Tales from the Butterfly Garden: Lepidoptera Curious

Beautiful capture of the Carolina Wren, Jill. Nice...

2012-04-17T09:02:56.343-04:00

Beautiful capture of the Carolina Wren, Jill.
Nicely done.

Hi!!! I am in Fort Lauderdale and have been on a m...

2012-04-09T15:21:47.993-04:00

Hi!!! I am in Fort Lauderdale and have been on a mission for Green Shrimp plants. Do you know of anywhere I might find them? I would even take seeds at this point...

Thanks in advance
Mel

This blog is very nice and informative! I'm v...

2012-04-06T02:45:00.186-04:00

This blog is very nice and informative!
I'm very impressive with your blog.

Keep update.....
Thanks.
Lawn Suppliers Sydney

so many april loverlies!!

2012-04-03T16:48:57.612-04:00

so many april loverlies!!

thanks!! just have to say again...you've real...

2012-04-01T12:57:57.161-04:00

thanks!! just have to say again...you've really helped me out IDing some of the plants and little crawling...flying...inching critters i see around the house!

yesterday i spotted TWO little Phaon Crescents on some Fleabane!!

Looks like you may be in luck! There is a Native P...

2012-03-28T08:22:24.771-04:00

Looks like you may be in luck! There is a Native Plant Society plant sale in Land O'Lakes on Saturday. This is probably the best location to search for Toadflax. If you don't find it there, just let me know and I will keep searching.

Florida Native Plant Society Plant Sales

Pasco County sale:
WHEN: Saturday, March 31 SET-UP BEGINS AT 8 AM! EVENT:10 AM-2 PM
WHERE: Land O'Lakes Community Center (Behind, in the field.)
5401 Land O'Lakes Bvd./US 41

I am in Zephyrhills! My daughter and I are interes...

2012-03-27T20:15:12.963-04:00

I am in Zephyrhills! My daughter and I are interested in creating a garden with native plants. Florida has so many beautiful plants. Thank you for the help

Cryburg, where are you located? Let us know and ma...

2012-03-27T09:15:07.583-04:00

Cryburg, where are you located? Let us know and maybe we can suggest a nursery we know of nearby to you.

I am very interested in the toadflax plant. Do yo...

2012-03-26T18:12:23.145-04:00

I am very interested in the toadflax plant. Do you have any idea how to get some for my garden besides going down to the highway and replanting?

Thanks

i live in Gainesville. i have a blog...and on marc...

2012-03-19T15:44:01.261-04:00

i live in Gainesville. i have a blog...and on march 3 i did a post of all the butterflies feeding on our Azaleas...
if you have a minute...maybe you can check that post out & let me kn ow if i mis-ID'd anything!

http://forestwalkart.blogspot.com/2012/03/fluttering-butterflies.html

i come here often...much info!! very useful! thanks!

I love this plant, especially the varieties 'L...

2012-03-13T14:25:04.249-04:00

I love this plant, especially the varieties 'Lady in Red,' and 'Coral Nymph.' Last summer I saw a new variety, 'Summer Jewel' I think. Hummingbirds love them too.

David - Caterpillar eggs are attached fairly firml...

2012-03-12T09:10:42.463-04:00

David - Caterpillar eggs are attached fairly firmly to the plant, and usually aren't dislodged by the use of a hose. While one or two may get knocked off by the water, most should be fine. Thanks for reading!

This is very educational. Thanks for posting it. I...

2012-03-11T01:17:38.809-05:00

This is very educational. Thanks for posting it. It's true that the most easiest way to distinguish a caterpillar egg from a an aphid is through color. However, in eliminating aphids with the use of a hose, is it possible that you could also cause damage to caterpillar eggs?

David Wofford
Click here for plants that attract butterflies and how to attract butterflies

Ideally, Bt should only affect insects consuming t...

2012-03-07T10:39:38.143-05:00

Ideally, Bt should only affect insects consuming the crop plants that have been modified.

Is the application of the bt gene in crops such as...

2012-03-07T08:39:26.397-05:00

Is the application of the bt gene in crops such as eggplants and corn are really negative to the environment and would damage other flowers or plants?

David Wofford

Just click here for butterfly flowers

THANKS so much!! my azaleas are blooming right now...

2012-03-03T16:05:15.197-05:00

THANKS so much!! my azaleas are blooming right now and i have been snapping away. i get confused with IDing some...the difference between the Spicebush, Eastern Black...Red spotted purple...Palamedes...ooooh...i've been googling for images for too long now, but i'm not so sure people label their pic's correctly!
thanks!

LindaD - MOSI BioWorks Butterfly Garden is open 36...

2011-12-29T16:11:07.383-05:00

LindaD - MOSI BioWorks Butterfly Garden is open 365 days a year. Visit MOSI's main website (mosi.org) for museum operating hours, fees, etc. Once you arrive at the museum, check the daily schedule for times when you can enter the Flight Enclosure to get up and personal with the butterflies. We raise native butterflies, and as at least a few species are flying 12 months a year, we are able to remain open all year. However, be aware that in the winter months, our number and variety of species is much smaller, and on cooler days (highs in the 60s or lower) there may not be much activity. Fortunately, those days are fairly few and far between, and even when the butterflies aren't moving around much, they're still visible. Hope to see you soon - let us know when you're coming and we'll try to be around to meet you!

