Checkered Whites

I can't say I remember seeing this butterfly in a very long time, even though it is one of three native Whites found in the state of Wisconsin.  In fact, I only remember seeing a few as a child while growing up in New Jersey! Thinking how very different they were from all the "other" white butterflies (later learning they were Cabbage Whites) I'd observed in the garden or chase around in the yard with friends, these certainly caught my attention!  

Yet here they were, about a dozen of them flitting about with the beautiful and equally abundant Dainty Sulphurs in a friend's back yard early in September!  Females are more heavily marked and look dirty or greyish compared to the pristine white of the males.

Left, female; Right, male

Host plants for the Checkered White caterpillars are cultivated and wild crucifers such as cauliflower, broccoli, turnip, cabbage, peppergrass, and shepherd's purse, to name a few.

Less destructive than the imported Cabbage White, I'd like to see more of these native butterflies around!  --LKR

Whither the Monarchs - 9/16/11

Whither the Monarchs - 9/16/11Save Now

Jim of Beaver Creek Reserve did a really nice job with the interview! And, yes, sadly, Monarchs are on the decline. --LKR

How To Repair A Butterfly Wing

I've tried to repair butterfly wings, before, and flopped. The poor creatures ended up with weighty wings and couldn't fly. Instead of being released, they became "pets" and were even more a part of our family. That was before I discovered this video!

It does take courage to work on a delicate butterfly, but with this as a guide, it's worth a try! Good luck! --LKR

Friends Among The Flowers

It was a cold, sunny, breezy day, today, but look what was hanging around our yard! Unfortunately, patchy frost is forcasted for this evening and tomorrow morning.Tiger Swallowtail

Spring Azure

Sulphur, mid flight

Copper

Moth

Can't wait to see what else blows through our yard, this summer!!! --LKR

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

Eastern Black Swallowtail Pupae in the Snow

Yesterday, I rescued two of several of our Eastern Black Swallowtail pupae that are overwintering on our front porch. Over the weekend, we had a blizzard where 22" of snow fell!!! It did not just cover the grass, driveway, and street--it also accumulated on our porch, totally burying two butterflies in the making.

Yes, one is brown, while the other is green. Several butterfly species, like the Cabbage Whites, too, can pupate to camouflage themselves in this dormant, defenseless stage. Yet another gift the Creator has given to even one of His tiniest creations! --LKR

This Wasn't Supposed To Happen!

Eeeeek! This wasn't supposed to happen! Not this late in the season!!! But, leave it up to the unpredictability of an Eastern Black Swallowtail. This lovely little girl eclosed (emerged) out of her pupa (chrysalis) seven months too early!Black Swallowtails are one of the many butterfly species that overwinter in the pupa stage, while others like those in the anglewing family hibernate as adult butterflies. Some butterflies, like Frittilaries, overwinter as caterpillars, while others also lay dormant as eggs all winter long. Amazing, huh?! I never cease to be amazed how everything is fearfully and wonderfully created, even the smallest of creatures! --LKR

Butterflies! Butterflies! Everywhere!!!

Well, I spoke too soon, yesterday. This morning, after releasing two more male Monarchs and one female, an early afternoon walk with my neighbor turned up four first instar Monarch cats and one egg! For sure, before we get any more rain, I need to hit the fields and collect more Monarchs!

A bonus: On a hot humid day, the butterflies like to come out to dance in the sky and nectar at flowers. And while we watched, an American Painted Lady began laying eggs on some everlasting, so we'll have another species to raise, this summer! --LKR

First Monarch Released!

What a thrill! Our first Monarch, a male, emerged from it's pupa, this morning! He was very eager to get out and experience his freedom of flight! So, off he went into the wild blue yonder!

We have 38 more Monarchs in the pupae stage, with a couple others still in the 5th instar. I have not been able to find any more Monarch eggs or caterpillars in the wild. Not sure if it's because of all the rain we've been having that's knocked them off of leaves, predators that have eaten or carried them off, because we're seeing the effects of the worst recorded deaths of overwintering Monarchs in Mexico from this past winter, or all of the above. We've personally had more Monarchs in different stages, this time of year. --LKR

Molting Monarchs

Have you ever watched a caterpillar molt or shed its skin? It's really cool! These are monarch caterpillars, but all species of butterfly and moth larvae do this at least five times.

First they spin a silken pad under themselves.Then, in muscular movements, after they've pumped enough fluid between the old and new skin, they wriggle out, head first.The head capsule soon falls off (the caterpillar often has to rub or knock it off), revealing a lighter face that will darken within a couple of hours. Usually, after it's "rested", the caterpillar will turn around and eat its old skin. Not all species do this, and not all species that usually do this will eat their skin every time.

The last time they molt, the pupa is revealed. Most moths, and only a few butterflies, will first spin a cocoon, pupating shortly after the cocoon has been constructed.

