Dave, I think that's a boy Monarch. Appears to have the black dot indicating a scent gland on the lower wing.
Well, I'm back from MOSI. Went early this morning and didn't stay too long as it started raining pretty good. And that was probably for the best since I've been in a bad mood this week and shouldn't be interacting with civilized people.
But on one of my better days last month, I apparently talked to a "secret shopper" (which I didn't even know we had at MOSI) and I got a certificate! It reads, "In the Butterfly Garden exhibit, Melanie - a MOSI volunteer, was in the butterfly enclosure and invited us to enter. She pointed out several different butterflies and described where they are from, what they eat, etc. She was so much fun to talk to. I could have stayed in there all day with her. My favorite exhibit was the Butterfly Garden. I am fascinated with butterflies and love the caterpillar, cocoon, and butterfly phases. I also love ponds and there was a really great pond in this exhibit." Apparently, I didn't have the cocoon vs. chrysalis talk with this person, but that's okay.
See, I'm certifiably awesome! But what's really awesome are the photos I got today. The Hickory Horned Devil cats (Regal Moths) are really big! Check out the prolegs on this guy. They feel really weird when they walk on you. And they really don't like to let go of their stem!
Here's some much smaller Pipevine ST cats I brought in. They're feeding them a different type of pipevine; I'm going to have to ask what species it is.
Gulf Frits just chilling.
Zebra Longwing. You can kind of see some pollen on the proboscis.
A few Julias still around.
Good Sleepy Orange population, but more on that later...
Lots of pretty Giant Swallowtails.
Orange-Barred Sulphur on the left, Cloudless Sulphur on the right. One or both of them laid eggs all over the cassia. I collected about fifteen tiny caterpillars and there are still more eggs waiting to hatch!
Polydamas don't like to pose. This was was just released into the flight cage so it was still in "freak out" mode.
Out in the garden, I saw a White Peacock.
And I saw a Great Southern White. Maybe an escapee from the flight cage? Last year was the first time I ever saw them at my house in the seven years I've been doing this. So it's possible to see one, but from my experience they live in the south part of the county. In the second picture you can see how it has turquoise antenna clubs - so cool!
Atala caterpillars! They're so cool!
Someone must have netted a Palamedes because there was one in the flight cage! They're easier to identify if you can view the underside or the body, but you can also tell them from the top. I find that compared to the Eastern Black ST, the Palamedes is bigger, but also the yellow on it has an air-brushed look as opposed to the precise yellow cells on the Eastern Black. This one doesn't have much blue on it, but they can have more blue so don't let that fool you.
This Buckeye landed on my leg and I didn't even know it until the girl I was talking to pointed at it. I picked him up and held him on my finger before I put him on the pentas.
I guess I took another Sleepy Orange picture.
Anyway, I saw a lizard with one of the Sleepy Oranges in its mouth and I happened to be sweeping so I beat at the lizard with the broom. The guests totally saw me doing this, too. But they understood I was mad at the lizard. Well, right before I left I had to release a butterfly so I had an empty chrysalis box with me. I saw the lizard again and there was a Sleepy Orange wing on the screen next to it. So now it was war! I managed to corner the lizard and it ran right into the box! I put the lid on and very nicely released him in the garden well outside the flight cage. It's a stupid Cuban anole which isn't even the good native kind. I think they went after the Sleepy Oranges because they're small enough to fit in their mouth. Boo!
On a happier note, the Malachites are getting big and I think they should start making chrysalises soon. Pictures when they do because if I recall correctly, they have pretty chrysalises.
