Today was a super-busy day for me but stopping home for a moment I saw a Swallowtail butterfly nectaring on the Mexican Hydrangea/Clerodenrum bungei ; I decided to take a few moments to enjoy the sight.

I know this is a bit off topic , but last weekend we spent the day at Prophetstown State park.
They are working on establishing the tall grass prairie that once covered this area.
I was looking for a photo of hundreds of purple coneflowers , there was an area of 60-70 acres and the main bloom was the purple coneflower
could only find the yellow photo


This is a natural fen It was teeming with life , more dragon and damsel flies than I could count.

fen:a wetland fed by surface or groundwater.

Love the photos Cinda & they are quite welcome here.
On your cat -- I also love the bright yellow antennae on the rear.

I touched the antenna and they felt plastic, however the cat was quite soft. I think it did not want to be bothered it went quickly up the tree and out or reach.

I was keeping it to myself, but now I'm going to be "that guy". They're tubercles, not antenna. They don't get antenna until they become adults. Okay, I feel better now.

Ok do they serve the same purpose?
I was wondering why they were not flexible.

No, they're not like antenna at all. Heck, scientists are still trying to figure out all the things antenna can do. Tubercles are often there to look scary, but I do believe some caterpillars use them to sense things by touch. Polydamas have two in the back that they tap along the ground when they walk which is pretty cute. And even Monarchs seem to use theirs to feel things coming near them.

Tubercles. I will try to remember that. Tubercles. Tubercles. Tubercles. I am not doing that to be funny. I find if I write or type something numerous times then it tends to stick in my brain better. Tubercles. Tubercles.

Ann, I have to do the same thing so I totally understand. Plus, it's a fun word to say! I try hard to be scientifically accurate because of all the educating I do at the museum. So many people have a poor grasp on science, anyway. And then we wonder why the other countries are beating us! (Shakes fist, old man style.) I really try to take care of how I word things when explaining caterpillars and butterflies. You can be accurate and still talk on a child's level. What makes me crazy is when I explain something and the parents "dumb it down" for the kids or tell me the kids don't understand what I'm talking about. I usually get the last response when I talk about mating. And then I'm trying hard not to My parents never talked down to me and even my Grandma had to learn not to talk baby talk to me because I didn't understand it. I actually asked Dad if Grandma was okay! I think we if we expect more of kids, and ourselves, we will rise to the occasion.

Okay, I hopped off my soapbox and now I have some pictures! I took these earlier, but then I got distracted by the internet. So I was looking up something about Tiger Swallowtails the other day and some website had a neat picture of how the Tiger ST cat likes to build a silk pad on a leaf but travels off it to eat other leaves. The person noted how it wouldn't eat the leaf it had silked. Well, my caterpillar isn't on a leaf, but he's got a swinging bachelor pad on the side of my container. I thought he might molt because he'd been up there a while, but he's come down and eaten a lot today. I just keep missing it. But check out the silk job he did!



Now, I was sad about the other Tiger ST dying, but I said I thought something was wrong because he hadn't eaten much after his initial burst of eating and he hadn't grown. That got me thinking about the Pipevine ST cats. You see, two hatched today. The other ones hatched yesterday, although I think it was in the middle of the night. Anyway, the older ones are about a day and a half older. But look at how much bigger they already are! You can see the eight older cats; the eggs they hatched from are to the left. A few didn't hatch. The newly hatched caterpillars are in the top middle of the picture. I think one already ate his egg but the other is clearly on his. And of course, there are other eggs scattered throughout. I was just amazed at how fast they could grow in such a short time. Soon, they'll all be molting!



Back on the soapbox for a minute. See, kids aren't afraid to ask questions. Like one time I was talking to a girl about caterpillars molting. And she asked me what "molting" meant. I explained it was when they shed their skin, like a snake. Kids always seem to know about snakes. I didn't have to dumb it down, just explain more in depth. Which you know I love doing!

I got an acorn!

Melanie, have you ever noticed if your Tiger ST cats go back to that silk when it comes time for them to make their chrysalis?

I agree about the kids. And if you never talk "up" to them then they will never learn new words & concepts. I believe there is a natural curiosity & when they hear words they don't know, that prompts them to either ask or find out what that word means. Hence, they learn.

flaflwrgrl , True Education ,

I get these terrible urges to type something , could not resist any longer ,
Sprouting seeds of False Indigo and Turk's Cap lily ... More Host plants

Jim, more host plants!

Ann, I've only raised two Tiger STs to chrysalis stage, but I've noticed they act a lot like Spicebushes. Even though Spicebush STs build elaborate nests, they still go into that "wandering phase" and end up who knows where. I did notice the Tiger STs I raised didn't seem to wander nearly as long as other Swallowtails. And one made his chrysalis very close to the place where he molted for the last time. But in general, I think they find a new place to make their chrysalis.

I was a little worried about my Tiger ST caterpillar. He was on his silk pad and ready to molt. But it seemed like it had been longer than normal and that he should have molted by now. I saw him tensing and stretching but he wasn't doing it. Finally, I got hungry and went and had a sandwich. And when I was done, so was he! He's now in his final instar and ready to grow into the biggest caterpillar he can be!

