Betsy, that's a Giant Swallowtail and a good example of one of the times it's okay to touch a butterfly. But like I tell everyone at MOSI, try to only touch the body and legs, not the wings!
Okay, I got a few pictures for you guys today. First up is a Zebra Longwing on my very successful Mexican Flame Vine. So far the Zebra LWs and the Gulf Frits seem to like it the best. I've got some pretty roughed-up butterflies flying around, though. Check out this Zebra LW.
I was out there collecting food, but also checking the pipevine for anyone who needed to go to MOSI tomorrow. I didn't find any more Polydamas eggs, but quite a few Pipevine eggs so it's good that I went and looked. I did find one fat Polydamas caterpillar. The first pic is how I found him. Notice the frass at the top of the leaf. Frass is always a good clue that you've got a caterpillar nearby. And there he was munching away on that leaf. The second photo is so you guys can see what he looks like.
Not a butterfly, but in case you've never seen them, it's Lovebug season again! When I saw them I started to say, "isn't it a little early for..." and then I remembered it was September. May and September are Lovebug season here in Tampa, anyway. They don't bite but they can damage the paint on your car. Seriously, car washes LOVE this time of year. I hear they were disappointed this past May because it wasn't a good year for the Lovebugs (I think we had too wet of a winter or something). Oh, and the story about Lovebugs being an experiment that escaped from UF is just an urban legend. They're actually from South America or something.
The Duskywings haven't entirely deserted me as I still have Spanish Needles growing down by the fence. Saw them on the porterweed by the house, too.
I got a Cassius Blue to hold still!
I came back inside to sort my eggs and feed everybody, and then I decided to feel myself. Had to go to Chick-Fil-A because it's college football today and seeing 100 commercials with those cows hawking chicken makes me want to eat Chick-Fil-A. So off I went. Luckily, I still had my camera in my pocket because a Long-Tailed Skipper started laying eggs on the butterfly pea! Look close and you can see one egg right above the body on that little leaf. Neat!
