Sherry, I have scattered a lot of Partridge Pea seeds as well & only have about 4-5 plants that aren't real big!(I think they are like Bluebonnets...they might be in the soil several years before they sprout!) I also planted Coffee Senna & it is huge & making tons of pods! I have several Candlestick Senna plants as well. All of the CS cats I have found have been on the Partridge Pea even though the others are listed as their host plants as well! I'm seeing a lot of CS adults but not that many cats or eggs...I think the wasps are getting them before I see them! I have brought in 3 CS cats...one that was really yellow & 3 Little Yellow cats to save them from the predators!
{{gwi:521031}}
Yellow Cloudless Sulphur Cat...a first for me!
{{gwi:521029}}
Little Yellow Cat... I'm still seeing lots of Queen adults & am just now seeing a few Monarchs but no cats...predators again, I think!
The GFrits have defoliated my Blue Passionvines as well as a 'Lady Lavender' I have in a pot!
All my A.fimbriatas are getting big again but hoping to see another round of PVST eggs before fall! I'm so excited...Cathy sent me some A.macrophylla seeds(she only had a few!)& I planted them thinking they wouldn't come up until next spring...well, I have 3-4 small plants already & have lots of shade & trees to plant them under! I am hoping the PVSTs will like it better than my A.tormentosas...they are ignored unless they have new growth & have never flowered or produced seeds & this is the 4th year to have them! I can move larger cats to them when the fimbriata has been devoured but otherwise...they won't eat it! I am hoping to get some A.clematits seeds because it is also safe for PVST cats...I had some that a local BF friend shared with me several years ago but they never came back! I think the soil I planted them in was too heavy!
Looking forward to raising more cats soon as well!
Take care, Lila

Sounds like you've got plenty of butterfly/caterpillar activity going on, Lila - great!

I think I'll bring the cloudless sulphurs in, even though as late instar cats, they might be parasitized. I'll put them in a cage by themselves. I can't see any eggs or cats on my Christmas cassias, but then they're so tall, I'd need a ladder to see the tops where the new growth is.

Pipevine swallowtails only lay eggs on new growth, Lila, so maybe you need to prune and fertilize - preferably with chicken manure - your A. tomentosas? They love mine, so I know they don't have anything against it. Some of the A. fimbriata seeds that you sent me came up, and I got my first seed pods, finally! This spring, the caterpillars ate the plants down to the nub, or should I say, that carrot-like root/bulb, so I didn't get any blooms, until recently, that is. I'm glad the pipevine swallowtails left them alone long enough for them to bloom and the seeds to mature. I planted the seeds in the back bed, where it's mostly shady.

Have fun!

Sherry

Congrats to both of you on your butterflies and cats!

I had 2 Partridge Peas show up in the garden this year, and it has been a few years since I grew it. The seed must have a long dormancy period. I also have Xmas Cassia (Senna bicapsularis), which the Sleepy Oranges and Cloudless Sulphurs like as well. None seen yet this year.

I have had 3 Gulf Frits laying eggs, and I cannot find hardly any eggs or cats. I have so many predators - some I have never seen before - this year. Lots of leaves with tiny holes, but no well eaten foliage found at all. Also had a Mama Monarch show up a few days ago, and I cannot find any Monarch cats either. So, another sad year so far. The wasps are atrocious, as are the spined soldier bugs, Robber Flies, and other wicked predators. I think the birds are getting into the action as well. Our drought has not helped. The predators come here to find meals that are long gone on the prairies right now.

Susan

The last couple weeks, I have been seeing the large sulfur butterflies in my garden, which I think are Cloudless Sulfurs. Are they the biggest type? They're beautiful! I love that they nectar on Black and Blue salvia and my bright red salvias. They create a color contrast when they land on the flowers.
I've been trying to attract more. I planted cassia hebecarpa this spring from seed and only got four seedlings but they're supposed to grow to be 4 to 6 feet tall and bushy so there should be plenty of foliage to support some sulfurs if I can keep them alive. It was so hot and dry this summer, I never planted them out. They're still in a lasagna pan on my patio waiting for cooler weather and some rain which we have been getting a little of this morning. I'll have to figure out where I'm going to put them and I don't know whether they're yard worthy or something I should stick at the back of the field out of sight.

