Late yesterday afternoon a fresh looking American lady spent hours nectaring in my garden - must be the one I recently released -
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Sherry

Beautiful pictures, Sherry! Congratulations on your releases! Yesterday my first Black Swallowtail eclosed that overwintered out in our tool shed, and I'd say within an hour after that I had one show up here and lay an egg on the fennel. I didn't get a chance to see if there are any others out there on the parsley, dill, or rue. I brought the egg in; I broke off the fennel and stuck the piece in a florist tube. I'm so behind with the gardens and now these butterflies are showing up and laying eggs. Oh dear! :) It's starting off looking like a good butterfly year hear again. Yay! It sounds like it is there at your place too!
Cathy

Now that's a quick turn around time, Cathy, release a swallowtail and right then you get eggs!
I released two more American ladies today - that's the most satisfying part, releasing the adult butterflies!
Sherry

Found a good video of an RSP. Says it is the "lifecycle" but the egg and early instars are not part of the cycle.

The good part is the RSP eclosing. I remember back when I spent oodles of time getting good video of monarchs eclosing. Since I don't raise many RSPs, getting an eclosure video would be like me winning the lottery.

KC

Here is a link that might be useful: RSP life cycle

your butterflies are beautiful! Maybe one day I will have some time for releasing some of my own :)

How fun for you, great photos.

Nice video, KC!
I released another red-spotted purple yesterday. It was the last from the group of five willow-eaters. The first three turned out to be viceroys (Surprise thread) and the last two were RSPs. Don't know what my three little willow eaters are going to turn out to be, but I've got three wild black cherry eaters who will definitely be RSPs.
I guess I take RSPs for granted, they're so plentiful here, especially this year. They're certainly a beautiful butterfly!
I took this picture the day the first viceroy emerged. There was a red-spotted purple who had also emerged, and I got a picture - the viceroy was up close, which made it look bigger, plus this was a small, undoubtedly male, RSP. Red-spotted purples are, on average, bigger than viceroys. I noticed while raising them, that the viceroys pupated early - I wondered what was "wrong" with these RSPs to pupate so soon, and would they be abnormally small? :)
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Sherry

LOVE the pictures, especially the one with the RSP on the flag! What is the 2nd plant that the American Lady is snacking on Miss Sherry? Very pretty!

It's Centratherum intermedium/Brazilian button, Melissa.
The sweet local nursery owner sold it last year, and the ones she didn't sell, she planted in the ground behind her nursery. This spring, after they started showing new growth, she dug them up, potted them up, and sold them for a very cheap price. I'd seen this plant in Bustani's catalog and thought it would be a good butterfly nectar plant, but didn't order it, because I wasn't sure how hardy a Brazilian plant would be. Apparently, pretty hardy! Actually, it's not that surprising, since my Ruellia elegans/Brazilian petunias are super hardy. These Brazilian buttons remind me of the native wildflower (but not native here) Centaurea americana/basket flower. Each flower is making a LOT of seeds, so I'm deadheading them as soon as they look spent.
If anybody wants any seeds, let me know, and I'll let some go to seed. Brazilian button is real popular with the smaller butterflies.
Sherry