AN EDUCATION IN BUTTERFLIES

The garden is alive with butterflies, the result of all those caterpillars which have been feeding on my garden. Plants that have never seen a caterpillar before, like the American pokeweed...eaten to lacework.
I spent yesterday afternoon chasing them around the garden with my camera. Some are easy and some impossible to capture.
The monarch, Danaus plexippus, seen here feeding on the gomphrena 'fireworks' The monarch is the Texas state butterfly.

The Julia heleconian, Dryas iulia feeding on the lantana.

The beautiful queen, Danaus gilipus, feeding on Greg's mist flower.

Skippers galore. I think this one is a Southern Broken-dash, Wallengrenia otho,  feeding on gomphrena. Or is it a fiery skipper? That was my first ID.

A bordered patch, Chlosyne lacinia, well camouflaged on the yellow narrow leaf zinnia.

This one may be the marbled white, Melanargia galanthea. common checkered skipper , Pyrgus communis.

I am just beginning to realize that identifying butterflies is no easier than identifying birds. I planned to do some more camera sleuthing today but the wind made it impossible. I chased a yellow, an orange and a swallowtail around the garden but they never landed. Then I had to rescue 3 butterflies from the greenhouse. That took some time. Maybe I will add to my collection this week.

Just added his website which might help to identify butterflies from this area. It just made me realize how difficult it is to identify them. Butterfly Indentification for south Texas

THEY LOVE IT

Yesterday was the first day that the butterflies seemed to be everywhere.

Swallowtails, monarchs and red admirals. They love the tall blooming spikes of Verbena bonariensis.

GARDEN GOINGS ON

This is the first preying mantis I have seen this year and boy was she/he doing a dance. Wouldn't keep still jigging back and forward. I decided she was doing a rain dance because she was heading towards the sprinkler on the vegetable bed. Even the mantis is excited about our 40% chance of rain this weekend.

Then as I walked along the path and, what I can only assume was, a male monarch, swooped in onto, what I can only assume was, a female monarch and then began a violent, frantic, thrashing,  frenzied jig. Really!

Eventually things calmed down enough to get a clear picture and they eventually flew off together.

Earlier that morning, when I was inspecting the bloom on the yucca I noticed a leaf footed bug in one of the flower bud axils. He was so dozy I was able to pluck him off and dispose.

Nothing is going to spoil this bloom. Time is getting closer.

MONARCHS ON THE MOVE

Last evening, as we ate our dinner outside, we were delighted by the antics of five or six monarch butterflies. It has been a summer with little signs of butterfly life. Now the cooler weather is bringing them out again.

I waited patiently to get the perfect shot of one but I couldn't quite capture it with wings outstretched.

But I enjoyed their acrobatics as they danced around their favorite flower, the Gomphrena globosa 'fireworks'.

The clusters of tubular flowers which hide among magenta bracts are perfect for the long proboscis of the butterfly.

We have other evening visitors in the garden too. The goldfinches swing back and forwards as they feed on the Texas sunflowers and last night we had a new bird visitor, which we identified as the Indigo bunting. The blue flash as it flew to feed on the sunflowers was unmistakeable. We must get into the habit of taking the binoculars to dinner.