Black Swallowtail butterflies arrive late in the summer. But with cooler weather on the horizon, I think this guy is taking off ... for good. Thought for the Day: Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it … Continue reading Ready for Take-Off
Tag: butterfly
Milkweed Believe it or not, this is National Pollinator Week. What will they think of next!? My Common Milkweed, host plant for the Monarch butterfly, are going gang busters this year. They are hearty and robust with huge flower heads. I gave up trying to cultivate them; now I just let them come up where … Continue reading Milkweed
Tagged Monarch Butterfly Monarch butterflies finally showed up in my back yard, although not near as many as last year. It's always thrilling to see them knowing this generation of Monarchs are on their way to Mexico. A net was used to catch this one. My daughter deftly tagged it and recorded the date, place … Continue reading Monarch Tagging
Butterfly Rest Stop First of July and the butterfly garden looks to be in good shape. In full bloom are Gaillardia (yellow), miniature Cone Flower (pink) and Soapwort (white), commonly called "Bouncing Betty". Behind these colorful perennials are Common Milkweed, where Monarch Butterfly lay their eggs. Also, Goldenrod, Nebraska's state flower, and giant Sunflower. I'm … Continue reading Butterfly Garden
This is the Black Swallowtail butterfly that was clinging to the railing of my deck. (click here). I just rotated the image 90 degrees to get a level front view. It reminded me of a large airplane at the end of the runway. Since then, it has snowed almost 4 inches; hope he got cleared … Continue reading Ready for Take Off
Brrr! It was cold the day I found this Black Swallowtail butterfly on the lawn, temp in the 40's and strong winds. It was motionless; I thought it was frozen ... or dead, but flapped its wings when I tried to pick it up. I placed it on my deck so it wouldn't get stepped … Continue reading Black Swallowtail
I started this little science project with a Monarch larva (caterpillar) on August 11th, when DP-1 was less than 1/4" long. It grew to over 1 1/2" long before it pupated on August 29th. After ten days in the pupa stage, a magnificent female Monarch butterfly hatched around noon on September 8th. When we opened the … Continue reading DP-1 Lift Off
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