Yesterday as the sky was slowly turning into night and the eager Fourth of July enthusiasts were lighting off fireworks, the tropical checkered skippers found refuge in the garden.
Checkered
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Monthly Archives: July 2022
Eggs, eggs and more eggs
Brilliant orange
My butterfly garden was full of a brilliant orange this morning as a few gulf fritillary butterflies fluttered in feeding on the nectar flowers.
The nectar from the flowers holds both proteins and other chemicals, which help the butterfly both receive energy, or pheromones for males. When the butterfly is fluttering by a nectar plant it will look at the shape, color, fragrance and test the flower by using its antennae, palpi, tarsi (feet) and its proboscis, which all have sensory receptors.
I read in “Florida Butterfly Gardening” that the nectar may only be secreted during certain hours of the day, which may be why the butterflies are abundant during the morning hours.
The blanket flower
This blanket flower had a great surprise, it bloomed with two different colored petals on the same plant. This flower can be found from Florida to Maine and west to South Dakota and Arizona.
This flower reseeds itself, sometimes quite far from where originally planted, adding to the wild feel of my gardens. The petals, usually two toned with yellow and red, can also be found in solid red, or yellow, and purplish red. This is an extremely easy flower to grow in Southwest Florida as it requires full sun all day and sandy soils.
Now a regular
The cassius blue (leptotes cassius theonus) has become a regular visitor in our front garden. Today it seemed to enjoy the blanket flowers.
They are so tiny with a wingspan from 1.4 to 2.5 centimeters.
The males have bright blue wings, while the female has pale blue with dark borders. I am determined to photograph this little beauty with its wings open.
This species can be found in dune areas near the beach, margins of hammocks, as well as shrubby and disturbed areas.
They can also be found in gardens when you plant their host plant, or a variety of nectar. The butterfly will lay eggs on the bean and leadwort families, which includes herbs, vines, shrubs and trees.
I have the plumbago in the garden, which has become very bushy, making the tiny bluish green eggs hard to find.