Meanwhile, In The Butterfly Garden..
Jun. 17th, 2013 10:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kv0925Apparently Saturday was Nature Photography Day or some such thing--I had no idea, but I took part anyway by looking for fun stuff going on in my butterfly garden. It's a happening place right about now! And I still adore this 100mm macro lens. :)
This is actually from last week--I was thrilled to find that the Eastern black swallowtails FINALLY discovered my fennel! This is a pretty new caterpillar--they look rather like bird poop at first.
But these grow amazingly fast--this may well the the same caterpillar, about 5 days later. And now this one has assumed the position to form its chrysalis, which makes me want to build a little chrysalis box to hang up and transfer the cocoons I find there so we can keep them safe and watch them hatch. Good project for this week!
He was ready for his closeup.
Milkweed bug. Actually pests, of course, but still kinda attractive. And I guess I should learn to appreciate all the critters my garden attracts, even if they aren't exactly the critters I have in mind?
This is what the milkweed is actually for--this is a monarch caterpillar, though I would love it if some Queens would show up. They're so pretty!
It had been a rainy night, so this guy was lounging amongst the wet leaves. I was concerned that it might be a Cuban treefrog, which are noxiously invasive, but I'm pretty sure it's a native pinewoods treefrog, which are cool.
Another new visitor, or at least new to me--black stink bug. Also pests, really, but apparently they don't reproduce nearly as quickly as other stink bugs, so the damage they do is generally minimal. And they're kinda handsome, I think!
Species #3 of caterpillar, pipevine swallowtail. This one was fairly small, but there were a couple big ones that are probably about to pupate. Nice!
We have scads of these brown anoles, which I wouldn't mind so much for all the other bugs they surely eat--but I'm sure they snatch up young caterpillars. Ah well, I guess that's part of the circle of life and I should be happy as long as they leave a few to grow into adults. I did learn how to lasso them yesterday, which is kinda fun!
Hibiscus. Hermione loves to sniff these and get the pollen on her nose. :)
And lastly, a passionflower shot that I thought came out pretty neat. Oddly I didn't see any caterpillars (or even eggs) on the passionvine, which is usually the real hotbed of activity. I'm sure there are a few, but I didn't want to poke and prod too much because I've also been seeing wasps, which means there are nests in there somewhere that I need to find and spray. Most bugs I let go about their business because I try to appreciate that everything has its niche--but I draw the line at the ones that really hurt!
If I get around to building the chrysalis box, I'll post photos!
This is actually from last week--I was thrilled to find that the Eastern black swallowtails FINALLY discovered my fennel! This is a pretty new caterpillar--they look rather like bird poop at first.
But these grow amazingly fast--this may well the the same caterpillar, about 5 days later. And now this one has assumed the position to form its chrysalis, which makes me want to build a little chrysalis box to hang up and transfer the cocoons I find there so we can keep them safe and watch them hatch. Good project for this week!
He was ready for his closeup.
Milkweed bug. Actually pests, of course, but still kinda attractive. And I guess I should learn to appreciate all the critters my garden attracts, even if they aren't exactly the critters I have in mind?
This is what the milkweed is actually for--this is a monarch caterpillar, though I would love it if some Queens would show up. They're so pretty!
It had been a rainy night, so this guy was lounging amongst the wet leaves. I was concerned that it might be a Cuban treefrog, which are noxiously invasive, but I'm pretty sure it's a native pinewoods treefrog, which are cool.
Another new visitor, or at least new to me--black stink bug. Also pests, really, but apparently they don't reproduce nearly as quickly as other stink bugs, so the damage they do is generally minimal. And they're kinda handsome, I think!
Species #3 of caterpillar, pipevine swallowtail. This one was fairly small, but there were a couple big ones that are probably about to pupate. Nice!
We have scads of these brown anoles, which I wouldn't mind so much for all the other bugs they surely eat--but I'm sure they snatch up young caterpillars. Ah well, I guess that's part of the circle of life and I should be happy as long as they leave a few to grow into adults. I did learn how to lasso them yesterday, which is kinda fun!
Hibiscus. Hermione loves to sniff these and get the pollen on her nose. :)
And lastly, a passionflower shot that I thought came out pretty neat. Oddly I didn't see any caterpillars (or even eggs) on the passionvine, which is usually the real hotbed of activity. I'm sure there are a few, but I didn't want to poke and prod too much because I've also been seeing wasps, which means there are nests in there somewhere that I need to find and spray. Most bugs I let go about their business because I try to appreciate that everything has its niche--but I draw the line at the ones that really hurt!
If I get around to building the chrysalis box, I'll post photos!
