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.

common flesh fly I think

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.

Silbergrüner Bläuling

Hoverfly Cheilosia pagana takes pollen and nectar from a Goat Willow flowerhead or Catkin.

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.

Plenty of sunshine, a few clouds, highs in the upper 80's, a 100 % chance of butterflies, and a 20% chance of rain.

With only a 20% chance of rain, it's probably not going to happen. If I were planning a picnic, I certainly wouldn't cancel it for a mere 20% chance of rain.

Yesterday's butterflies:

Monarchs

Sulfurs

Zebra longwings (zebra Heliconian)

Tiger Swallowtail

Zebra swallowtail (first on this year)

Spicebush swallowtail

Giant swallowtail

Polydamas swallowtail (goldrim)

Gulf Fritillaries

Skippers

Southern white

Common blue

Rain or shine, I hope your day is splendid. Happy snapping.

A lovely female monarch and a goldrim (polydamas) are sharing some nectar from a purple penta flower. It's going to be a beautiful summer.

Have a wonderful day and happy snapping.

Caught this bee just after sunrise, guess it had been there all night...soon after lots of bees started to fly up from their overnight repose. Do bees dream honeyed dreams?

After emerging from it's cocoon, this male io moth spent the day drying it's wings a the tip of a crape myrtle stem. After a full day of getting the opportunity to photograph this beautiful moth, it flew off just after sunset.

A mature Male Common darter perches on the end a Bulrush leaf to catch the warmth of the sun.

These beauties come and go during butterfly season. They don't hang out all day long, nor do I see them daily. I assume they are making the rounds to all of the citrus trees in the area in order to find a female if they are male and to lay eggs if they are female. Their host plants are orange trees, lime trees and wild lime. I have a tiny orange tree and a tiny lime tree but more importantly, I have four large wild lime plants. The wild lime blooms but it does not fruit. Giants will pass up an orange or lime tree to lay their eggs on the wild lime.

Have a wonderful weekend and happy snapping.

Hanging out on a orchid root.

This beautiful boy seems to be a freshie. The other monarchs flitting about have a lot of age on their wings. But not this guy. I am not ready to begin raising them yet this year but it won't be long.

Have a wonderful day and happy snapping.

This Mississippi Kite is a rare visitor for our area. This being the year of the Brood X Cicada may have helped bring it here. I caught it with one in it's right foot flying back to the tree to eat it. Haycock Township Building, Harrisburg School Rd, Quakertown, PA.

The migratory season is over for the most part and I sure do miss my little wintering feathered friends. However, butterfly season is off to a great start. Yes, yes, I know I live in Florida. Hehee, I judge what season it is by what's happening in my yard more so than the weather changes.

I have released just over 200 monarchs already this season. I am raising a few zebra longwings at the moment. And it sure is nice to see this lovely queen in the yard. Perhaps I will get lucky and be able to raise some of these in the near future.

The giant, black, and spicebush swallowtails, goldrims, and gulf fritillaries have all started making appearances in the yard as well.

I certainly hope everyone has a magnificent Monday. Happy snapping.

Many butterflies are still flitting about the garden. Although, I have to say the more migratory birds that join the bird show the fewer butterflies I see. Hmmm, I wonder why.

Today, it was rather easy to count the monarchs, there are fourteen out there enjoying the milkweed. I saw a giant swallowtail today, that's the first for a few days. Several zebra longwings are flitting about and there are still a few goldrims, sulfurs, gulf fritillaries, and so on. Speaking of goldrims, yes, I still have some in the pupae stage from earlier in the year. Those guys are so unpredictable. And yes, I am raising a few more. I must be a gluten for punishment.

The milkweed is in full bloom once again, it blooms in the spring and again in the fall. At least that is the case for milkweed here in my area of Central Florida. Soon there will be thousands of seeds to share with people that are interested.

I like to use wedding favor bags on the seed pods so I can capture the seeds when they are ready to disperse. That way I have some to distribute in authorized areas of the garden and can easily give some to friends and neighbors.

I hope your day is splendid and your autumn is absolutely delightful. Happy Snapping.

This handsome male monarch was resting a bit. All that flying around looking for a pretty lady must be exhausting. I didn't see very many lady monarchs in the yard today.

This is a close up of a beautiful male queen butterfly. You can tell the difference between the males and females by the pheromone pouches (dots) that the males have on their lower wings near the abdomen. You can tell the difference in monarchs in this manner as well. The females do not have those dots.

It would be nice if butterflies would cooperate a bit more when being photographed. I was hoping for a more open winged image to show off those dots a bit better. In this image they are visible but the upper wings are touching them.

Queens are not often seen in the yard, the monarchs chase them off promptly when are noticed. I'd say this is because they use the same host plant (milkweed) and their young will have to compete for food.

I hope your day is full of the little things that bring you joy. Happy snapping to all.