- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
You never know what you'll see in your pollinator garden.
That's why it's always a good idea to carry a camera with you, or you might miss a bit of drama. Not in drama queens, but in drama kings.
Take the case of the male flameskimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata) perched on a bamboo stake in our yard on Memorial Day. The dragonfly is sunning himself, warming his flight muscles. Periodically he loops to grab an insect and return to his perch to eat it.
Whoa! What's this? A Gulf Fritillary butterfly (Agraulis vanillae)--probably a male searching for a female or a territorial male protecting his turf--is rapidly approaching. The flameskimmer isn't about to move. After all, there's a "dragon" in his name and hunting is his game. He holds his ground. Er, his perch.
The Gulf Frit moves closer and closer. Soon it's a red blur against stationary red.
Oops! Right color. Wrong species.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Two's company. Three's a crowd?
Not necessarily.
Sometimes we wish it were half a dozen.
Last July we were admiring two newly emerged Gulf Fritillary butterflies on Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia) when a Western Tiger Swallowtail fluttered down, seemingly out of nowhere, to occupy the same sunflower as one Gulf Frit.
The Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) and the Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) eyed each other for a few seconds. Then in the way of the West ("This town isn't big enough for the both of us") the tiger spread its wings and took off.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
What did you do on Black Friday?
Did you spend the night camped out in front of a store? Or did you join the throngs of people who left home in the wee hours of the morning for the doorbuster deals or stayed on your computer for the online onslaughts?
Last year, according to Wikipedia, approximately 141 million U.S. consumers shopped on Black Friday. They spent--are you ready for this?--a total of $57.4 billion, with online sales reaching $1.2 billion.
Not me. It was Butterfly Friday for me. In between working on major projects, I slipped outside occasionally to see the butterflies landing on the purple lantana.
First, a beautiful Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) showed up to gather some nectar. This is a bright reddish-orange butterfly of the family Nymphalidae and subfamily Heliconiinae. Some folks call it "the passion butterfly" as its host plant is Passiflora, the passion flower vine.
Next to show up was a butterfly of the same family, Nymphalidae: a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui). Some folks call it the "thistle butterfly" as the thistle is one of its host plants. The Painted Lady reminds me of a calico cat, a skittish calico cat. So many earthy colors, and where one ends, another blends. No fashion designer could replicate those hues!
The Gulf Frit challenged the Painted Lady in a game of "It's-mine; I-was-here-first." The Gulf Frit won but the Painted Lady returned.
Meanwhile, no shopping day for us. No camping out, no charging into stores, no racing for would-be presents.
Nope. Final score: Black Friday: 0. Butterfly Friday: 2.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
How can you hate a caterpillar and love a butterfly?
You can't.
Some gardeners so love their passionflower vine (Passiflora) that they squirm at the thought of a caterpillar munching it down to nothing.
But that's what caterpillars do. The Gulf Fritillary butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) lays its eggs on its host plant, the passionflower vine, the eggs develop into larvae or caterpillars, and the caterpillars into Gulf Frits.
Our passionflower vine--which we planted specifically for the Gulf Frits--is now a skeleton. The caterpillars ate all the leaves, the flowers and the stems. What was once a flourishing green plant looks like a criss-cross of brown sticks.
Comedian George Carlin supposedly said "The caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the publicity."
And architect-author-designer-inventor Richard Buckminster Fuller observed: "There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
And someone named John Grey offered this poetic comment:
"And what's a butterfly? At best,
He's but a caterpillar, at rest."
So, it is. Take a look at the Gulf Frit caterpillar and then check out the Gulf Frit butterfly.
Yes, a hungry caterpillar turned into a magnificent butterfly.
How can you hate a caterpillar?
You can't.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Our buddy, the resident praying mantis, appears to be in perfect form.
Crouched beneath the Mexican sunflower (Tithonia), he glistens in the early morning light, as honey bees, long-horned bees, Gulf Fritillary butterflies and fiery skippers search for food. The flower is his beach umbrella, colorfully shading him but also stealthily hiding him.
Finally, he makes his move. He slips up and over the petals and perches on the head of the blossom. As he does, he swivels his head 180 degrees, checking out the photographer and the camera. No predator, no problem, he apparently decides. He assumes the position, folding his spiked forelegs.
A fiery skipper (Hylephila phyleus) floats by, almost touching down next to him. The praying mantis leaps, just as the startled butterfly spins away. A near miss.
A Gulf Fritillary butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) flutters by in his air space, unaware of the "no fly zone." The mantis lurches forward as the butterfly soars. A wide miss.
Score:
Butterflies: 2.
Praying Mantis: 0.
Sometime a miss is as good as smile.
