What Have You Seen in the Garden This Week?

12 years ago

I just cannot believe the butterflies I am seeing. I have been indoors most of the week nursing this dratted chest, upper respiratory, head junk....grrrrrrrrr. So, yesterday I decided to go and pull some plants out to sunnier conditions, check water, etc. These are the butterflies I saw:

Question Marks

Red Admirals

Variegated Fritillaries (male & female, laying eggs)

Painted Ladies

Clouded Sulphurs

Orange Sulphurs

Never have I seen this many VFs. I am beginning to think they are competing with the RAs for numbers this year.

We had another thunderstorm last night and it does seem like large numbers of butterflies nectaring precede the storms here lately. Today supposed to be cool - 66 degrees - so probably not as many on the wing!

Susan

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Comments (15)

bernergrrl
12 years ago
Hope you feel better soon--we're dealing with the chest cold thing here too.

We've had Question Marks and Red Admirals here (just posted about RA eggs!), and sulphurs and whites. I'm so happy to see these butterflies b/c I was afraid there would be none. So, I've been busy adding host plants of all kinds.

Do envy you the VFs--have never seen one.

Enjoy your butterflies! :)
butterflymomok
12 years ago
Susan, it's a banner butterfly year in Oklahoma! I hope you are feeling better. My wrist is doing pretty good.

Yesterday, I helped with the Tulsa BF count. 3 of us took on the Osage Trail (2 miles). One of the other women was in an electric wheelchair. She's been unable to walk for 15 years! Her wonderful companion dog also came with us. She is my heroine! The winds were blowing up to 40 miles an hour, but we still found lots of bugs. There were lots of wild blackberries in bloom. We saw a half dozen Monarchs, several Tigers, Viceroys, Variegateds, buckeyes, buckeyes, buckeyes, and Red Admirals. There were others, including all kinds of Sulphurs, and one of my favs--the Spring Azure. It was a good, but, very tiring day.

I came home and the Itea blooms are opening. They were covered with QMs, RAs, and Am Ladies.

My 60 Monarchs are starting to pupate. This is the best spring crop I've ever raised from eggs. I think every egg I collected hatched, and I haven't lost a caterpillar! Been collecting wild mw the last few days.

Lots and lots of PVSs flying and laying eggs, too.

We got a little rain last night, but probably nothing like you did.

Sandy
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Nancy, Welcome home! How tragic that accident must have been. I'm glad you made it home safely and can just picture Titan going all out to welcome you home. I'm glad GDW, you, Tom and Jerry survived Titan's enthusiasm. I hope the animals will leave you alone and let you sleep tonight. They might not want to let you out of their sight. The combination of heat/humidity has been awful, especially up there in the northeastern quarter of the state. Jennifer, Winter's harshness can depend somewhat on whether El Nino develops or not, and they usually don't really know if it is truly going to develop until almost December even though they can see changes in the Sea Surface Temperatures months before that. The problem is that sometimes SST changes signal that an El Nino (or a La Nina) is going to develop, and then something happens and it never develops or it develops and is very weak or it just fizzles out before it really can develop. 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This year I thought there were not many reseeding volunteers in the garden, but that was because they popped up late---in May and even in early June. Now I have basil growing in the middle of my Laura Bush petunias and my catnip, and they're all just slugging it out and fighting for control. Amy, I don't know how you get anything done with a grandkid climbing all over you. Nancy, Mortgage Lifter is a late variety, so it isn't a huge concern that it hasn't set much yet. In my garden, they tend to start late but set almost all summer even after other large-fruited tomatoes have stopped setting, so I consider their lateness a good thing---it keeps you in tomatoes late in the season. Jennifer, That is what I'd expect with a pumpkin plant. I think I was able to grow pumpkins and squash like crazy---more than a dozen varieties of each of them each year for the first 6 or 7 years we lived here. Then the squash bugs and SVBs found us and the squash and pumpkin party was over. I've never grown as many since, and mostly only C. moschatas because they can survive the SVBs and can outgrow the damage and diseases carried by squash bugs. In our climate, squash bugs and SVBs are just everywhere and are highly mobile and can travel long distances searching for food. It is just our cross to bear in this region, I guess. Jacob, And that is one of the reasons I've never even wanted to try the Florida Weave---I doubt I could keep up with it during the peak part of the growing season. I prefer cages because once I set them up and stake them, that's it, they're done and I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the season. So, y'all, today we had hornworms in our garden. Not tomato hornworms. Not tobacco hornworms. Nope. We had the hornworms of the White-lined Sphinx moth (probably the sphinx moth that is most abundant here in our area), which even is my favorite sphinx moth that I see flying around. I like them because they have a splash of pink on them. These were not the first White-lined Sphinx moth caterpillars we have had in the garden this year. There's been a couple before this. So, let's say that all this season, I've seen two of them in the garden and I relocated them outside the garden. Then, today, I looked across the garden and spotted a bat-faced cuphea plant that had been devoured. Just devoured. I walked across the garden to it and found 3 5th-instar hornworms on it. That was just the beginning. We found 13 hornworms on the cuphea plants, and Tim relocated them to the Back 40 behind the barn. Then tonight I found a 14th one. It was getting pretty dark so I relocated it to the ground beneath my shoe. Ooops. Were these creatures on the dozens of four o'clocks and daturas that we grow just for them? Nope. They were on one of my favorite little flowers that I raised indoors in flats under lights to ensure we'd have those flowers this summer. 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Tim and I went to Spanish Fort, TX, today to the cemetery where my paternal great-grandparents, grandparents and my oldest uncle (I think he was the oldest) and his wife are buried. They all died before I was born but we used to go with my parents, aunts and uncles to visit their graves and tidy them up every June. So, today, Tim and I went back for the first time in a very long time and hardly recognized the place. It is a very old cemetery, and one that never had a perpetual care plan in place, so whatever care it gets is from folks who have family buried there. The grass has largely been replaced over time by Mother Nature with wildflowers. It is so much more beautiful with all the wildflowers than it ever was with just the grass. Someone has cut down all the tall, very old cedar trees, and I used those cedar trees in the past to find the family graves, so it was harder to find them this time. 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And all those bees----while we gardeners may worry and fret about where all the bees have gone, I can tell you where thousands of them are....they are buzzing around the wildflowers in a tiny little old country cemetery that has been in use since at least the mid-1800s. Not many people have been buried in that cemetery in this century....most of the more recent burials are in the New Cemetery, established in 1939, but I didn't see many wildflowers and bees in that one, just a lot of short, clipped grass. If there is a shortage of bees anywhere in that county, it is just because there's not enough flowers elsewhere to lure them away from the old cemetery's wildflowers. I liked that cemetery with its flowers and bees. All cemeteries should be filled with wildflowers like that. It was just such a peaceful place, quiet except for the buzzing of the bees. Dawn
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christie_sw_mo
12 years ago
Not fair to have a cold when the weather is nice.

