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Butterfly Garden

Frog -1 Butterfly - 0

13 years ago

I was watching a black swallowtail nectaring on some short zinnias in the garden and a frog jumped out from under the peonies and eat it ! I stood there blinking, I couldn't believe I just witnessed that. The pond is 15 feet away and I never expected a frog would set an ambush like that. I feel bad for the BST :(

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Comments (7)

runmede
13 years ago
What time of day was it? They usually go out of the pond and hunt in the evening.
catherinet
13 years ago
Wow. What kind of a frog was it? A bullfrog natbe?
I had a green frog this year that spent its time everywhere else but around the pond. I'm thinking its because I have several northern water snakes. Its a very, very small pond and I sure wouldn't feel safe in it, if I were a frog.
What a bummer for your BST. Its that darned circle of life thing! And you'll feel sorry for the frog, when an owl gets it. And you'll feel sorry for the owl when.......
I spend alot of my time feeling bad.
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I've got jillions of those little green lizards, too - anoles - and I've only seen them eat a caterpillar once, and that was a cutworm. They eat lots of hard-bodied insects here. The manuals that they sell in pet stores list various hard insects as their preferred food, with caterpillars rarely eaten, so I think if you have a healthy ecosystem, they won't eat your cats. I've never seen a frog eat a butterfly or caterpillar either, just bugs, so if they eat any, it can't be often. In my area, the biggest predators on caterpillars are wasps and stinkbugs, and about the only predators on adult butterflies are mantids and spiders, but, again, these attacks are rare. For whatever reason, in my area this year the wasps have been fewer in number than in years past, but the stinkbugs have been everywhere! MissSherry
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Hi Two funny stories about that behavior. had a neighborhood cat that every morning would jump up to the edge of the pool get a drink and groom a bit. I put in some large Koi . The cat started his ritual BUT the Koi grabbed his whiskers ,cat was so startled he jumped 3 feet into the air landing in the water. Koi helped him get out.lol Night herons quickly learn that by disturbing the water surface they can get the fish to come to them. I've watched them use a stick and the fish will gather in a group expecting food lol One caught 12 fish in a row even with that the fish still didn't scatter !!! All he had to do was hold still and they came running right back lol. gary
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jeanner
Original Author
13 years ago
Nope, it was mid-afternoon. I have several frogs that wander out during the day and sit under some St. John wort bushes that have low hanging branches.... apparently they also hang out under the peonies too.
jeanner
Original Author
13 years ago
Catherine, you have such a big heart :) I do know how you feel though. I think it was one of my green frogs since the bullfrogs tend to stay closer to the pond. I think my northern watersnake got eaten by the heron. It's ever changing ... sometimes for the better, sometimes not.
catherinet
13 years ago
Hi jeanne,
I didn't realize that smaller frogs took on bigger butterflies. I guess I'll try to grow taller flowers, just to be on the safe side!
I have a couple extra water snakes I could send your way. ;)
catobsessed
13 years ago
I'm sorry - that had to be kind of traumatic to see with no warning. My pondis dug, but doesn't have water in it yet, but last night while mowing, my husband saw our first toad. I had no idea they ate butterflies - why should they, with so many juicy flies and bugs around? If the Barn Swallows, Chimmney Sweeeps and Bats eat any butterflies, it must not be very many, cause I see them eat so many other bugs! Sorry for your loss.
annainok
13 years ago
Please don't feel "bad" when you see something like this. Knowing that you are experiencing a full "cycle of life" means that positive things are happening in your little corner of the world! All is as it should be. Having a balanced ecosystem means you have an established give and take between predator and prey. If anything gains the upper hand and an imbalance results, you will see more problems than the occasional loss of a butterfly to a frog.

Anna

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?what to do with this little guy?

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