Thanks, everyone! I'm back home, and no I didn't steal the caterpillars. I thought about it, but it's probably best to leave them where they are.
And since I have fast internet now, let's look at all the pictures I didn't post!
Back to the zoo...
You can see why there were so many Woodpeckers. Great habitat!
This Downy or Hairy Woodpecker was banging on the bamboo and it was so loud. But it was hard to get its picture. They hop around a lot.
Eurasian Collared Dove
Great Blue Heron in the alligator habitat. I was trying to hold the camera over the chain link fence.
Here's a bird that actually belonged to the zoo. Well, there were two of them. Black Crowned Cranes. I like their coloration and the funny hairdo.
They have a Florida Panther at the zoo named "Uno". Uno was blinded because some idiot shot him in the face with buckshot. So he can't be released into the wild. Interesting fact - when I was in fourth grade a conservation group brought a Florida Panther to my elementary school. They had it laying on a table in the music room and we all got to line up single file and pet it. So I'm one of the lucky people who has seen one up close and touched one!
At first, Uno was laying behind the tree.
A crowd had gathered for the "Meet the Keepers" series where the zookeepers come out and talk about the animals. They're training Uno using sounds so they say "treat" when they feed him, "water" when they put out fresh water, and so forth. She was using tongs to feed him through the fence but he did nuzzle her hand.
One thing that was new to me was the sound a Florida Panther makes! They don't roar, it's described more as caterwauling. I thought it sounded like a house cat on steroids!
If you want to know more about Uno's story, you can check it out here:
http://napleszoo.org/panther I didn't realize he was treated at Tampa's own Lowry Park Zoo! And he was named Uno because he was the first animal treated at their new veterinary hospital. I'm so old, I remember when Lowry Park had rides. It's come a long way. I should really go visit.
Naples has a thing with bird sculpture.
The zoo had a little section showing how you could make a backyard habitat. I saw milkweed, and then I saw Monarch cats! Fat, happy, Monarch cats!
I found a chrysalis, but it didn't look so healthy...
They had a Wild Lime, and I had seen a Giant Swallowtail flying around. I checked, and I found some eggs! This was the easiest one to get a picture of without climbing into the plants.
This White Ibis thinks he's a Flamingo.
Back on the mean streets of Naples...Oleander caterpillars! On Oleander, of course.
That day, I went and had tea at Bramble's English Tea House. I went again the next night when they had "Tea and Tales" with storytellers telling Halloween stories. They raffled off this butterfly tea pot, but I didn't win.
And for my bee friends, they had a bee teapot, too! Perfect if you take honey in your tea!
The next day was the botanical gardens, which are fairly new. And still under construction. But before that, I had a good breakfast and found another bird sculpture on the corner. This one is supposed to be Wood Storks and has a plaque telling you to go visit Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.
At the actual botanical gardens, I find another statue called "The Sentinel".
After my Mangrove Skipper discovery, I saw another leaf shelter on a Canna Lily. I looked for the caterpillar surprise (Canna aka Brazilian Skipper) but he was gone. You can see the head capsule and some frass, though!
So I was stalking a male Spicecbush in the butterfly house and told the young volunteer I was doing so when she replied that she didn't know how a Spicebush got in here. I asked if it didn't belong in there and that's when we got into a discussion about the difference between Palamedes and Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillars. But first, my picture.
As I explained to the young lady, Palamedes cats have a solid white patch on their butts that is not broken up with a brown patch like the Spicebush cat. I then talked about their green forms, but she seemed to have a handle on that. We both agreed the internet is full of misinformation. Here are some of the Palamedes cats. I also think their heads are more snake-shaped or diamond-shaped than the Spicebush cat.
Julia Longwing
White Peacock with a little bite taken out.
Monarch on porterweed
Pipevine sex! And yes, I yelled "butterfly sex" out loud because I have no filter. All the kids were playing in the water fountain thingie while their moms discussed Pilates or whatever.
Orange-Barred Sulphur would not pose in good lighting for me.
I was worried about the fact that they only had tropical pipevines when they had Pipevine Swallowtails. But they don't actually raise their own butterflies so I guess it doesn't matter. They were all native Florida butterflies, but at MOSI, we grow our own!
But nature still does its thing, so I found some Polydamas cats on the pipevine. One was in his sling and looked very close to pupating, while the other was way too close to a spider web!
I found some Polydamas eggs too, because I'm awesome.
Outside in the garden, I saw this plant that had leaf shelters all over it. Turns out it was
Black-Eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia alata 'Blushing Susie')
And it was covered in Long-Tailed Skippers!
I think this is Shaving Brush tree. I was just having fun watching the bee move through the bloom.
I need to send this to BAMONA. It might be a Dorantes Skipper, but it doesn't quite look like the pattern on the ones I've seen up here.
This looks like a Monk Skipper to me.
The official state bird, the Northern Mockingbird.
A bee was really liking
Red Powderpuff (Calliandra haematocephala 'Nana')
Zebra Longwing on a kind of Jatropha.
Female Anhinga
White Peacock
Found a Sulphur cat! I'm pretty good at that, huh?
Mein enemy - the Lubber Grasshopper. Don't worry - I don't kill things in other people's gardens.
Back at the hotel, there were a few of these hopping around the entrance.