I saw a Buckeye yesterday that I think was laying eggs on the plantain in my yard. That's the first one I've spotted this year.
There were three Red Admirals and a Red Spotted Purple nectaring on my native ninebark yesterday. There isn't much else to nectar on right now in my yard since my creeping phlox is nearly finished blooming.
I've been seeing Black Swallowtails, Tiger Swallowtails, and Variegated Frits, but none of those more than once or twice a day.
Sulphurs and Whites - lots because we have a hayfield.

One Monarch a few days ago. (unless it was a Viceroy)

No Spicebush Swallowtails so far which seems odd to me because they were so plentiful last year.

No Giant Swallowtails or Pipevine Swallowtails yet.
MissSherry
12 years ago
Good, fun thread, Susan!

I'm so happy to hear that everybody is seeing lots of butterflies and their cats are doing well!

My monarch cats have all pupated, and it doesn't appear that any of them have a disease or have been parasitized - they all look healthy, too, Sandy. Last summer, mine were mostly parasitized, so this is a pleasure!

I'm seeing -

Red-spotted purples
Red admirals
American ladies
Question marks
Tiger swallowtails
Palamedes swallowtails
Spicebush swallowtails (most are cats)
Pipevine swallowtails (females still laying eggs)
Carolina satyr
Little wood satyr
Spring or summer azures
Cloudless sulphurs
Little yellows
Sleepy oranges
Buckeye!

I was touring the property the other day and noticed that the Agalinis had come up and was already pretty tall. That made me think about buckeyes, and then, speak of the devil, I saw my first buckeye of the year! I made a picture, but it turned out too blurry to post.

We had 2.20" of rain the other two days, and more is expected tomorrow - so far, knock on wood, the rain cycles have been nearly perfect, I've only watered once this spring.

Sherry
MissSherry
12 years ago
Susan, I'm envious, too, of all those variegated frits! I haven't seen a single one this year, and no cats have turned up on the passionvines or violets. Hopefully, they'll show up soon!

I forgot to mention seeing a giant swallowtail. Periodically I see one giant swallowtail flying through - I'm guessing it's a male, because I haven't found any eggs or cats.

Sherry
susanlynne48
Original Author
12 years ago
BG, I have never seen VFs in these numbers before, and I've been doing this for around 12 years now. One or two here and there and that's all. They are having a field day or days I should say, nectaring, mating, and laying eggs. They are not shy at all. I can stand right next to them as they nectar and they act like I'm not even there! LOL! This has been a wonderful opportunity to observe their behavior, etc. Color patterns appear to vary as well, from a butterscotch yellow to fairly bright orange. Some I can tell they are in the longwing family and not frit family, but others are shorter, rounder forewings. Much variation in size as well.