It's truly fascinating to watch! --LKR

American Painted Lady Eggs

The past few days, I've been collecting American painted lady eggs off of everlastings that are growing wild in our lawn. You can enlarge the image to see the little green eggs on these leaves.

Not once have I seen these butterflies flitting about, but obviously they are around! Soon these will hatch, grow, pupate, and emerge, and we will have more of these beautiful orange butterflies to enjoy!

A photo of an adult American Painted lady can be seen here: http://lezasleps.blogspot.com/2007/09/some-vanessa-butterflies.html

--LKR

Monarch Eggs and Caterpillars

This morning, I found a creamy white colored monarch egg under one of the leaves of a small milkweed plant's leaf. Hearing of possible drenching rains in the forecast for later on, today, I headed over to the fields down our street on a mission to save other monarchs!!!

My youngest daughter came along to help gather up more. Pictured above are the 19 eggs we found in about an hour. We also found 15 very young caterpillars. At the beginning of the summer months, I used to check our milkweed garden two to three times a day for newly laid eggs. If I didn't get them first, the ants and spider mites often did!

These are first instar caterpillars. An instar is the period between molts. Caterpillars molt, or shed their skin, several times as they grow, just like a snake does.

These two larvae hatched a few days apart from each other. These two larvae are getting ready to shed their skin.

Smaller larvae are often found hidden among the newer, tightly packed leaves at the top of the milkweed.

This is how we've raised most species of butterflies for well over a decade with great success. (This method should not be used for swallowtails.) Eggs, as well as the first two instars of a caterpillar's life, need more humidity or they often quickly dry up and die. However third, fourth, and fifth instar larvae easily pick up diseases and die if kept in this much humidity.
--LKR

A Monarch Sighting!!!

Finally!!!

It seemed like forever, but our monarch butterflies are finally back!!!

This beautiful female fed from the flowers of chives found in one our butterfly gardens. She stayed here for a long, long time. When I stopped watching her feed and started walking away, she'd fly over to wherever I was going! This happened several times to the point where I began to feel like she was stalking me!!! But, I don't mind. I love having them back here in Eau Claire!
--LKR

Eastern Black Swallowtails

These are two of several Eastern Black Swallowtails that overwintered in our garage in the pupa (chrysalis) stage. They emerged this past spring and brought us great joy! Aren't they lovely? If I had a favorite North American butterfly..., this would probably be it! These butterflies were the first species we ever raised indoors 12 some years ago.

This little sweetheart is a female. You can usually tell quite quickly by looking at the hind wings. Here, you will notice a wide row of blue, shimmery markings, indicating a female.

Here's a handsome little guy. Notice the thinner row of blue and the wider row of yellow? This easily tells you from a distance it is a male.

There are times, however, when it's hard to tell which is which. If you are up close and can see the tip of its abdomen, you can sex it. If it has claspers (where the tip of the abdomen is slightly divided), it's a male. If not, it's a female.

You can sex many species of butterflies this way, but not all. In some species, females can also be larger than males, like in Morning Cloaks, but on some others you might have to count their "toes"!

In case you're wondering, that beautiful pink flowering plant is a Spring Cactus (Rhipsalidopis gaertneri). I bought it at Walmart for the butterflies. (Like I really needed an excuse or another plant!)

The male is on a lilac, one of many we have growing in our yard. Want some? I'm just so thankful I'm not allergic to those flowers, any more, as they are super butterfly nectaring plants in the springtime! --LKR

A Sulphur's on the Bus!

Michael, a classmate of my youngest daughter, found this little Clouded Sulphur butterfly as he was boarding the bus to go home from school. He found it on the steps of the bus, no doubt sunning itself, and took it out of harm's way. Michael gave it to Hannah to bring home and care for, knowing that we raise all sorts of butterflies and moths. That was yesterday afternoon. Storms were predicted for last night, so we'll let it go today. --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

Migrating Woes

I find this time of the year very difficult, especially while out driving. It's not just saying good-bye to all of our end-of-the-year butterflies, either, although releasing the last Monarch certainly does make me than a little misty-eyed.

What I find most upsetting is watching Monarchs heading for Mexico, trying to cross busy roads and highways, only to get sucked back into traffic--and danger. One year as we drove from New Jersey to Illinois in late August, I tearfully counted hundreds of Monarchs we saw struggling to cross over I-90. --LKR

Cecropia Moth

This is a picture of a male Cecropia moth. Although female Cecropias are more noticably larger than males, males have larger feathery antennae than females. Males use these to catch the scent of a female.

Cecropia moths are part of the silk moth family. None of the silk moths eat as adults because they don't have mouth parts. Their sole purpose as adults is to mate, lay eggs (only females, of course!), and die. They only live for about two weeks.

Both butterflies and moths smell with their antennae and taste with their feet. These help them find food as well as host plants on which they lay their eggs. A host plant is a specific plant that certain species of butterfly's and moth's larvae (caterpillars) can eat. --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