I'm excited about visiting the Butterfly enclo...

2011-12-29T15:20:56.666-05:00

I'm excited about visiting the Butterfly enclosure. When is this open to viewing? Is it too cold for them at this time of year? It would be wonderful if some sort of schedule were included - like March through October - or such.

Thank you so much
Linda in Lakeland

1) swallowtail 2) zebra longwing caterpillar 3) y...

2011-12-28T22:02:03.493-05:00

1) swallowtail
2) zebra longwing caterpillar
3) yellow cassia

Thank you for this post. My daughter was made fun...

2011-10-24T01:43:46.238-04:00

Thank you for this post. My daughter was made fun of today when she tried to tell other kids about the dust on butterfly wings. They instantly thought she was trying to say butterflies fly because of "pixie dust" and not wings. She was unable to articulate what she meant, but I've printed this so she can show them. The picture is beautiful too. Thanks again for explaining this in detail.

I checked out a few of Lloyd Wrights landscape &am...

2011-10-20T01:53:32.074-04:00

I checked out a few of Lloyd Wrights landscape & engineering drawings. Thankfully he did not plant any White, Green or other of the Ash trees that can owe the Emerald Ash Borer for their possible extinction. Here in Oak Park many Frank built houses have or had parkway Ash trees Planted just before or after houses were constructed. I know this because I count the tree rings of Ash tree stumps cut down in 2011. You have to give 5 years from location, as trees usually transplanted. Sometimes you see a year or two of slow growth rings a few years out from center. Like you said and I feel is, these trees have seen history. It's like time travel when I sit down and count back years, seeing the part of the wood that was once an outer ring of the 1890's. Elms & poplar were first choice for parkway. But in spots, people choose our native Ash with possible lifespan of 300 years. Some of Lloyd Franks houses still have mountain Ash -not threatened-and other long lived trees. I myself am gathering seeds from Ash trees for their last time.-oldest 136 so far- We are at least lucky that the Ash trees are having a Masting year, with bags of samarians. We still have our Savanna Oaks that lived alongside native Indians. And a Black Walnut hidden in our woods. I only now know about how old it is by comparing house in O.P. who's owner 130 years ago planted at same time next to his Blk Walnut tree, a white Ash tree just EAB'ed, downed and counted. Looking at his skinny trunked Blk Walnut, I now know my hidden Organism is a slow grower Est.300, and Indians could have used for Dye & Tanning as it's location is between destroyed mounds and I.village w/portage for AuxPlaines river. Your search for where, when & how trees got here now, starting from and surviving earths calamities, stuck safely between mountain ranges is so enlightening to me when you put a name with a tree. Thank You for your passion of living history. By the way EAB is 100% stopped with Tree-age-fish lice killer-for 3 years. City of Chicago has, across from O.P., saving every parkway Ash, even Est. 130 year olds. Very few save any in O.P. and our woods have bald patches with bark less trunks. I hope I follow thru with using my boxes of Ash seeds. Your story compels me to.

I used to grow that in my last place in my herb an...

2011-10-18T11:52:46.165-04:00

I used to grow that in my last place in my herb and butterfly gardens, I love the soft look to the flowers.

You can purchase spicebush online from nurseries i...

2011-10-17T12:17:52.725-04:00

You can purchase spicebush online from nurseries in New England or Michigan, but those plants will not react well to Florida's climate--they'bloom and leaf-out too late in the season and won't be prepared for our 7-month dry season.
To find plants that work well in Florida see the Florida Association of Native Nurseries to find a native plant dealer or to find a specific plant. http://www.plantrealflorida.org/

Could you get a few pictures so I can have a bette...

2011-10-05T08:00:37.561-04:00

Could you get a few pictures so I can have a better idea of the appearance? You can email me at kristeng@mosi.org

My cat caught a male Imperial Moth about two weeks...

2011-10-05T04:02:31.654-04:00

My cat caught a male Imperial Moth about two weeks ago and damaged its wings to the point the moth could no longer fly. Being an environmental studies major, I placed the moth in ethyl acetate and pinned it. Last night the cat found another imperial, and slashed a small gash in the abdomen. The VERY larger difference in this case was that the moth had wings only 1/4 the length of the abdomen. It looked more like a caterpillar than a moth but was definitely trying to use the small wings for flight. don't get me wrong, the wings were still nearly 1/2'' long but the body was around two inches. I brought it inside still alive and it began oozing eggs from the gash in that abdomen. I left quite a few of the eggs on a leaf of a live oak in my front yard. I have the moth pinned and mounted now because the injuries would have killed it regardless. I hated killing the amazing specimen but it was truly unique. I would love to know if this was some sort of genetic mutation, or just a common occurrence. I have seen dozens of Imperial moths before and this one was the strangest insect I have ever seen. There is nothing like it in web archives or in my college's collection. Let me know what you think?