I have a few blooming things right now - Dallas Red Lantana, Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull', Verbena bonariensis, Dianthus, Spanish Lavender, white clover, but that's about it. I have so much to do - plant Zinnia, Tithonia, and other seeds I direct sow. Pot up my Oscar Milkweeds and Japanese MGs.

Sandy, my Purple Milkweeds are up and doing well. Slow growing, but they survived winter and probably my horrid gardening techniques Don't think A. sullivanti made it, tho. I have A. speciosa coming up everywhere and it is about to bloom, too. It's supposed to have a very pretty bloom so I can't wait.

I got my plants from Almost Eden this week, too, Lavendar Porterweed, Hamelia patens, and Miami Sunrise Tecoma. Can't wait to get these planted out as well. Am very anxious to see the blooms on the Tecoma. Supposed to be orange fading to yellow, a relatively new cultivar.

Christie, re: Spicebush Swallowtails. Sometimes a banner year is followed by a sparse year. Don't worry, they'll be along....... Have you planted another splendid Zinnia patch?

MissSherry - of course, there are many of your butterflies I'd love to see. I know it's very unlikely I'll ever see a Palamedes Swallowtail. I have seen a couple of RSPs, but doubt I'll ever see many and they are sooooooo gorgeous! Same for Viceroys. They just are not a butterfly found in urban areas here. Occasional strays only and I cherish these sightings.

I am missing Swallowtails of any kind this year. Haven't seen one at all. Too bad, I have all these big, blowsy, clumps of Fennel just waiting to whet their appetites. Maybe a bit later on.......

Susan
bandjzmom
12 years ago
Oh Susan..bless your heart. I can surely relate. I think that I have been sick for about 6 weeks now with that stuff. I've done 2 antibiotics, flonase, albuterol inhalers, and Mucinex galore. It's horrible. I sure hope you feel better soon.
Gosh, you are really seeing the butterflies already! I am not seeing all that many species here in NW GA yet. I am seeing lots of Tigers, and Whites, and I did see a Snout the other day.I have seen some large black butterflies, but they were too fast or too high for me to be able to ID. I had one hovering over my Weeeping Cherry the other day and wondered if there could be some egg laying going on. Happy butterfly season y'all!!~~Angie
linda_tx8
12 years ago
Hope you're over all this soon, Susan! We went through the flu in February and it kicked...well, it was really bad!
I'm seeing these:
Cabbage Whites...quite a few, other whites
Sulfurs of many kinds
GF's...butterflies and cats
Red Admirals...butterflies (tons, should set new records) and many cats
VF's...butterflies and cats (however, I've noticed a couple of their little corpses with tiny coocoons attached)
Pipevine Swallowtails...saw a few last weekend.. Earlier in spring (when I was seeing those butterflies before) I raised a couple cats I found, but they were parasitized and didn't make it.
Juniper Hairstreaks, other hairstreaks
Skippers, many kinds
American Ladies, butterflies...and lately a few cats on Sweet Everlasting
Painted Lady...butterflies...and cats on thistle. Tons and tons of thistle (with cats) are all over in southcentral Texas, so IMHO, a population explosion is likely.
Question Mark..seen a couple of them
Monarchs...saw them earlier, not lately. Still have 2 cats I found more recently, otherwise all are in chrysalis, I'm waiting for them to emerge. Some of the WILD milkweeds in the area were wiped out in the disaster last year or previous years and have not returned. But those wild milkweed that DID survive are doing well.
Tigers...I'm sad! I released 2 of the Two-tailed ones, but too far apart in time to mate. Otherwise, I've seen neither of the two species of tigers that come here...zero, breaks my heart.
No GST's either so far...I don't think I saw any last year either.
Blsck Swallowtails...not sure, but none so far that I could ID.
Not sure what I may have left out...my memory is not what it used to be. May have seen hummingbird moths. Some species of butterflies may have been wiped out in Texas (or parts of Texas) because of the extreme droughts/wildfires disaster we had in recent years.
MissSherry
12 years ago
You've seen a lot of butterflies, Linda! I sure hope no butterflies have been wiped out entirely because of the droughts in recent years!!

I forgot to mention that I saw my first silver-spotted skipper the other day, and last week a long-tailed skipper visited my garden for several days in a row, nectaring on lantana mostly. I've got plenty of their host plants available.

I've also seen many skippers of various types, one I'm pretty sure was a fiery skipper, the others, much plainer.

