Blue Morning, Orange Afternoon

We had a ton of rain yesterday with very gusty winds, so this morning, I was totally thrilled to not only see a clear blue sky, but a beautiful Spring Azure playfully flitting around and about my feet!

Later, while planting bushes, a small, fast flying orange and black butterfly whizzed past me. Was it an American Painted Lady or one of the overwintering anglewings like a Question Mark or Comma? After seven months without a butterfly sighting, it's easy to forget the different species flight patterns which help identify them while they're fluttering about!

Earlier, I had checked our Pearly Everlasting, host plants for the American Painted Lady, for eggs after noticing one of our neighbor's low growing patch of plants blooming. Sometimes, eggs and larvae are easier to spot than an adult butterfly flying around!

Shortly before dinner, a Cabbage White descended upon our "field" of dandelions in search for the perfect golden flower to nectar and refuel at. Very soon, lilacs will be blooming, beaconing other butterflies like the Red Admiral, Eastern Black Swallowtails, and Tiger Swallowtails.

It's hard to believe we were having snow flurries six days ago!!! Spring is finally here!!! --LKR

Wooly Bears!!!

Wooly Bear caterpillars are known as Isabella Tiger moths once they emerge from their chysalis and are winged creatures. Wooly Bears, frequently found crossing roads in the fall, are the adored fuzzy black, reddish brown black striped caterpillars that children of all ages love to find.

Today, my hubby was kind enough to stop the car so I could rescue two out of three I saw crossing the road. Unfortunately, the third one met its destiny on his quest to reach the other side of the road... .

As a life-long observer and seeker, I've only found one tiny one in my entire life. He was nibbling on a stinging nettle leaf as I was looking for Red Admiral butterfly eggs. Dandelion and plantain leaves are also a Wooly Bear's host plants.

It was really fun watching him grow! Unfortunately, like every other Tiger Moth caterpillar (there are lots of species of them) I've ever brought in to observe, I was rewarded with a big, ugly parasitic wasp. When you're anxiously awaiting the emergence of your winged beauty and are greeted with something as ugly as this, it's a great disappointment! --LKR

Some Vanessa Butterflies

This picture was taken earlier in the year before releasing these newly emerged butterflies we raised. The one in front is an American painted lady and the other is a red admiral.

Even though both are in the Vanessa family, their host plants (where they lay their eggs) are completely different. American painted ladies use everlastings, while red admirals dine on stinging nettle and hops. --LKR

Time to Slow Down...

It's that time of year. My hubby has just started his vacation, and summer school and orchestra are finally over for the kids. So..., once again, I'm resisting the temptation to go hunting for butterfly eggs and cats to raise, since we'll likely be going away. It's illegal to cross state lines with butterflies without a permit from the USDA, and we're considering spending time in MN or IL.

Trust me, it's even harder to find someone willing to care for baby butterflies than it is to find a puppy sitter! Before flying out to NJ, last year, I donated all our larvae (caterpillars (aka cats)) to Beaver Creek Reserve when I worked there as the butterfly house coordinator. The previous year, our puppy sitter released about 100 Milbert's tortoiseshell butterflies that emerged from their chrysalises (aka pupae) while we were gone. And before moving from IL to our home out in the country in WI, a few friends and neighbors were game. However, many times before that, I reluctantly released them back into the dangers of the wild.

Recently, we've had several red admiral cats that were parasitized, so I'm really torn. My maternal instinct says to go out there and scan every leaf for both eggs and larvae, rescuing them from vicious villains (aka parasitic wasps and flies, spider mites, etc). It's really tough being a mother of butterflies! 

--LKR