Ant taking a ride on a Swallowtail!

Konrad___far_north

18 years ago

This Summer

Common Alpine

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Comments (16)

minrose
18 years ago
How lovely these are, how cute with the ant.
kentuck_8b
18 years ago
Very nice, Konrad! I never have seen a Common Alpine before.

The stow-a-way ant is really cool.

In the second photo, is that a plum tree, or perhaps an apple tree?

Kt
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Interesting.....thanks for the posts. It very well may not be a black swallowtail egg then. I've checked my other dill plant as well as my fennel plants and have seen no other eggs. It is still there, and I'll continue to keep an eye on it, but it definitely doesn't seem to be yellow like the one on the link. One other question: I have fire ants in my yard and primarily in my gardens. Aside from the mess of just having to deal with them, they have never been much of an issue. So, I haven't done much with them. However, given that they are butterfly predators, what are the best ways to keep them out of my butterfly garden without laying insecticide down everywhere?
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Yes, my porch is covered and is in shade. If yours isn't covered, that might indeed be too hot for them. I don't really know how much sunlight they can take, because mine have never had any, just heat. Since you're house temperature is 74 degrees, maybe you should just leave them where they are. It'll probably take longer for them to emerge than they would on a covered porch, but I can't guarantee that they wouldn't be harmed on your open porch, especially since you're in north Texas. Also, if the container they're in doesn't protect them from ants, they could get eaten by them. Sherry
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We did our local July 4th NABA Butterfly count yesterday. I helped my friend Amy at Redbud Valley, one of our local nature areas. Amy is a naturalist, employed by the city of Tulsa. She works at Oxley Nature Center and Redbud Valley. Everyone wanted to do Oxley, as there is lots of nectar available right now, so it was just the two of us. Anyway, part of the hike goes through an area of Spicebush, so we checked out the plants. There was lots of evidence of predation. We found two small live caterpillars, one in a leaf roll with a mass of eggs on the underside. The eggs were so small, they could only be seen with a magnifying glass. Amy sent the two live cats home with me to raise. I'll return them to the area when they eclose. I removed the leaf with the eggs on it, and moved the cats to a small potted Spicebush. The temps here were 104 in the afternoon. We were exhausted and extremely sweaty after our 4 hour up and down hike. Not much nectar available, and not many bugs out--just 19 species. But we did get to add Spicebush to our count. Sandy
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Lots of Pipevine Swallowtail Caterpillars!
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Comments (26)
When it gets down to 40 degrees at night, I call that winter, Terrene! I watched the weather tonight, and they said that it was supposed to be in the 60's here at night in late September, so I guess it isn't all that unusual. Hearing that the country was supposed to have a 'bitterly cold winter' must have swayed my opinion, or maybe I just want them to overwinter, so I can get some rest! :) I can't recall a green chrysalis of any type butterfly, including black swallowtails, ever overwintering here, but my senior mind might be wrong. If you've had them overwinter, maybe I have, too. We still have a LOT of hummingbirds here, but then they don't normally leave until mid-October, with a few ruby throat stragglers showing up at the feeders in late October. Last winter I got a rufous hummingbird for the first time - 'sure hope I get one this winter! I'm still raising one variegated frit and some gulf frits, although most GFs are raising themselves outside. I may bring some hatchling red-spotted purples in to raise, or I may leave them outside. I released a RSP the other day, and have two more chrysalides. I'm also raising two more spicebush swallowtails and have a lot of chrysalides. The luna moths FINALLY quit eating and have all made their cocoons, thank goodness - I hope they all overwinter. The pipevines are making a lot of new growth, so if a pairing of pipevine swallowtails takes place, the vines will be ready. Terrene, if Massachusetts used to get pipevine swallowtails, they still could do so - Cathy in Pennsylvania gets them. If I were you, I'd plant some some pipevines! Sherry
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ronf_gw
18 years ago
Fantastic pictures!!
Ron
gmom74
18 years ago
Your butterfly pictures are beautiful. I love that hitchhiker.
chris_in_iowa
18 years ago
konrad___far_north,

Can you please tell us what equipment you used to take the photo of the butterfly with the ant on its butt please?

We in the greenhouse forum need help!!!!!

Thanks.....

Here is a link that might be useful: Greenhouse and structures forum.
kentuck_8b
18 years ago
Do you have ants in your greenhouses?
chris_in_iowa
18 years ago
Ants, butterflies, mice, toads, frogs, wasps, spiders, groundhogs and raccoons to name a few!

Oh and a couple of the posters over there have a few flowers!

Seriously we are interested, and basically clueless about taking real close up close ups and what is the most cost effective way of doing it.

Inanimate objects I put on the scanner, but spiders and flowers look a bit squished when you do that!

(well I am clueless. the others over there can at least work a VCR)

:)
kentuck_8b
18 years ago
What kind of camera do you have?

Some cameras will let you take macro photos and some won't unless you have special lenses.

Kt
chris_in_iowa
18 years ago
At the moment all I have is a Kodak DX3500.

Some of the posters on the greenhouse forum want to take close up shots of orchids.

I would like to take pics of the spiders and wasps I get in my greenhouse in the fall.

I guess the reason we are all interested in what type of equipment we should be looking at is because after Christmas comes the sales.
kentuck_8b
18 years ago
It would also be a good idea to use a tripod or some similar device to hold the camera still.

I'm not familiar with the Kodak DX3500. I will have to look into it tomorrow and let you know what I find.

Getting late here, need to go re-charge my batteries...

Kt
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
18 years ago
Thank you all!

The pictures I shot with a canon rebel, about 4 feet away, using a 70 mm - 200 mm F2.8 lens and a 2x converter, making the lens a 400 mm reach.
But...I don't think you have to go this expensive, there are point and shoot cameras with macro settings, my wife has
a canon S2 IS and she likes it.
One thing you have to consider with these cheaper cameras, you get the most value for the money and make
excellent pictures but when it comes to fast action shots, like moving targets, the camera is a bit slow in processing
and more pictures have to be taken to get a good one. Overall, a great buy for the money!

Here some examples...
Macro, camera has to be very close to the subject!

..
using zoom

Konrad
kentuck_8b
18 years ago
Konrad, Excellent photos! You do a great job!

Kt
kentuck_8b
18 years ago
Chris, can't find enough info online about the Kodak DX3500...but I'm still looking.

Kt
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks so much, Kt...this compliment goes to my wife.
Konrad
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
18 years ago
>>In the second photo, is that a plum tree, or perhaps an apple tree?>>
These are Evans cherry, [sour cherry] blossoms.

{{gwi:120445}}
kentuck_8b
18 years ago
Thanks Konrad, that would explain the blooms being so close together. Nice photo of the cherries!

Kt

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Ant taking a ride on a Swallowtail!

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minrose

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Ant taking a ride on a Swallowtail!

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