Christie, my S. hebecarpa was beautiful in bloom. It gets these conicals of bloom and they are very dramatic and showy! When it is thru blooming, tho, it does get kind of ratty, or it did for me. Mine attracted both Sleepy Orange and Cloudless Sulphur butterflies - and the bumblebees just LOVE the blooms.

Mine died and I don't know why. Just didn't come back one spring. I sure do miss it.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Senna Hebecarpa in Bloom

Christie, yes, the cloudless sulphurs are the big ones, and they do indeed love Salvia guaranitica and any red flower -

{{gwi:510215}}

They're EVERYWHERE here now, typical of this time of year.

Two of the cats I brought in are traveling around the cage with that I'm going to pupate look. I'm looking forward to seeing them emerge!

Please pray that Isaac doesn't come here like the models are now showing! I think Camille, Frederick, Elena, Georges, and Katrina are enough for one person to deal with! Let's hope it goes to Texas - sorry coastal Texas - because that area could sure use the rain!!

Sherry

Newly eclosed & released today!!!
{{gwi:528931}}
In years past...I had Large Orange Barred Sulphur cats on my Candlestick Cassia plants in the fall & they make the CSs look tiny! They have a wing span of about 8mm whereas the Cloudless Sulphurs are about 7mm by the measurements on the Dallas Butterfly site.

I love that Dallas Lepidopterists site, Lila. I use the host plants by butterfly list a TON! It lists a broader range of larval host plants that I cannot find elsewhere. Also, a lot of the time, what the butterflies use in Texas, is pretty much the same as what they use in Oklahoma.

I finally set up a tomato cage/paint strainer cage today for the 4 Monarch cats I found. There were more, but gone now. I am now checking daily since the Mama is still roaming the yard. She's not laying a lot of eggs, but I'll take the few that she does.

Susan

Susan, I love the site, also & you are right...there are a lot of plants listed that aren't listed on other sites! Dale Clark, the founder of the DCLS, has an open house at his butterfly farm this fall! He is the one that gave me seeds for the coffee senna plant I have growing but the CSs don't seem to like it here...so far! I listed the link if anyone wants to check it out!
I also have a S.hebecarpa but it hasn't bloomed yet. The S.corymbosa I bought last fall is about to start blooming as well!
I had a ton of Orange Sulphurs this spring in my garden & realized that they were using Common as well as Hairy Vetch for their host that was growing on the side of the highway. I had a volunteer come up in my butterfly garden & it was devoured by the cats! It's interesting...I didn't see any Cloudless Sulphurs here until this month! I guess it is all about the availability of host plants... I haven't seen any Orange Sulphurs since late May, early June!
I have plants for Southern Dogfaces but haven't seen them here this year... Black Dalea & Lead Plant but no cats on them!
I still haven't seen a single Tiger Swallowtail this year but had a ton the last couple of years!
Hope everyone has a great BF Fall this year!
Take care,
Lila

Here is a link that might be useful: Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society

One of the cats is now a chrysalis, and the other two are pupating. I found two more cats on the bushes - I may or may not bring them in, too.

It looks like the tropical storm is moving west of here, thank goodness! Here's hoping it brings plenty of rain to the drought-stricken parts of the country!

Sherry

Sherry - Glad to hear that about Isaac. I was wondering if you would have to evacuate. Are you still expecting a lot of rain? I'm hoping it will bring us some up here in Missouri. We could use it.

Sherry, glad to hear that Isaac isn't going to be a big problem for you!!!
Went on a long bike ride today & came across some Twin-leaf Senna plants... so I harvested some seeds for my meadow! I thought they were a host for CSs but only Sleepy Oranges are listed on DCLS.
Later, I rode to a field that was covered in Indian Paintbrush earlier this spring & look what I found...
{{gwi:528933}}
The field was totally covered in Partridge Peas...I'm motivated to go back & get more seeds to scatter in my meadow for next year(I picked a few pods that were ripe)! I've never seen them grow this dense before!
Lila

They're really dense, Lila! If I were you, I'd get a lot of seeds for the meadow - I plan on spreading some around in mine when the seeds are ready.

