Okay folks, I just risked life and limb for you today. I ventured over to my neighbor's weed patch looking for butterflies and caterpillars. I saw they had two dogs up by the house and I didn't know they had dogs. I didn't come anywhere near the house and had been out there at least 5-10 minutes when the dogs came at me. I don't know too much about breeds, but the one clearly had pit bull in it. They called them off, but the one kept following me back to my place and jumping up at me. Nothing really aggressive, but still somewhat alarming. Also, we have leash laws and they don't have a fence so what's to keep them from running into the street? Anyway, what sucks is that as I was walking away I saw some Cudweed with a suspicious nest on top. I picked it up as I was walking but there was another one I missed. But the one I got had an American Painted Lady caterpillar in it! But now I want to go back and get more! I wonder if these people work on Mondays?
In case you haven't been following the story, ever since my neighbor died, his granddaughter and her boyfriend have been living there. They've already gotten in a verbal altercation with my neighbor across the street and the police have been out several times. One of the neighbors that lives further down the street said last time the cops came the woman came out and was injured but said she had an "accident" in the shower or something. As soon as the cops left, the boyfriend came out from the woods behind the house. So I'm trying to avoid them.
But caterpillars are a beacon to me and this is my prize for being brave today. American Painted Lady caterpillar! I unfurled its nest for you. I don't raise these guys much because I don't see them very often. Usually, only in the spring when the Cudweed is growing. I hadn't seen one in so long I got my book out to confirm it. I've raised regular Painted Ladies before, too. I need to go through my pictures and see if I can figure out which is more common and which caterpillar I've seen more of.
I also had a surprise first thing this morning and found another Sulphur cat. I'm thinking I have Orange-Barred Sulphurs because they're staying pretty yellow and I think they would be green by now if they were Cloudless.
In other surprise garden news, my Passiflora lutea reappeared! I bought one recently from www.mailordernatives.com I had bought one years ago and put it out on the corner and it had come back but everything was so weed choked this year I thought it was dead. But Dad cleared the weeds a few weeks ago and they came back! I transplanted five over to the butterfly garden. I'm not sure if all of them will make it because I didn't get much root on two of them. I planted them in the back by the fence so they will hopefully grow up the fence. You can see three in the picture. I have trouble getting things to grow in that area, though. We'll see. The one I planted a few weeks ago is growing really fast! It won't be long before the Zebra Longwings find it. They really love the native Passifloras.
Now, I saw some frass on my Sweetbay Magnolia and you know I got excited because I thought, "Tiger Swallowtail!" Except, I could tell this was moth frass. Proving yet again that I know way too much about caterpillar poop. You see, butterfly cats tend to have regular, pellet-type frass. But some of the larger moths we've raised at MOSI like the Polyphemus, for example, have ridges in their frass. I suppose it's because of how their insides are shaped. This tree is under large oak trees so some moth caterpillar is up there eating my oaks. Which is fine by me; I just wish he wouldn't get my hopes up.
I had two Gulf Frits up front today. One laid an egg on my Corkystem Passion Vine before they chased each other over the house. The other one was content to just nectar on the Jatropha.
Here's one of the American Painted Ladies flying around the neighbor's yard.
They've also got my Duskywings.
I'll keep you guys update on the search for Painted Ladies. All I could think of when I got back to the house is what if those dogs had killed me and the news showed the pictures from my camera showing all I was doing was taking butterfly pictures. And how they'd probably show the Gulf Frit and say it was a Monarch because the news is always getting that wrong. I'm in kind of a morbid mood today.
