Shoot, getting just one in a photo is hard! I notice Sulphurs seem to be a lot like hummingbirds. They like red, tubular flowers. Is that Coral Honeysuckle? I saw them on that yesterday at MOSI. They also like my neighbor's Firecracker Fern. And speaking of the museum...
I had a new volunteer yesterday and I think we're going to get along wonderfully! But I did end up spending seven hours there which is a new record for me. I totally crashed when I got home. I woke up, ate, and then crashed again. I also didn't take too many photos; I guess since I was busy. But I took enough to enjoy. So let's begin! I started near the parking lot since I said I would meet her there. I figured I'd pass the time looking for Sulphur cats and I found more. And this time I found Cloudless Sulphurs and Orange-Barred Sulphurs! Also, some of the little guys from last week grew up to be Cloudless Sulphurs so we've got a good mix of both. Here's the Cloudless Sulphur caterpillar.
And this Orange-Barred caterpillar molted right after I found him! Remember, never disturb a molting caterpillar. If you can't tell, just pick the whole leaf they're on and don't try to move them.
Julias love geraniums. That's the name of my new garden-rock band.
Because "Zebras love heliotrope" would be a mouthful.
Monarchs also like geraniums, but mostly just to pose on. Posers.
And Gulf Fritillaries like posing on bolts?
So I had a family from Louisville, KY yesterday with a two year-old. He was pretty smart. He knew the Monarchs and could kind of pronounce it. The parents told me they have this butterfly book and one of his favorites is the Orange-Barred Sulphur. Luckily, I had one in the flight cage so they had a lot of fun taking pictures. I also brought one of the caterpillars out so he could see it. And with his dad's help, he petted it, too.
Somehow, we acquired two Queen caterpillars. My picture sucks. I'll do better next week. We found a bunch of Monarch cats outside so I was showing the difference to my trainee. My dad says you can tell the Queen cats because they're the ones singing "We Are the Champions". Dad thinks he's funny.
I spotted my first Polydamas Swallowtail yesterday which is a little odd. They seem to be the last Swallowtail to come out each year and I theorize it's because they're more tropical. But we broke a heat record in Tampa last week so maybe these above average temps got them confused. I tried to catch it, but failed. Couldn't net any Sulphurs, either. I did catch five Gulf Frits, though so at least I wasn't empty-handed. Still, it was hot, I was tired, and the butterflies were fast.
Back home today I saw a neat moth on the screen so I took a picture and sent it to BAMONA. My camera never takes good pictures against screens. Must mess with the lens or something. I thought this might be an Eight-Spotted Forester Moth because I saw one of those before. But I looked in the book and they don't have quite the same spot pattern. Also, they don't have spots on their body but this guy clearly does. Hopefully, BAMONA can tell what it is.
I went back out to the well about an hour ago. I was just going to pick a leaf for my green caterpillar, but since the well is such a hotbed of activity, I checked it out. I killed a few Tussock Moths, saw a looper which may have been an Oak Beauty moth. And I saw this guy. I brought it inside and he's eating oak leaves in captivity. I sent this one to BAMONA, too. I hope they can help.
