Biodiverse Gardens: Best of Butterflies 2009

Monday, December 7, 2009

Best of Butterflies 2009

I don't actually take a whole lot of butterfly pictures. Of all the pretty wonders fluttering around North America only a handful can actually be found in my yard. I'm hoping to change this of course and help demonstrate how much life can live in a small space. With all the native plants I have there has already been a dramatic increase in caterpillars. This should really be called Lepidoptera because both Moth and Butterflies are represented. So I've thrown in some caterpillars and added little comments here and there.

Waking up is hard to do. Tent moths hatching in early April.

Fruit trees taste delicious.

Mating can be awkward for butterflies. And what's worse is the female started flying with him still attached. Owww!

Though not in the best condition the Luna Moth is one of the prettiest of our Giant Silk Moths. The color green is actually kind of rare with Lepidoptera, and I wish I saw these giants more often.

Tobacco Hornworms also come in blue! They're normally green like the plants they eat but that's only because of what they're eating. When bought at the store they're a a neat electric blue color.

Caterpillars can be suicidal. This was a bird's lucky day.

Leaves don't have enough windows.

Couldn't identify either of these, and as far as I can find nothing uses Stokes Aster as a host plant.

I saw a lot of Cabbage Butterflies and Skippers doing this but very few of anything else.

Woolly Bears also come in white. Actually it's not the Woolly Bear but I'm sure it's something related.

And then August hit. Finally! A swallowtail.

Right in time for the Joe Pye Weed.

An endangered species, The Regal Moth, also called The Hickory Horned Devil. It died shortly after my friend took this picture. Even so, it's great to see they're still around.