Category Archives: zinnia flower

A male emerged

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We have taken a break from raising monarch caterpillars for the last few months until my husband spotted a caterpillar crawling up our lanai screen looking for a place to make its chrysalis. I put the caterpillar in our butterfly house and it instantly found a branch to make its J and create its green chrysalis. Yesterday a beautiful male monarch successfully emerged and was released in our garden.

He chose a zinnia to rest on and then a red sage before taking a longer flight out of the garden.

This beauty marks No. 429 that we have raised and released.

The monarch butterfly’s scientific name is Danaus Plexippus, which means “sleepy transformation” in Greek. The male has two black spots in the center of its lower wings and are larger in size than the female. According to the National Wildlife Federation, the spots are scent glands, which help the males attract females.

Our second

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Each butterfly is so incredibly unique and beautiful in their own way.

As with every species, I am in awe of the coloring of the white peacock butterfly. The journey that began more than three years ago has been incredibly gratifying for the simple fact that we continue to invite more and more species into our garden.

Our second white peacock butterfly emerged this morning and was released early this afternoon. It was not eager to leave my hand, so I gently moved it to a zinnia flower where it remained for a little while longer before it flew to a red penta flower not too far away.

I am excited to share while I was working in the garden last night, I spotted a white peacock butterfly in the garden. It may have been the one I released earlier in the day. It would be wonderful if these beauties hung out and began their lifecycle in the garden. We have plenty of food for the caterpillars.

Mallow-scrub hairstreak

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The incredibly adorable mallow-scrub hairstreak butterfly sitting on a homegrown zinnia flower. Their wingspan is incredibly small at 7/8 to 1 1/4 inches.

I love seeing these butterflies flutter, or should I say zoom, around the garden. Usually I see this butterfly on my scorpion tail sipping the nectar.

My sunshine

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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.

Gratifying

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It’s the simple things. The simple things that become the highlight of the day.

I have fallen in love with zinnia flowers, for the pure, simple beauty they add to the garden. I began planting them from seed and am having huge success. They are popping up everywhere all over the garden on a variety of colors. Some are in the ground, some on pots creating different heights.

The “simple” pure joy comes from watching the monarch butterflies stopping for a sip of the nectar. There’s truly nothing more gratifying than planting a seed, watching it sprout, grow and eventually create a bud that turns into a magnificent flower that is a food source for the butterflies.