Well, I went out to get the paper and the mail this afternoon (yeah, I sleep late) and I took one step outside the door and thought, "I should have brought my camera." I took another step, looked to the left, and saw a Gulf Frit. Nothing to see there, folks. Looked to the right, and there was a Spicebush Swallowtail. Darnit! Back into the house to get the camera and luckily it stuck around for a picture.
Look at the glob of pollen on this Zebra Longwing's proboscis!
There were two male Orange-Barred Sulphurs fighting again but I think this might be the one I released the other day because he's noticeably small.
And the Polydamas are still laying eggs. Sigh. Found three clutches today. MOSI is getting a donation of several dozen Polydamas this week.
Now, we were talking about Pipevine Swallowtails and I saw a male today in the garden. I also believe Ann's is a male due to the shimmery blue. I hadn't thought too much about it until I was comparing my photo with hers, but did you notice even the body has the shimmery blue scales? In the photos I'm about to post you can see it one photo but not the other so I think it depends on the lighting reflecting the scales. And I would venture to guess only the males have this feature since the females don't have the shimmery blue even on their lower wings. And Cat said it perfect, there is a distinct semi-circle to the Pipevine ST that isn't found on the others. You see enough and it gets obvious. I'm actually seeing a lot more Pipevine STs this year than in the past which is cool.
Here's one of those Gulf Frits I'm so dismissive of. Seriously, they're the most common butterfly in these parts and I take them for granted.
There were about three Long-Tailed Skippers flying around.
And of course, I found Long-Tailed Skipper eggs and caterpillars! I brought them inside but I'm going to take them to MOSI, too. I have a hard time raising these guys. If I keep them in a critter keeper the food dries out too fast. If I keep them in tupperware there's too much moisture and the caterpillars die. I'd leave them on the butterfly pea but the lizards look a little too cozy over there.
Here's the Viceroy I released. I put it on the bougainvillea by our front window on one of the branches that kind of hangs under our entryway. I figured in case it rains, he'll be safe. This one doesn't seem quite as dark as the ones yesterday.
When I got home from getting food (splurged on Panera tonight) there was a White Peacock but I just wanted to get in out of the weather because I have no desire to be hit by lightning. Plus, I was hungry. Also, I forgot to tell you guys but the other day I was walking toward the butterfly garden and saw something dark that wasn't a butterfly. It was the hummingbird! It was on the firebush and took off when it saw me coming but I hadn't seen any in a few months so it was cool to see one again.
