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Butterfly Garden

I Found a Variegated Frit Egg!

12 years ago

I was out working in the yard and saw a butterfly I didn't immediately recognize because I see it so rarely. It was a VF! She was all over the ground beneath the pine tree, searching and searching for something. I watched to see if she was in an egg laying mood; she ignored the PV suckers, though, and went to the Violets. I found 1 egg layed between the leaf and stem on the tiniest Viola leaf. I didn't check the other Violets yet. She flew low to the ground, though. and nectared on my Dallas Red Lantanas. It didn't seem to bother her that I was working around that area either.

Hurrah! A first ever for me. I now have VF egg(s) and Red Admiral eggs!

Susan

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Comments (5)

MissSherry
12 years ago
Congrats, congrats, Susan - I just love variegated frits!
They always use the passionvines here before the gulf frits arrive and take over, then use the violets.
I've got kazillions of red admirals, too! I'm not raising them all myself, most are outside, but if all these make it, it'll be the year of the red admiral for sure!
Raising VFs on violets is harder than raising them on passionvines, at least it has been for me, because violets are harder to keep fresh in water.
Good luck!

Sherry
christie_sw_mo
12 years ago
Congrats! I didn't know Variegated Frits would use violets. I am starting to get quite a few dark purple violets volunteering here and there in my yard. I kept them hoping for more Great Spangled Frits but now I feel bad when I mow.

I didn't see any Gulf Frits last year but I'm hoping the freaky warm spring we've had will encourage them to wander further north this summer. Maybe I'll see some other unusual butterflies too.

I found eight Eastern Tiger eggs yesterday on a small volunteer Tulip Tree. The new leaves on a Tulip Tree are kind of hard to keep fresh too and these eggs won't hatch for a few days. For things that wilt easily, I've been keeping them in a humid container rather than something mesh. I've tried using a mesh container for Tulip Tree branches before and the leaves get wilted or crispy even if the stems are plenty wet.
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Thanks, Angie! Rick, we've been having a much below normal butterfly year here, too. I haven't seen any variegated frits this year, either. I also haven't seen any palamedes swallowtails lately (which makes me wonder about ambrosia beetles and the red bay kill off) or black swallowtails or monarchs. I've seen at least two female tiger swallowtails recently, and they hanging around the woods with that "I'm laying eggs look" but I don't find many of their eggs/cats - most are laid too high up. I do have two spicebush swallowtail cats, plus two red-spotted purples, with five more eggs on the little cherry tree that I'll be getting soon. And I just released a cloudless sulphur (undoubtedly a female, many spots and red edge) that came from a pretty pink chrysalis, so butterflies aren't completely gone here, but they're scarcer than I can ever remember it. Between the rainy, cool spring and all the logging around here, things just aren't the same. There are plenty of checkered skippers and normal numbers of the various types of sulphurs, but they use 'weeds', not trees. I'm protecting those I find, though - it's more important than ever to keep from feeding those predators! Sherry
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Cathy, you are so fortunate because you get those gorgeous Great Spangled Frits up where you live. We are too far south of their range. They see them in the NE part of our state, but not down this far. Linda, I've never had them on my P. incarnata. I've seen them flying in my yard, but never found any cats. It could have been I just missed them in the Gulf Frit deluge, though, too. I need to find another P. incarnata, but Precure hadn't gotten any of them in yet, and didn't know if they would. I imagine I can find one at TLC or possibly Horns or Satterlee's, but they're so darned expensive! These Blue Violets sure did attract them. Today I saw a HUMONGOUS Question Mark in the front yard. Had to be a female. Hope she left some eggs on the Hops in the front yard. I already have some in the back yard. Also saw a Red Admiral as well. I keep checking my False Nettle......... I'm almost convinced I should try it in pots. They are supposed to be hardy, but maybe my drainage wasn't good enough or something. Who knows. I've got to get my containers cleaned out, but I've been so busy trying to plant things. Susan
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I found the last, biggest VF cat running fast in the various violets and other low vegetation in a raised bed in my garden, the same one where I found the first one. There are so many violets planted in the beds, there could be others that have strayed far from where they hatched. It occurred to me that it's possible this one (or the other one, for that matter) might have hatched on the P. incarnata that are in the same bed, so I added a piece of young, tender passionvine to the leftovers container with the violets - the second cat is now eating the passionvine! You just never know, do you? Sherry
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Hi!! new to posting here, but I am sharing your frustration over GSTs. I just ordered 3 more from Shady Oaks, and two bit it by the time I got up this morning. I thought maybe a tiny spider was getting the one itty bitty, but I couldnt see too well, but it may have been another cat I saw balled up over him. Thinking it was a spider, I swatted it away. So I have one lone cat left, just like last time. The last one got really big, and I guess he finally wandered off to pupate. But he sure didnt move much. So I will watch the one ittbitty. I did get some really huge PVSTs. I have never seen one! I really hope they pupate alright. And after being so sad over not getting any BSTs on my very lush fennel, I ordered some along with this order, and presto! new hatched cats! Oh and GF when just hatched look like short little yellow strings. Then they get red. I watch them munching out my kitchen window.The funny thing also is my mom thought I was insane when I started getting into this, so that my then 5 yo son could see the lifecycle, after awhile, and taking her to Shady oaks for the tour, she absolutley loves it too now. This is addictive. They're like my little babies!!--Traci
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susanlynne48
Original Author
12 years ago
That is good info to know about the Tulip Tree, Christie! Thanks!

The VF egg I found was on the tiniest, just sprouted Violet. So, apparently they like newly emerging growth on both the PV and Violets. Go figure. Yesterday I found 2 eggs on a PV sprout. They do choose the newest growth, with a barely there leaf and stem. I had been looking at the larger (around 5" plus) for eggs and finding none. But checking the smaller sprouts, ones you can barely discern are actual PV sprouts, yielded positive results.

I saw another VF at my daughter's house yesterday, nectaring on the white clover. This is the first year I've ever seen 2 within a day of each other, so I am wondering if there is a larger population of these, too, as well as the Red Admirals (who were visiting the yard again yesterday).

Christie, I did not get any GFs last either. It was a really bad drought year, and they just didn't move to Oklahoma from Texas, or perhaps very Southern Oklahoma. I sure hope we get them this year, too. I have PLENTY of passion vine now for them and I LOVE to see the garden swarming with GFs!!

Susan
Lisa_H OK
12 years ago
Susan, I was just searching for gulf frit info! I have a ton of passionvine. That one particular vine never died back this winter. I also have a some new ones poking their heads up. I hope the GFs show up this year. I'm growing all of them for THEM!! ;)

I have pics I took last night, I'll have to post them.

My pipevine is slowly inching along...
susanlynne48
Original Author
12 years ago
Lisa, I have P. incarnata and P. 'Lavender Lady'. The incarnata is popping up everywhere, but LL doesn't usually come up unti late May or June. I sure hope we get a lot of GFs this year, since I had none last year.

I had 3 Red Admirals feeding on the banana suet feeder last evening about 6 p.m. They are everywhere this year!

Susan

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?what to do with this little guy?

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