American Painted Lady

These colorful caterpillars are the larvae of the American Painted Lady butterfly. They are more black in the earlier instars, not looking too much like the ones here. These are in the 5th instar and will soon be hanging the "J" before pupating. Pupa is another name for chrysalis.These caterpillars feed on everlastings (straw flowers) which are often grown in wildflower gardens. It is also considered a weed by some. However, we have a protected patch of everlasting growing in our lawn where I found these beauties! --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

How To Raise Monarchs

We've had a very high success rate raising them in baby wipe boxes with a folded napkin or paper towel at the bottom. For eggs an 1st & 2nd instars where they need more humidity, I slide the boxes into gallon-sized baggies. After that, the boxes are slipped into "tubes" of pantyhose cut to fit the boxes so they have ventilation.

When I worked at Beaver Creek Reserve in the Butterfly House, we used plastic ice cream buckets. The lids were cut out, and plastic mesh you can by in rolls at hardware stores like Menard's were cut down to size. The lids framed and held the mesh into place and worked great. It fits five older to eight younger cats at a time.

I've used the tall Starbucks cups, too, which are very accommodating for a single cat. And, yes, whichever habitat you create for your monarchs, cleanliness is of great importance! Definitely dump the frass daily, and don't over crowd. Bleaching the containers, or at the very least, using hot soap (antibacterial is super!) and water will mean healthier, happier cats and butterflies! :-) Just be sure to never, ever use Lysol which is a pesticide! --LKR

Snow Flakes?

Both yesterday and today, I did double takes. Something white was in the air! Thankfully, what looked like possible large flakes of snow really were Cabbage Whites! [You just never know, around here--we've had heavy wet snow as late as April 28th!!!]

I knew they'd be seen, soon, as Cabbage Whites emerge from their overwintering pupa stage immediately following the heralding of Azure Blues, and shortly after dandelions begin to bloom.

In only a matter of time, the air will be filled with other bright, beautiful butterfly species! --LKR

I See Blue...

Here's a little Spring Azure, one of two that flew in front of me and Mister Poochie while we were walking in the woods. They are the first to emerge from their overwintering chysalises in the springtime.

Farther down the trail, a Mourning Cloak flew in front of us, landing in a sunny location to soak up some rays to help warm itself. These big, beautiful butterflies are one of the few that overwinter in the adult stage (as butterflies) up north.

It is not unusual to observe one of these maroon and yellow lepidopterans flying about on a warm winter day, or feeding off of tree sap in the sun. In colder weather, the act of shivering aids in warming their cold-blooded bodies. --LKR

Not A Toy For Toby!

Thought this was too cute. Our "kitten", Toby, just loves the butterflies, as you would imagine. Here, he is watching a newly emerged female Monarch before we released her, yesterday.

If you enlarge this image by clicking on it, you will see black frass which is "caterpillar poopies". Now that all the cats have pupated, I was able to safely clean that out from the bottom of the container! --LKR

Pereserverance Pays Off!

Yesterday, I made it a point to seek out and rescue Monarch eggs and cats before the expected rains. One open field I normally find them in had turned up dozens of eaten eggs by an abundance of lacewings in that location. Unwilling to allow this to discourage my efforts, I headed off to the woods with my trusty pooch. After two hours of searching, we returned home with 33 eggs and four 1st and 2nd instar cats. Not bad!!!Often, once buds appear on milkweed plants, female Monarchs will lay their eggs on these. Ditto once pods begin to form. Both provide larvae with plenty of food for their ravenous appetites. One difficulty with the pods and buds is that very young cats are difficult to find! --LKR

A Most Unfortunate Encounter

Tragedy struck, quite literally. Driving home this evening with my hubby, a beautiful male cecropia moth flew out into traffic. It was briefly illuminated in our headlights before we struck the poor creature. This is not how I wished it's fate to be.

Silkworm moths, especially larger ones like the luna, promethia, and cecropia (the largest of them all), are on my list of those I wish to rear from egg to adulthood. Happily, we did once raise a female cecropia from a last instar caterpillar, and also had the cocoon of a male that emerged one spring, but I'd love to see the full life cycle and experience more of these magnificent marvels.

On a happier note, earlier today, my son pointed out a giant swallowtail nectaring in Big Falls County Park. Stunning!!! --LKR

Monarch Eggs Are Not On Today's Menu...

Monarch eggs on milkweed leaves

Today, I spotted at least four beautiful green lacewings. They are very beneficial insects that normally eat aphids, and regrettably, butterfly and moth eggs, too. Fortunately, I found these eggs before they did! --LKR

Monarchs

At 2:00pm, a Monarch flew in front of our lilac bushes as I was scanning for an elusive Tiger Swallowtail to photograph. This male Monarch was pristine, flying fast though the rather breezy afternoon under partly cloudy skies. Reported this to Journey North.

Just in case..., I checked for eggs on our common milkweed plants. (I check almost every day.) None--yet! --LKR

Surprise, Surprise!

I knew there were still some out there, but was totally surprised when I spotted this monarch caterpillar on a particular woody milkweed plant where I rarely find any!

