zebra longwing or zebra heliconian with open wings.

These little beauties eat pollen as well as sip nectar. That helps them live a long life in comparison to other butterflies. It also helps them taste bad to predators.

I hope your day is filled with beauty and joy.

I have not regretted bringing in a bunch of these beauties to raise. With their inconsistency in how much time they take to eclose (hatch) after pupation, it's always a gamble. They can be ready to fly in a couple of weeks or several months. So far so good, I am considering myself lucky because they have been eclosing in a timely manner. Twenty-one have been released already.

I am not really a superstitious person but in this case, I believe I will cross my fingers and wish that the remainder will continue to eclose until the last one flies away. Not too far away, I want to see them in the yard.

In order to see any of them in the yard, there needs to be a lot of them flitting about. The goldrims seem to be a favorite caterpillar and favorite butterfly snack for the birds; Especially the Carolina Wrens. The wrens will perch and watch the butterflies then target one for a takedown. And they leave no leaf unturned while looking for the caterpillars.

Have a beautiful day and happy snapping.

This handsome male monarch is displaying his fabulous pheromone pouches as he sips nectar from the penta with his wings wide open. The pheromone pouches are the little raised dots along the veins near the abdomen on the lower wings.

Females do not have those dots. for comparison, the image to the right is of a female monarch.

Have a wonderful Wednesday and happy snapping.

dragonfly looking like it has propellers about to land in the dessert lol

There's a palamedes in the house... Okay, it's in the yard and not in the house but I always get so excited when these beauties visit. They are more rare than most of the other butterflies that visit. I say most because the zebra swallowtail is the most rare butterfly visitor I get. And yes, I will chase the palamedes and the zebra swallowtail all over the yard.

I have red bay and swamp bay in my yard, both are host plants for the palamedes. I have yet to find any eggs to raise in protective custody. Maybe one day :) The same goes for the zebra swallowtail, I have never found one to raise indoors. I do have paw paws, which are the host plants for the zebra swallowtail I saw one of those through the window the other day but when I went out to chase it, I was out of luck because it was no where to be found.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope your day is splendid. Happy snapping :)

dragonfly on the move

The background color from another angle of this monarch trio on the same red penta comes from my rain barrel in the distance. There are no shadows from this point of view between the flower and the barrel. Just full Florida sunshine.

Frederik Meijer Gardens

Thanks for views, comments and favs :)

Yay, the pipevine swallowtails as well as spicebush, giant and goldrims are starting to show up on a more frequent basis. Perhaps I will get the opportunity to raise some of these beauties soon. Gulf fritillaries and zebra longwings are also showing up more frequently and I actually was able to get several zebra longwing eggs and a couple of gulf fritillary eggs to put in protective custody.

Raising these and others happens to be very different than raising monarchs. Queens are similar to monarchs, they eat milkweed and they have a strong grip with their feet. They also have very sticky silk. So monarchs and queens do very well with the system I use for them. There are some images of the monarch / queen system in the raising monarchs album.

Each of the above mentioned swallowtails / butterflies that I raise have very different needs when it comes to protective custody. Over the few years that I have raised them, I have learned just what they need to thrive in protective custody. They can start out in the disposable trays but they must be moved prior to pupating. Most of them can not hold on to the lid like the monarchs and queens.

I do no have any plans to go into detail about how I raise the any of others like this pipevine swallowtail. Actually, the monarch series is only part of what goes into raising them.

Have a wonderful Wednesday and happy snapping.

german wasp take off

dragonfly reflection

It's such a treat to be able to see the beautiful Viceroy in the yard. I keep looking for caterpillars on the willow tree (host plant). However, so far they have eluded me. I would love to raise a bunch of these, they are easy to care for in comparison to the monarch.

The birds are very thorough when it comes to finding such a treat. Evidence shows they have been beating me to the caterpillars on a regular basis for the past few weeks. Hmm, the saying that the early bird gets the worm really holds true around here. The birds are out just before daylight and they can reach heights that I cannot.

I am persistent so perhaps I will find some to raise before butterfly season subsides for the year. I just hope the neighbors that can see into the yard don't think I'm too crazy while I stand on a step ladder as I search through the willow tree. Technically, they all know I raise butterflies so I'm sure most of them will understand. And since everyone seems to be working from home, I rarely go outside in my gown these days.

Have a terrific Tuesday and happy snapping.

A Brown Argus butterfly sips nectar from a single Great Willowherb flower. No5 in Smoke Ring series.