Sherry
caterwallin
12 years ago
Hi Susan, Sorry to hear about your being sick. I hope you get better real soon so you can enjoy the butterflies more.

Like usual, the first butterflies that I saw this year were Cabbage Whites and I see them almost every day. Others that I've seen are the Clouded Sulphur, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Pearl Crescent, and Question Mark. It's not a whole lot, but it's early yet. The one I've been seeing the most is the Wild Indigo Duskywing. Several of them are usually hanging around our driveway (loose stone).

I haven't seen any Red Admirals yet but hope to because my false nettle seems to be doing well, sprouting out nicely. I have about 50 plants, so there should be plenty of leaves for them to lay their eggs on. If I get any, it would be the first time having RA cats here.

I'm expecting the American Ladies to show up at any time and lay eggs on the pussytoes and pearly everlasting plants. I saw a Pipevine Swallowtail hovering around the pipevine yesterday, but maybe it was the one that I had released that same day. I don't know if they go to pipevine unless they have fertilized eggs though. I didn't see it lay any.

Yesterday was a very nice day and I released 2 PVS butterflies. Today is a gloomy rainy day and 20 of them eclosed and I released them right before it started raining. Now I see another eclosed since then. I'll put it outside when there's a break in the rain.

I haven't seen any Monarchs yet, which is good, I suppose, because my tropical milkweed plants are just a couple inches tall and still in the gallon milk jugs that I winter sowed them in.

Best of luck to you and everyone else seeing lots of butterflies this year. I hope that this is a banner year for all of them, if that isn't asking too much. :)

Cathy
linda_tx8
12 years ago
I forgot, there's two kinds of moths. Genista moths...hundreds on my place, everywhere there's any Texas Mountain Laurel...have even seen them on plants that are under six inches. Very unusual. I live in Texas Mountain Laurel country...the plants are everywhere. Eight-Spotted Forrester Moth...the cats have been eating their way through all the grapevines and Virginia Creeper on the property. I constantly find them crawling over the ground these days. It's really crazy here!
susanlynne48
Original Author
12 years ago
You're right, Linda, seems to be an explosion of Eight-Spotted Foresters as well as the Variegated Frits, Red Admirals, and probably several others. I have cats all over my Virginia Creeper. They sure are pretty in the larval stage as well.

Oh, those darned Genistas! They ate my Baptisia to the nub year before last - I hope they stay away. Grrrr......

Cathy, there are sooooo many Red Admirals this year, this will be the year for you to definitely have them visit. They are everywhere and I have so many eggs right now, I don't know if I will have enough FN to feed them all!

I do hope everyone has a great butterfly year. Seems like Swallowtails, except for Pipevine, may be in low numbers this year......Hmmmm.

Susan
christie_sw_mo
12 years ago
I've seen several Black Swallowtails this spring but haven't found a single egg on my Bronze Fennel or Rue so far. I'm sure they'll eventually show up. Those I can count on.

I have a young American Holly that's blooming right now and the Red Admirals seem to like it. The blooms are so tiny you can barely see them. Also saw a couple Red Admirals on my Tulip Tree flowers.

Susan - I had good intentions about starting some zinnias early this year but still haven't gotten around to it. I have lots of seeds and I know I'll regret it if I don't plant them soon. Got to get the weeds out of the way first.

Wish I had a big patch of SOMETHING blooming right now but just a few flowers here and there. Nothing to attract butterflies in big numbers. My verbena bonariensis is getting close to blooming. Maybe that will help.
susanlynne48
Original Author
12 years ago
Oh, yeah, Christie, the VB will definitely help. Another plant my butterflies are really drawn to right now is Coreopsis. The cultivar I grow is Jethro Tull, but I imagine almost any Coreopsis will do. I've had VFs, CSs, and Painted Ladies all over it. The White Clover in the lawn is also being used.

I just remember your beautiful Zinnias, and I have yet to plant mine either.....duh. I need to create some more space in the garden to sow mine. I've got Sombrero, Whirligigs, Cut & Come Again, and Chippendale, to plant yet, along with Tithonia Fiesta del Sol. The other Tithonias get too large and floppy and the leaves are just horribly ragged and crispy after a month in our heat. I water them plenty, but I am hoping that Fiesta del Sol is better behaved with tidier foliage. We'll see.

Susan
Tony G
12 years ago
It's been a more typical April in Minnesota after our May-like March. What has been great is all the rain we've gotten over the past few weeks! We had been in a moderate drought since Sept 2011, but I think it's over now.

Even with cooler temperatures, the red admirals seem to be out whenever the sun is...even when it's in the 50's!

We are headed into some warmer temps again. can't wait to see who flutters in for a visit! Tony

What Have You Seen in the Garden This Week?

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