A Skipper, a Ladybug and a Monarch Caterpillar on my Honeyvine Milkweed

Look what I found on my Honeyvine Milkweed yesterday afternoon. A skipper, a ladybug and a Monarch butterfly caterpillar!

This is a Silver-spotted Skipper  He was pretty flittery, and then when I read about him I found out that is a trait of skippers, which are different from butterflies, which are different from moths.

Wonder why his eyes are so big and black.

Then I saw this little ladybug. Except he was bigger than most little ladybugs.

I haven’t seen very many ladybugs this year.

This one was quite speedy so most of my pix were out of focus.

He has a little moustache on his back. See the little face.

And then my favorite find.

A Monarch butterfly caterpillar! I’m so excited!

I’ve been fascinated by Monarchs since I read this article in National Geographic when scientists found their winter home in Mexico. We see them in late summer here in Oklahoma and I’m so happy to have one continue the migration from my backyard.

I found out a butterfly would have laid an egg on one of these leaves recently and now it’s a caterpillar. I saw one Monarch bouncing about the front yard a couple of weeks ago so that might have been mom.

He should turn into a chrysalis before too long and at that point I think I’ll put him in a jar. When the butterfly emerges it doesn’t take long for them to flex their wings and then fly away so I would likely miss it if I leave him outside. I may miss it anyway, but I’m hoping for some pictures before he leaves.

After reading up on the life cycle I’m hoping there are more eggs under other leaves on the vine. At first they’re too tiny to notice, but now I’m on Monarch watch.

Anyone else out there creating a Monarch habitat to help these guys out? Since Milkweed is the only thing they eat, I’ll have a lot of Honeyvine Milkweed seeds over the next few weeks.

Jan

Honey Bees and Butterflies and Honeyvine Milkweed

My yard isn’t swarming with honey bees, but then this is the first time I’ve let this little vine hang around long enough to bloom.

This is the vine I where I found the little snake last year. Mom doesn’t like snakes so she pulled all the vines off the fence and we got no flowers.

This vine pops up, literally, all over the yard.  I have to pull it out of the irises, the day lilies, the hostas, from under the holly and Nandina, and it is constantly coming up through my thyme and oregano.

So I was surprised when these little white flowers showed up last week. I tried to take pictures a few times, but the vine is so delicate, any gentle breeze sets it fluttering. And there aren’t very many gentle breezes in Oklahoma. It’s usually plain old wind.

The vine is called Honeyvine Milkweed, among other names, and while it’s attractive to Monarch butterflies, it’s very invasive (I can attest to that) so it’s not a welcome plant in the garden.

I’ll watch for Monarchs to stop by, but in the meantime this American Lady enjoyed a snack.

She was on the vine when I first came outside, and of course she flew away as I approached. But later when I was taking pictures of the bees, she came back.

I guess I’m not so scary if I’m already there.

If the bees–and there were several–tried to poach on the same flower, a flutter of wings sent them off to find a vacant bloom. Evidently the nectar is pretty sweet. The honeybees made a point to land on almost every flower. The butterfly didn’t flitter around much, but made sure to get every drop before she moved on.

I would love to have a camera with a nice macro lens…

…but I don’t think I did too bad with my little Nikon Coolpix.

I didn’t know these butterflies had little blue spots along with the orange and black.

Since these vines are so invasive, and I already have them popping up all over the place, I’ll pinch off the seed heads as they form. And it looks like they’ve started.

I will continue to pull the Honeyvine Milkweed out of my herbs and other flowers, but I will let it flourish on this section of fence. So what if it attracts a snake or two? Come fall, I’ll look forward to the bees and butterflies and more photo ops.

Jan

 

 

The Eclipse From My Backyard

I opted to watch the Great American Eclipse through the trees in my back yard.

And Zeus got caught without his glasses when a breeze blew the shadow of the leaves the other way.

There was one bird singing out there, otherwise all was quiet.

Hope you got a chance to enjoy it.
Jan