Cedar Springs, MI

Thanks for views, comments and favs :)

Spicebush swallowtails are especially active in the yard these days. They are super easy to raise indoors (lanai).

If I were to give a weather report for my area, I would have to say it's hot and humid with a good chance of butterflies.

As hot and sticky as it is, I love Florida Summers. This kind of weather is ideal for butterflies and I might be a little obsessed with butterflies. The more I have the more I want :)

It is truly amazing to walk outside and see 40 + butterflies in the yard and so any different kinds. I say 40 + because it's kind of impossible to count them all. Still the Palamedes, Tiger and Zebra swallowtails are rare but they do visit. Giant swallowtails are here daily, now that I have been raising them. Monarchs still rule in numbers though. I think they hang out longer because there is a lot of available milkweed. The other butterflies can go all over the place and find host plants in the wild, so they come and go as they please.

Thanks to all that visit, comment and fave my images. I love reading the comments even though I am behind on responding. Lately I've been finding I'm spending more time on visiting pages of those that comment than responding. I'll try and catch up with responding soon.

I hope your day is delightful, happy snapping.

I believe this is a small Tortoiseshell butterfly! I could be wrong!

Let's not forget the monarchs, they are here in decent numbers at the moment. I have been raising them since February and many of them stick around once released. I will be taking a short break from raising them because I'm going on a short vacation soon.

Is anyone planning a fabulous vacation this year? I have plans for a couple of short ones and one long one. The first is to the Washington DC area to see family, the second will be somewhere in Florida. Florida is always nice for a vacation and the third will be to Costa Rica. I'm looking forward to all of them but I must say the Costa Rica trip is very exciting to me, I've never been out of the USA for any reason.

I know this is not my normal type post, but life is just not normal since I retired, I'm working about 50 hours a week :)

Have a wonderful day, happy snapping.

This image was taken while I was on the bourbon trail during my journey home from Ohio. I keep saying that I will never drive to and from Ohio again. This trip I compromised and flew to Ohio and drove home, stopping at multiple points of interest over a four day period. While the Buffalo Trace Distillery tour was great, I was more excited to see my very first red spotted purple butterfly in person. Prior to this I have only seen them in photos. Just prior to leaving for my trip, I had gone to Sweet Bay Nursery in search of willow trees to feed the viceroy caterpillars I had collected. While there the owner suggested I might want to get a wild cherry tree because it is a host for the red spotted purple. So, I bought two wild cherry trees. One to keep in protective custody to use as food for caterpillars and one to plant outside for them to lay their eggs on if I am so lucky to start seeing these beauties in my yard . Only time will tell, but they are in my area so there is a decent chance that they will start visiting now that I have their host.

Have a fantastic day and happy snapping.

Orange tips I think

I love the pollen powder falling from the flower

To date March 28, 2021:

Released: 37

Pupae stage: 68

Protective custody: 25

On their own: Who knows? Everywhere I look I see caterpillars. I cannot possibly bring them all in. The birds are happy about that but they have not been able to keep up with eating all the ones I haven't collected.

It looks to be a great butterfly season all around. I will not be counting them after this, just raising and releasing. As long as the milkweed supply is available, the goal is to keep 20 - 30 munching away at any given time until mid-November. This is for monarchs and queens only. That will allow a little time for me to raise the non-milkweed-eating caterpillars as well.

I did a bad, bad thing... Not really but, Yikes! I collected Polydamas caterpillars too. Many of the over-winter guys have not emerged as of yet so I may have to create more protective space just for the new guys. Although, one did hatch yesterday and was released. Come on guys, it's time to fly!

I do hope you enjoy your day. Happy snapping.

Erynnis tages,The Dingy Skipper butterfly is becoming increasingly rare in the UK

So much for trying to get things done and leaving the camera in the house. Butterfly season is off to a fantastic start. I was on my way in the house and was ignoring this little gulf fritillary and a giant swallowtail came flitting through. I decided to grab the camera even if only for a moment. By the time I returned the giant had departed but this little beauty was still enjoying nectar from the red penta in front of the lanai. I aimed, took a few shots and went on about my business. If it were not for having to get ready for dinner guests I would have played in the yard all day.

The best man from yesterdays video clip took quite a beating in order to win his prize. There were a few others that were not ready to give up the pursuit so this new monarch couple could go on their honeymoon.

Things worked out in the end, with the victor taking a quick stop to catch his breath on the holly, where this shot was snapped. Then he whisked his new bride off to oak tree number three and the others did not follow.

A Ruddy Darter settles on an overhanging grass