. He doesn't think they look green, though, and neither do I. Of course, I also think the Red-Spotted Purple should be the Orange-Spotted Blue.
Okay, but one problem I had for a long time was how to tell a female Spicebush from the female dark-form of the Tiger Swallowtail. Pictures of the Tiger ST are from last year, but the Spicebush is from today. First, you can't tell from pics, but the Tiger ST will be noticeably larger. Next, try to look at the underside of the wings. Particularly, look at them with the sun coming through them. You can still see stripes even on the dark form of the Tiger ST. Finally, look at the body. The Spicebush will have dots along the body; the Tiger ST will have a solid black body.
So let's look at some pictures. Let's start with the female dark form of the Tiger ST. This one is a little beat up, so at first it looks like a Spicebush.
But notice the striping on the underside of the wings. And the solid black body.
Now, let's look at the female Spicebush.
No striping, and dots on the body. Remember, butterflies often lose their wings, but they're not going to lose their bodies.
Another piece of evidence? Eggs all over your Spicebush plants!
I really need a "happy dance" emoji. Spicebushes lay on the underside of the leaves so I was doing a lot of squats to peer under the plants. If I tried turning the leaves, I ended up twisting whole branches off. My plant is young, and not very sturdy. In fact, let's look at the plants first because I want to show you that your plants do not have to be that big to attract butterflies! I have four Spicebushes. Two were planted two years ago, but the one has always been bigger than the other. Honestly, I thought the one had died and was too lazy to pull it, but it came back. I bought two more this year because: my Sassafras died, and Spicebush plants are gendered and since mine have never bloomed, I'm assuming mine were the same gender. Okay, to the left is the "big" one, the middle is the smaller one, and the right is one of the babies I planted a few weeks ago.
All of the plants got egged. They usually lay singly on each leaf, but you can see where I got doubles. I also found a few that were an odd color (look at the one on the right). I think they may be "duds", but I brought them in just in case.
Now, remember when I said if you remove the eggs, the butterfly will come back and lay more? Well, that happened. I couldn't get a picture, but I saw her do it. Also, due to the size of my Spicebushes, I had to modify my egg collection technique. Normally, I pick the leaf the egg is on. But if I did that today (and any other day), I'd pick a third of the leaves off and then what would I feed the caterpillars? So, if you're careful, you can use your fingernail to "pop" off the egg. It's pretty easy to do with Swallowtail eggs, but don't try it with non-spherical eggs like Sulphurs and even Monarchs because those squish too easily. Or if you're the least bit afraid to do it. It is an expert level skill. FYI, I know where plenty of Red Bay grows to feed all these caterpillars when I run out of Spicebush. (Hint: it's the same place I go pawpaw hunting. Which I need to do soon.) So here's a few more eggs I collected the second time around.
Okay, let's look at some pretty pictures for a minute. Here's a Duskywing!
Here's a Gulf Fritillary!
Zebra Longwing!
Okay, time to learn again! I scared up something white and thought it was my butterfly again. Except, this was a moth. So how do you tell? Well, in this case, the antenna give it away. Butterfly antenna are shaped like golf clubs or hockey sticks, depending on your sports preference.
Moth antenna vary a bit depending on male and female. But moths tend to have feathery antenna, and males have the more elaborate, bigger feathery antenna. Helps them sense the female pheromones, I think. I cropped this photo and blew it up so you can see what I mean. Have I mentioned I love this new camera?
I saw something flying at the neighbor's so I walked over. Giant Swallowtail was on the bottlebrush tree. This must be a male because I have zero eggs. He needs to get to work! And he looks like a fine specimen to me!
Now, for the sad learning opportunity. I found a couple of Gulf Frit caterpillars dead from what I call "melting disease". It's actually a virus. Read more about it from the nice folks at Shady Oak Butterfly Farm:
http://www.butterflyfunfacts.c... I removed the cats and threw them out in the lawn. This is why I don't raise Gulf Frits in captivity.
I also saw the Monarch again, but the Gulf Fritillary chased it off!
Well, I'm going to go to bed so I can get up early and do some gardening. It feels downright cold outside - it's in the 60's! Not going to get weather like this again for months so I'm taking full advantage. Also, Mom got my gardening jeans miraculously clean considering the shape they were in last time, so I guess it's time to dirty them again!