Soon, he will pupate, and after less than two weeks in his chrysalis, will emerge as a strikingly beautiful orange and black winged adult. Those wings will carry him thousands of miles down to his overwintering home in Mexico. --LKR

Releasing Monarchs

This is one of the last batches of monarchs we released, this year. They will be migrating down to Mexico to overwinter. Those that survive the long trip, as well as the winter months, will begin to head back north. Along the way, they will mate, lay eggs, and die. Their offspring will be the ones that continue the journey north. --LKR

Garden Visitors

You're going to have to click on this to see it better. What you will find is a hummingbird clearwing moth along with some sort of bee nectaring on phlox. Enjoy! --LKR

Bindweed Moth Caterpillars

I'm not sure which moth caterpillar this is, but I found them irresistible!

While weeding, I found these adorable, fuzzy moth caterpillars. Their host plant is bindweed, so there is some purpose for leaving some for these critters, although this vine is terribly invasive.I remember being astonished as one of these cats turned brown, then quickly spun a cocoon. I later found brown ones like these in the same spot in my garden, also on bindweed. I'm not 100% positive..., but these two fuzzy cats may be the same. Variations in same species caterpillars can be quite striking. I'm posting this to 1) see if anyone knows for sure, or 2) check in 2009 if this proves true!Here's one cocoon that's spun with silk and the hairs from the caterpillar's body.Voila!!! Isn't this a beautiful little moth? --LKR

Harlequin Moth Caterpillars

I just love these colorful little caterpillars! I find them almost every year as I'm searching for Monarch eggs and larvae, or gathering Milkweed to feed my babies.

These beautiful Harlequin moth caterpillars are communal feeders, whose eggs have been laid in large masses under a leaf of the Milkweed plant. They quickly skeletonize one leaf at a time and compete for food with the Monarch larvae.

Once they get to be about this size, they split up, feeding on nearby Milkweed plants. When they've matured, they crawl off their host plant. After finding a suitable spot (whatever that might be to a little caterpillar!) they begin spinning their cocoons along with surrounding debris and the hairs off their bodies. If they get loose in our house, they use dog fur!

Once they emerge as moths, they are known as the Milkweed Tiger Moth. We do not release any of these moths into the wild, but allow them live out their lives, destroying any eggs they may have laid. --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

Sphinx Moth

I couldn't believe it! My hubby went out early this Father's Day morning to get a paper at the local gas station before church, and came home with a moth!!! Of course, I was delighted! Hubby was afraid someone would step on or otherwise harm it. Hummm, this sounds reminiscent to my dobsonfly post!!! You can read about that here: http://naturemom.blogspot.com/search/label/Dobsonfly

Anyway, the above is what he brought home. Yup, a beautiful sphinx moth!!! You can tell by the thin antennae that it's a female. Males have wider, more feathery antennae that pick up the pheromone scent produced by females.

It's true identity is still unknown. The closest sphinx species it resembles is the big poplar sphinx moth, but they have not been recorded--or updated--as being this far east. --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

Tent Caterpillars

Isn't this lovely?
As a child, tent caterpillars were among one of my favorites. I found, and still find, this colorful, fuzzy, predominantly iridescent blue caterpillar irresistible!

Driving six hours across the state of Pennsylvania, one year, was an eerie sight. Many small, leafless, lifeless looking trees had several of the familiar silken tent structures hanging in them. In large numbers, tent caterpillars can defoliate small trees, but rarely kill them unless these have already been compromised in other ways like having been through a drought or repeated defoliation.

This year, I brought in two small nests taken off of our sand cherry tree to raise indoors. The larvae have been fed sucker shoots growing from the bottom of this tree, so it's no great loss. This tree was in no danger of being defoliated. I brought these caterpillars in for several reasons, one being to see how many actually make it to adulthood (the moth stage). Many may be parasitized since they've spent most of their larval lives in the wild.

I must stress that I do not ever release insects considered pests back out into the wild. Instead, I allow them to grow, mature, and reach adulthood to observe them, but destroy any eggs that are laid.
--LKR

Tomato Hornworm

This is the time of year tomatoes are typically started by seed in our home. Many more are planted than we can use with the hopes of sharing them with a usually undesirable pest: the tomato hornworm, known as the Five-Spotted Hawk Moth in its adult stage.

These moths, part of the Spingidae family, have a wing-span of 4-5 inches. They are commonly called "hummingbird", "hawk", or sphinx" moths.

It's hard to believe, but I only ever remember seeing one of these my whole entire life. My mother would find them on our tomato plants and squish them before I could ever see--and rescue--them. The one pictured here is one that was found on a potted tomato plant of ours several years ago in IL.

We overwintered this little guy in a pot of soil on our front porch, and sadly, he never emerged. --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

What's This???

  

Okay, okay.  As you all know, fuzzy butterfly slippers really don't nectar from dandelions or any other flowers or fermenting fruit.  This was partly to show we still do have butterfly food this late in the year. 

It was also to stress the importance of having late blooming flowers, including weeds, in our yards for both butterflies and bees.  Ditto in the early spring.  You just never know who may need it!  

I pick dandelion leaves for salads and for the guinea pigs we've hosted in our home over the years.  And as far as insects go, I'm still hoping that Cabbage White that was released the other day is still alive to enjoy these flowers!  

--LKR