It’s interesting to see just how far a caterpillar will crawl to find its final destination for a chrysalis. This polydamas swallowtail chrysalis is quite far from its host plant creating a bit of a shock when I spotted it on my daughter’s playground. It also surprised me the chrysalis was not brown to match the wood it created its chrysalis upon.
I have to say part of the fun of having a butterfly garden is the hunt of finding where the caterpillars end up.
Last night I spotted a gulf fritillary chrysalis near our butterfly garden. This morning the butterfly emerged and was drying its wings.
Did you know wings of a butterfly are hollow and double layered with tubular veins between the wax paper thin layers? According to the book “Florida Butterfly Gardening” there are five radial veins near the forewings edges. In addition, there are three medial and two cubital veins near the middle and outer portion of the wings.
The wings also have one, or two anal veins close to the hind margin of the wings. Again, according to the book “Florida Butterfly Gardening” all of those veins provide a closed polygon, cell, that radiate out at regular intervals.
The veins of course provide support for the butterfly’s delicate wings.
Did you know the wings are comprised of scales, with each one creating one cell. There is a short basal attachment of the scales to the butterfly. It is the scales that provide the coloring of the butterfly’s wings.
Although I do not know what species of dragonfly this is, it completely captivated my attention with the color patterns. It did not scare easily, as I took pictures while it sat on my citrus tree.
I am not quite sure of the name of this skipper, but it darted about just as fast as the others. I was excited when it sat on the giant milkweed and let me take a dozen or so photos.
Tonight while watering the gardens I spotted two monarch butterflies attached to one another fluttering about the garden.
It just goes to show that if you slow down enough you can watch the cycle of a butterfly in action.
The male, after successfully courting the female, will meet the top of the female’s reproductive opening by bending the tip of his abdomen and grabbing firmly with its claspers. This is done in opposite directions, and if disturbed the female will fly upside down while attached to the male. According to “Florida Butterfly Gardening” this can go on for hours as the male passes on its sperm.