Bad news, everyone. My female Orange-Barred Sulphur didn't make it. And neither did my caterpillar. I had feared for both of them. I've just seen it too many times to know when things aren't going well. Just as an assurance though, if you ever do have a chrysalis that is slightly out-of-shape because it made itself against a hard surface (like the side of your tank), it can still come out fine. The Monarchs at MOSI seem to do it all the time, and despite the little indentation in the chrysalis, the butterfly comes out perfect. What worried me about this Sulphur is that when she made the chrysalis, there was some fluid that leaked out and that is never a good sign. So maybe it was doomed from the start.
But in better news, I went out to pick food (and like, 50 Polydamas eggs) and had both an Orange-Barred and a Cloudless Sulphur laying eggs on my Senna ligustrina. Which brings me to a popular myth you might have read in butterfly books. I've heard a butterfly won't lay eggs on a plant that already has eggs on it. The thinking is that the first eggs will hatch sooner and eat the plant, not leaving enough for any later eggs that hatch. And to this I say, "Balderdash!" I've seen it happen time and time again. And not just in the flight cage where the butterflies don't have much of a choice, but in my garden.
Take today, for example. You all know I just posted the pictures of that Orange-Barred laying eggs all over the Senna like two days ago. Well, those eggs are still there. But today I'm out there, and here comes another Orange-Barred laying eggs. This is the pale form, FYI, but you can still see all the markings on her. Also, notice how she has the orange along her body (which is actually the bottom of her wings if she would open them). That's how you can tell the female, along with the dots along the upper wings, the lack of the orange bar across the top of the wings, and the fact that she's laying eggs.
So I'm walking around taking other pictures (you'll see those in a minute) and I see the Sulphur still flying around. Except I look closer, and this is a Cloudless Sulphur laying eggs! Not five minutes after the other one! Now, maybe they can tell that my Sennas are big enough to host many caterpillars. Maybe they know their eggs have a high mortality rate. But the fact is, eggs on a plant won't stop another butterfly from laying eggs. At least, not in all cases. By the way, in the first picture she is somewhat confused and has landed on skunk vine. I really need to pull that stuff. It's so smelly you think the butterflies would be able to tell, but the Polydamas have laid eggs on it, too. As for the differences in the two species, this Cloudless was slightly smaller (the Orange-Barred was a little small, in my opinion), she has no black dots, and is a different shade of yellow although it's hard to compare to a pale-form Orange-Barred.
Now, for those other butterflies. The Spanish Needles down by the road are still popular. This Long-Tailed Skipper was really enjoying them. Normally, Long-Tailed Skippers move from flower to flower very fast but this one actually sat on the flower for quite a long time. Makes me think Spanish Needles must have a lot of nectar in them. It would explain their popularity.
And this Duskywing was also getting in on the action.
There was also a Zebra Longwing or two flying around but they weren't posing for pictures. I also saw what I'm pretty sure was a Spicebush ST but it saw me coming and flew out toward the road. I may be crazy, but even I won't run into oncoming traffic to chase a butterfly.