Well, I slept pretty much all day today except for a brief period this afternoon. It was raining for a bit but when it stopped, I went outside and got caterpillar food. Nothing new to report there. Yesterday, there was a lot of action and I managed to get some pictures. So did Mom. When I woke up yesterday, there was an email waiting in my inbox from her and it had these three pictures of a Tiger ST.



What's weird is that I saw a Tiger ST yesterday (couldn't get photos) but it looked male. The one in Mom's photos looks female. I remain on the lookout for eggs. We both also saw the Giant ST but couldn't get photos of that either. But let's dive in to what I did get pictures of. Here's a Gulf Frit on Mexican Flame Vine.



And I had two Spicebush STs on the red pentas at the same time! Both males, though. Click on the picture because they're in the corners.



And one Spicebush even liked the pink pentas! It's pretty shredded, though. But he was flying just fine.



This is one of two Zebra Longwings that was floating around. This one is pretty roughed up, too.

Go Melanie's mom! Those are some pretty great photos she got on the porterweed.

Man, isn't it amazing how much damage they can have & still manage to fly??? Pretty awesome! I mean, that ZLW is missing half it's wing & did you notice on the other side there's a hole?

Ann, that Zebra Longwing has indeed had it rough. Oh, Mom also thinks she saw the Queen on the Mexican Flame Vine again.

I get a lot of people at the museum who think you'll kill a butterfly if you touch its wings. And it's a weird conversation to have because of course, I don't want to encourage anyone to touch them. But at the same time, I don't want them thinking something that's not true. I often point out damaged butterflies and explain that's what will happen. Butterflies with damaged wings can have trouble attracting a mate, hiding from predators, and of course, flying. I usually tell people unless they see one trapped in a spider web, there's no reason to touch them. If I bring a newly eclosed butterfly out, I show them how to hold it so only the legs grasp their finger and make sure they hold the butterfly so it hangs upside down. Generally though, I bring out the caterpillars for people to pet. Caterpillars are much tougher!

It was a dark and stormy day...but Melanie went out anyway to pick caterpillar food. It's not currently raining but it is thundering and it looks like it could pour at any second. I checked the radar and it looks like the heavier stuff is north of here. I ran into a few sprinkles when I went to Starbucks which is north of my house. With this weather, you wouldn't think the butterflies would be out, but you'd be wrong!

There's a Zebra Longwing floating around, as usual. It only allowed me one shot. It's on porterweed, but that's Rue in the background.



And then it was Swallowtail day! First up was this Spicebush on the red pentas. I swear, next year it's going to be all red pentas. No more pink! No more purple! Just kidding, purple is may favorite color! And I suppose I could use the leaves from the other colors to feed any Tersa Sphinx Moths I find.



Then, I saw the Tiger ST! Now, I have to revise my earlier statement. I believe Mom and I saw the same male Tiger ST. She only took pictures of the underside and from all the blue, I assumed she had a female. But I saw both sides of this one today, and the top has very little blue which means it's a male. I didn't realize they could have so much blue underneath. Also, if you look close, they're missing the same tail so I think it's the same butterfly.



The blue in the background is my front door. Butterflies are not shy about coming close to homes and man-made structures.



So I'm standing there watching the Tiger and I hear something that sounds like a mix between a locust and electricity crackling. Saw some movement in the plumbagos and decided to stay out of it. But then something caught my eye. The whole time I had been chasing the Tiger, a Giant ST was basking on my Giant Milkweed! This one looks pretty fresh, although it's not near any host plants so I'm pretty sure it didn't come from my yard. Still, it's a very nice looking specimen.



And in a special PSA, Melanie reminds you to count your caterpillars after they've hatched. You see, I moved all the hatched Pipevine cats to their own container since they were getting a little big. This morning, the egg container had three cats. I cleaned their container and put a new leaf in it for them. But as I was cleaning, I only saw two caterpillars. I thought maybe I was confused, and had counted the egg that was about to hatch. But when I came back inside with the new leaf, I spotted a little caterpillar on the counter! I apologized and scooped him onto the leaf. So yes, I had three caterpillars all along. To think I almost lost one!

Wow, what an exciting day out!

You're most welcome! I'm glad I woke up when I did. It's now raining, thundering, and there's lightning! I hope that Giant ST found shelter.

Great photo's Mellie , you and your Mom

Seems we have one common today , TST this one was graceful , doing float gliding , I love to get to see that I am also seeing several smaller species of Butterfly
TST all same one
This keeps Happening to me all season ,




Mellie Should I be glad their on the Tithonia , and not the Red Coneflower

Nice photos Melanie & Jim & nice report Melanie. I just looked at radar to see if anything is popping in our area. We got hit hard yesterday several times - to the tune of 2.75" total!!!!!!!
Melanie, it looks like it's your day today. I hope it does stay north of you. No way Tampa needs any more rain after all that flooding a few days ago!