Tag Archives: gulf fritillary caterpillar

The ‘it’ place

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My Bahama Cassia tree is the “it” place for chrysalis.

Today while searching the tree for caterpillars, I spotted yet another chrysalis, this time a gulf fritillary.  The foliage of the tree must be a great hiding place for them to safely emerge.

One of the gulf fritillary butterfly’s host plants is the maypop passionvine. This plant I stopped buying as it shoots up everywhere in the garden and has been quite invasive.

According to the Flordia Native Plant Society, it has a “stoloniferous rhizome
root system,” which allows new plants to grow from suckers all over the garden.

To be honest, I do not remember where the original plant was planted in the garden. Now I have it growing in probably more than a dozen places, all over my extensive garden space. It has grown through dense mulch I just put down, too.

For the most part, I have put up stakes where it is growing and just let it be, while in other places I pull the plant. It definitely provides an abundance of food for the gulf fritillary caterpillars.

The gulf fritillary

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It’s always fun to find where the caterpillars end up in the garden, as more times than not they are far from their host plant.

This gulf fritillary decided to make its chrysalis on my lantana plant yesterday. When I checked on it this afternoon it had created its chrysalis.

There are so many more caterpillars in different instars throughout the garden.

Chomping away

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A walk through the garden was a treat this morning. There’s caterpillars on almost all the host plants, including these gulf fritillary caterpillars on a maypop passionvine.

The penta

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The gulf fritillary is such an amazing butterfly to watch in action, especially as they do not scare easily when you get close. The best part is if you stay still they flutter right past you, almost touching you, as they gracefully land on the nectar of choice.

The caterpillars are of abundance on the ever growing maypop passionvine. The butterflies are busy laying eggs on the vine, and for some reason on the wire that the maypop vine threw, as well as a trellis.

Today they went from the red pentas, which are among the top two nectar plants this butterfly visits in my garden, to laying eggs.

The gulf fritillary’s life span is anywhere from 14 to 27 days.

Quick rescue

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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.