Okay, butterfly folks, here's an update on all things happening in Casa de Melanie.
My American Lady caterpillar made a chrysalis. I had to move him to another tank so he'd have room to emerge so that's what the Scotch tape is all about.
Meanwhile, the smaller American Lady caterpillar molted and has now "earned his stripes" as I like to say. The only bad thing about raising these guys is they stay in their nests so you can't really see what they're doing.
I went outside to pick food for everyone and found eight Sulphur cats on my Senna plants! Some of them are Orange-Barred and some are the yellow form Cloudless. They turn yellow because they eat the buds. Here's an Orange-Barred Sulphur.
Now here are some yellow form Cloudless Sulphurs. They still have the blue on them sometimes, but it's rings around their body, unlike the Orange-Barred where the blue makes an actual pattern. I'll take some more pics as they grow. Also, the yellow Cloudless cats lose their blue markings as they are ready to molt or make their chrysalis. Frankly, it's weird that my Sennas are still blooming. It's April, right?
Here's a few of the captives I brought in today. The little one on the right looks like he's trying to bite the butt of the big one.
Oh, I forgot to mention I found six to begin with, took them in the house, and them came back out to pick food. And I found two more. So here's a Cloudless Sulphur about to molt that I found on the second trip out.
There were a few butterflies, too. Couldn't get pictures of the Sulphur flying around or the Gulf Frit that seemed to be looking for a host plant. But here's a Long-Tailed Skipper on Salvia 'Mystic Spires'.
And if you have Spanish Needles, the Duskywings will always hang out at your house.
Lastly, here's a Gulf Frit cat on my Corkystem Passion Vine. I'll probably have to move him and his buddies as they get bigger.
