The ladybugs remain in the garden, doing what they do best, getting rid of insects such as aphids, on the plants. This one I found crawling around on my Bahama cassia tree.
Love spotting these
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Monthly Archives: July 2023
And it continues
It has been a fantastic year so far for the orange barred sulphur caterpillars. I am always finding more and more when I check my Bahama cassia tree. They blend so well with the leaves, that often times I do not find them until they are closer to creating their chrysalis.
I mean really, is there anything better than inviting so many species of butterflies into your garden, giving you an up close and personal view of their life cycle? I always feel like a little kid every time I spot a butterfly, or caterpillar. A hobby, turned to passion.
The gorgeous polydamas swallowtail
The swallowtail butterflies are absolutely stunning. It’s always fascinating for me to see the transformation from a caterpillar to a chrysalis to a butterfly.
The polydamas swallowtail caterpillars are viscous eaters who take a long time to reach their desired size. I always know when I have caterpillars chowing down on the Dutchman pipe because more than half of the leaves fall to the ground as they find the perfect spot to eat.
This morning the first of more than 20 emerged in our butterfly house. This beauty stuck with me for a while before it crawled on the porterweed to hang out a little longer.
This marks 26 that we have successfully raised and released.
The polydamas, also known as the gold rim swallowtail, tailless swallowtail and scientific name Battus polydamas lucayus, lays its eggs on the Dutchman pipe. This is the only swallowtail that lacks the tails at the base of the secondary wings, according to the University of Florida.
This species can be found throughout peninsular Florida, as well as in the Florida Keys. There are some that wander as far north as Missouri and Kentucky.
For more information, check out the link below, which includes quite a few photographs.
My sunshine
This morning we had two rays of sunshine emerge from their chrysalis in our butterfly house. The larger of the two was not interested in having its photo taken. As soon as I put my finger inside, it crawled on and then took flight right away. The sulphur was absolutely stunning as it spread its gorgeous wings.
The one below hung out with my daughter and I for a while, before I put it on one of the zinnia flowers I grew from seed. It eventually flew to the roof and sat for a while before it flew away.
I absolutely love the sulphur butterflies. The yellow is so bright and sunny, leaving you smiling. They remind me of my daughter, as I have sung her “You are my Sunshine,” since she was a baby.
Quick rescue
I have a love, hate relationship with the maypop passionvine. It’s absolutely stunning, and a wonderful host plant for the gulf fritillary butterfly, but wow, super invasive.
So, this afternoon, when my husband tells me he is going to mow the yard . . . . a major maypop passionvine rescue quickly went underway for all that has grown out of the garden, and with it many gulf fritillary caterpillars into the butterfly enclosure.
The great part was there is more maypop passionvine that went to my mom’s garden, and almost a dozen more into my front garden. It really is the plant that continues to give. I seriously will not run out of caterpillar food anytime soon.
