Butterfly Gardening and Conservation Blog

Lots of Butterflies now!

Yesterday, 8/6, I wasn't out too much because I didn't feel very well the night before. I did see a few butterflies though. A couple of monarchs were both flying around at the same time, and I found more Monarch eggs. I also found two eggs on one of my Hop Trees, don't know if they are Tiger or Giant Swallowtails. My Passion Vine Bloomed for the first time too!

Today I went to the Butterfly House again to volunteer. It was a nice day there. Saw a number of different swallowtails and a Monarch or two. They had some Baptisia australis plants there they were giving away - I found eggs on some of them so I took one home. Not sure what they are yet.

But when I got home I found even more butterflies! Right away, I saw a Great Spangled Fritillary flying around. I was able to get closer to this one than I have to any of them before. Hopefully some of the pictures I got turned out ok. There was also a dark form female Tiger Swallowtail flying around, and a regular yellow Tiger Swallowtail. I saw a Red Spotted Purple and a Question Mark on my bananas. And then later, a Buckeye hung around for quite a while and I was able to get pretty close to it also, and hopefully the pictures I took of it will be good too! Saw a Monarch here too. Oh yeah, six of those Giant Swallowtail eggs I found a few days ago hatched today too! The little guy, the Question Mark or Comma from August 1st is still doing ok, I guess, it hasn't grown very much yet though.

I can't forget - I also saw many skippers, blues and hairstreaks and a few sulfurs!

Nice, beautiful day!

Yesterday was rainy and cloudy, but it is nice today, although a bit windy, and I am working outside hoping to see lots of butterflies.

I have already seen a few. I dark swallowtail I couldn't identify, a Tiger Swallowtail, who is still nectaring at one of my butterfly bushes, and a Hackberry butterfly that was feeding on one of my bananas. And course numerous skippers, blues and hairstreaks.

I took lots of pictures of plants today already to eventually put up on the site.

Not outside much

Allergies were really bothering my eyes today, so I didn't go out much. I did see a couple of swallowtails though, and a butterfly that looked either like a Monarch or Viceroy, but I couldn't see it that well from the window. It's supposed to rain tomorrow.

More Giant Swallowtail eggs!

Kind of cloudy out today like it will rain any minute. I did see a Tiger Swallowtail and Spicebush earlier though, and I was only out a little while.

Then when checking plants for eggs I found 7 Giant Swallowtail eggs on one of my prickly ash plants!

The baby Question Mark/Comma is still doing fine and is still very tiny. I took some pictures of it yesterday.

First Monarch in my garden!

Late morning today I saw a Tiger Swallowtail possibly the same one from yesterday. And then a Spicebush Swallowtail flew past me, maybe the same one from yesterday too.

Also, yesterday I saw that the Comma or Question Mark egg I found a few days ago was starting to turn dark so I took a cutting of the plant it was growing on and brought it inside. This morning it hatched! It's very tiny! Only about 1mm or so long and very then. It has been eating a tiny hole in its leaf. It didn't eat its egg shell though, don't know if that is usual or not for this species.

Then a little later I saw a Monarch, a female, nectaring on lantana! The first I've seen this year in my garden!

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update - about an hour later:

I found one Monarch egg, I'm sure there are more though.

Also - my passion vine is starting to get flower buds on it!
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Later on more butterflies were around too, even two Tiger Swallowtails at the same time.

And a Question Mark kept flittering around and landing on my head.