It has been quite some time since I have spotted the itty bitty tropical checkered skipper in the yard. Good thing a gulf fritillary butterfly caught me eye close to this little beauty.
This butterfly’s wingspan is about 1 to 1 1/2 inches. The male and female differ in that the male has bluish-white hair on the body and wing.
After doing some research it appears that what it is sipping from is called a common wireweed. Apparently this is a Florida native and is considered a lawn weed. That is where the skippers are found, amongst the grass. It is mowed over all the time, but apparently if left untouched it will grow into a three to four foot tall shrub. Hmmm, maybe an experiment, pulling this tough weed out of the ground and putting into a pot to see if more skippers will come?
The flower it produces is also named fanpetals, do to the five petals.
This morning I spent an hour in the garden walking around and enjoying the view. I spotted five different species, polydamas swallowtail, monarch, gulf fritillary, dainty sulphur and a tropical checkered skipper. Too bad they all did not want their photograph taken this morning! They are all enjoying the warm weather and blue sky, a perfect day for laying eggs and sipping some nectar.
The gulf fritillary made multiple stops at our blue porterweed, definitely one of this species favorite.
gulf fritillary
One monarch was basking in the sun in the back garden near our tomatoes, while another touched down on a half a dozen milkweed plants laying eggs in the front garden. Good thing my milkweed are becoming bushy right now, as they will be covered in baby caterpillars soon.
The North America’s monarch is truly a special butterfly. I am so glad we live in Southwest Florida where we see the monarch fluttering in, around and out of our garden year round.
According to the U.S. Forest Service these butterfly use such environmental cues as air currents and thermals for their annual migration, as they cannot survive the cold winters. I cannot believe some travel as far as 3,000 miles for their winter destination, an average of 50 to 100 miles a day, which can take up to two months to complete their journey, the U.S. Forest Service stated. The monarch butterfly weighs less than a gram.
There are a few different destinations, according to the U.S. Forest Service, with those monarchs in Eastern North America traveling to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico, and the Western North America (west of the Rocky Mountains) monarchs travel to California.
Their travel happens only during the day, as they roost at night in such areas as pine, fir and cedar trees, due to its thick canopies that provide the right warm temperature. They will also roost on peninsulas, finding the shortest distance across the water. The U.S. Forest Service said the monarchs gather along the shore waiting for a gentle breeze to help them along.
The US. Forest Service said as the days lengthen and become warmer while traveling north, those migratory butterflies will start breeding and laying eggs for a new generation. The monarchs that headed south are one generation, according to the U.S. Forest Service, but those that head north have successive generations.
Again, the U.S. Forest Service said that the first generation of monarchs are those offspring that spend their winter in Mexico. Each successive generation travel farther north with it taking three to four generations to reach Canada and the northern United States.
We are continuing to do our part in helping the monarch population thrive with No. 152 hatching today in our butterfly house, and a caterpillar finalizing its chrysalis.
Tonight while I was watering the garden I saw a tiny butterfly making stops at our nectar flowers. It waited in our garden long enough for me to run indoors and grab my camera. Then it posed, sitting on a white lantana watching me taking photos.
This little beauty is called a tropical checkered skipper. From research these butterflies lay eggs on plants of the mallow, or hibiscus family. Thomas C. Emmel of “Florida’s Fabulous Butterflies,” stated that the caterpillar will make a shelter by taking the leaf, folding and tying it together to hide during the day.
I did not have a chance to see the top of the wing, as it moved too fast when flying away. Too bad, as the top of the wings for males have “long, bluish-white hairs,” while females are much darker.
The skipper, Emmel said have hairy bodies, pointed wings and their heads are as wide as their body.
