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Isn't he a beautiful boy? August and September are the most glorious months around here for the butterflies. I posted a female monarch image a couple of days ago. If you are so inclined, you can compare to see how to tell the difference between the male and female. On the lower wings of the male, you will see pheromone pouches (little dots along the dark veins). The female monarchs do not have those pouches. However, the veins are usually a bit thicker. This is also the easiest way to tell the difference between Queen butterflies.
Enjoy your day and happy snapping.
After mating the pair remain in tandem so that the male can guard the female and stop other males trying to mate with her as they prepare for or rest during oviposition.
Female monarchs do not have to wait long at the nectar bar for a potential suiter to come along and sweep her off her wings. More often than not, there are more suiters than their are available females.
Have a beautiful day and happy snapping.
Diffused sunlight streaming through an overhanging Willow tree creates a really strange backdrop as a Migrant Hawker dragonfly skitters over the waters edge in pursuit of small insects
I'm not getting a lot of cooperation from my backyard beauties for this weeks theme "Frozen in Time" for the group Crazy Tuesday.
This beautiful Giant Swallowtail that stopped by for a while yesterday is most likely the best shot for the theme. Although, any shot of a butterfly that just comes to the yard could really count as Frozen in Time. Their wings rarely stop fluttering even when they are on a flower.
I was really holding out today trying to get a bird splashing about in a bath or the bog. Technically, I was doing that yesterday as well. That is the reason I spotted the Giant in the first place. The image was taken through my dirty window.
Those of you that read my stories know I like clean windows but Mr. B. is making that nearly impossible with his current bad habits.
Have a wonderful, and crazy Tuesday all. Happy snapping.
My first sighting of a female Orange tip in 2022. The Bee was a lucky addition but it didn't hang about for long
Please consider joining and donating at butterfly-conservation.org
Coming and going as they please, I am extremely grateful so many butterflies enjoy my yard. I have not raised any for several weeks now. Still, they are here in great numbers.
As I was photographing this lovely lady monarch, a female tiger swallowtail stopped by for a visit. I do believe she is the same tiger I photographed a few days ago. I will have to compare images but it looked like she had the same little bit of damage to her wings but not much more.
As for a butterfly count, there were so many I didn't even bother trying to count them. I saw one tiger, one viceroy, two spicebush swallowtails a couple of giant swallowtails, and a whole bunch of monarchs, pipevines, goldrims, sulfurs, and zebra longwings. Needless to say, it was a beautiful butterfly day.
Have a magical Monday and happy snapping.
Quarantine has been keeping me extra busy with my butterfly gardening hobby. Since I have not been able to host my normal back to back company, I have taken on the challenge of raising more than double of the normal amount of butterflies.
With that in mind, this butterfly season should prove to be spectacular. Normally I keep between fifty and one hundred in rotation. However, over the last few weeks I increased that number to two hundred and fifty. What was I thinking?
To tell the truth, I don't think I was using my brain at all when I made that decision. So, I am gearing down to get back to the normal rotation. After all, I do need to get something done, other than just feeding and cleaning up after caterpillars, LOL!
I hope you have a remarkable day and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you. Happy snapping.
What a wonderful treasure to discover. This lovely goldrim butterfly deposited several clusters of her golden eggs. They host on Dutchmans Pipevine, Trilobia and Fimbriata all of which are growing in my garden. Before long, the goldrims may outnumber the monarchs. I just love butterfly season. And this is only the beginning.
I hope your day is filled with joy and you discover some little treasure to enjoy. Happy snapping.
This lovely black swallowtail caught my eye while I was out with no camera in hand. I keep thinking I will be less distracted if I don't have the camera. However, I'm not sure why I bother going out without it because I always end up going back in to get it. More often than not, when I return, whatever caught my eye has already departed the yard. I was thrilled this beauty was still hanging out.
Black Swallowtails host on several varieties of spices, in my yard the host plant is parsley.
Enjoy your day and happy snapping.
Well now, it's a good thing for me that I make my own schedule. When little distractions like this come along I cannot help but lose a little time that was actually intended for chores. The way I see it is that the chores will still be there waiting for me but the distractions come and go.
The butterflies are still offering beautiful distractions and the migratory feathered friends are arriving to join the regulars. Autumn truly is a beautiful season in Florida.
The Catbirds, house finches, yellow throated warbler and the palm warblers have been making daily appearances. Dunbar (mockingbird) has been serenading me several times a day. The bluebirds are starting to show interest in the bluebird house. The wrens and the tufted titmice squawk at me when I go to collect food for the caterpillars that I am feeding in protective custody. I always get a chuckle out of that behavior.
The downy and red-bellied woodpeckers are visiting more frequently. The mourning doves are gathering in greater numbers. I have seen the black and white warbler on several occasions now and the northern parulas have increased in numbers. I believe I have a couple of vagrant parulas that stick around in the summer because they are here year-round but now there are more. The cardinals are out there, I do believe that they believe I can't see them when they are sitting pretty in the greenery, LOL. It can't be easy being red in a world of green.
There is a new little visitor. I have yet to get an image of him. He's friendly but I don't seem to have the camera out when he's about. He's small and really cute but I have no clue what he is. One of these days I hope to get at least an ID shot of him.
I do believe I mentioned chores earlier... Hmmm, I guess it's time to sweep, mop, dust and such. The caterpillars have already been fed and the feeding stations filled. If I hurry, perhaps I can play outside later today. Hehee, don't let me fool you, I play outside everyday. I can't help it, I'm easily distracted.
Have a fabulous Friday and happy snapping.