I went back outside because I was bored and there was quite a bit of activity. Granted, it's pretty warm outside for January. I have another Monarch in its "J". He's on the leaf in front of the previous chrysalis-maker, and a leaf behind the one with the empty chrysalis and the chrysalis that's about three days old. I don't know why they're all gravitating to that area. It makes me nervous! If a predator finds one, he'll find the others.
Now, I was walking around the back of my property and was a little bit on the neighbor's property when I saw this great patch of tassel flower. You know, the one I'm always making fun of Select Seeds for selling. (Love Select Seeds, but it's a weed!) Anyway, it's a great weed for attracting smaller butterflies; I've seen it covered in Phaeon Crescents. But today it had a few visitors, only a few of which I could get photos of. I was trying to be discreet. You see, my previous neighbor had no problem with us on his property. But he died last spring and now his granddaughter (I think) and her boyfriend are living back there and they've been real jerks to some of the other neighbors. The cops have also been back there a few times. So naturally, they drive by in their truck and I just gave a big smile and waved like all was good. They didn't slow down or yell at me so hopefully, we're cool. I couldn't tell if they waved back because of the tint on the windows and glare from the sun. Oh well!
Anyway, let me tell you what I didn't get pictures of. I saw a Tropical Checkered Skipper that flew by twice but was not wanting it's picture taken, darnit! Also, I really tried to get a picture of a Cassius Blue but my camera has trouble focusing on things smaller than a dime. A little rare to see a Cassius so far from its host plant; they must be hungry. I have tassel flower in the front by my bromeliads. Don't know why they couldn't hang out there, but this was a much larger patch. I also saw a Cloudless Sulphur fly by far off in the distance but never saw it again.
I managed to take some terrible pictures of this skipper. Possibly Fiery Skipper or Whirlabout?
I did manage some decent shots of a Barred Sulphur.
And just a little more info on tassel flower...as you can see, they're pretty small. Another reason why I laugh at Select Seeds' catalog is that it makes the flowers look really big. Maybe they have some kind of giant variety? As you can see, there are two colors - a light red and a lilac. The red is called Florida Tassel Flower and the lilac is called Lilac Tassel Flower according to the Florida Atlas of Vascular Plants. Despite the name, neither is native to Florida. They're not listed as invasive, but you sure do see them around. I can remember seeing them when I was a kid playing outside so they've been here a while, too. It says they're in the Aster family so I can see why the butterflies like them.