Christie, I hope your area gets plenty of rain. Now they're talking like it's going to come ashore as a Cat. 2 hurricane in SE Louisiana or coastal Mississippi, so I'll probably have lots of wind - don't know how much - and rain. I keep watching the reports. If it gets bigger than a Cat. 2, we'll leave. My husband has reservations in Monroeville, AL, just in case.

Oh well! :(

Sherry

Sherry, didn't we go thru this with you b4? I remember you going to the hotel that you said you always use when the hurricanes threaten. Darned, I just hate that this storm appears to be taking the same path as Katrina did. And, I think I recall you saying earlier this spring that many of your plants and butterfly populations were just starting to re-establish on your property!

I will be praying and thinking of you and your hubby and the precious King Cavaliers!

Susam

Thanks for you kind words, Susan! This storm is taking a similar path, but it's a very different hurricane, and I know hurricanes! :( By this time, Katrina was a huge hurricane, covering the entire Gulf, with winds over 160 mph, a Cat. 5. It deteriorated a bit coming ashore, was supposedly only a Cat. 4, but it brought a Cat. 5 tsunami with it, 28' of water. The MS coast is still nearly vacant on the beach, so there aren't many homes or businesses left be damaged this time. This storm is still a tropical storm, and it doesn't even make the complete circle, so even if it sits and grows in strength before coming ashore, it's not likely to be nearly as bad as Katrina. Still, it's an aggravation.

My property doesn't have all those brittle loblolly pines that came down before, because I pull up the seedlings religiously. The trees here now are much stronger.

Yes, we always go to a certain hotel in Monroeville, AL, because they take dogs. Housing pets during a hurricane is a BIG problem!

Sherry

Yes, I traveled from OKC to Boston, Mass, in 1992 with my 2 cats and my daughter. I mapped out the trip via a Trip-Tic with AAA so that I knew which hotels would allow pets before hand. Otherwise, I couldn't imagine trying to stop and find one hotel-by-hotel.

I am watching the Isaac off and on tonight. Are you still at home? Prayers still with you, et al.

Susan

Yes, we're at home, the winds are getting gustier but not terrible. They say this one is so slow moving we'll be getting rain for two days, so it could mount up.
I've still got power, my satellite TV and computer still work, knock on wood......

Sherry

The first two cloudless sulphurs emerged this morning, both apparently females, and both dark with some orange in their coloring. I got a picture of one of them as she perched on the fence -

{{gwi:528934}}

The others look like they'll emerge soon.

Sherry

She's beautiful!
I currently have 2 crysalids & 3 cats eating S.alata & occidentalis leaves in my box! I keep seeing lots of activity out around all my Sennas(3 S.alatas, 2 S.occidentalis plants, S.corymbosa & several Partridge Peas) but no more cats...the predators are winning!
There are bugs I've never seen before along with tons of wasps checking out all the leaves!

Lila, we have far too many predators in Oklahoma and Texas this year. They got a late start in the garden, but when they came, they arrived in droves. I am resorting to collecting eggs because if I don't, they will be eaten, as well as any that hatch. I have NEVER seen this many. I have a new predator that I haven't seen before and cannot find out.....yet.....what it is. It reminds me of a leggy, washed out milkweed bug, but smaller. They sit in the Fennel flowers, or on leaves lurking and waiting to attack. Grrrrr.

While I haven't seen the Assassin Bugs eating cats, they do seem to love Honeybees. Poor things have enough to contend with dealing with CCD.

Have found a few Spined Soldier Bugs, but not as many.

Wasps - too numerous - so I imagine they have a lot to do with the disappearance of cats.

I think my Cardinals may be eating GF cats.

I've been feeding peanuts and bread to the Doves. There are a lot of birds around the garden. I am guessing that the drought is sending a lot of predators and birds to the city's residential gsrdens this year.

Lila, I have some sort of Vetch species growing in my yard, but not sure which one. Probably Common. It dies out by summer's start. I also have white clover, which the Orange and Clouded use, too, but it's impossible to check....too much of it.

MissSherry - that is a GORGEOUS Cloudless! You do such marvelous photography and raise such a diverse number of leps. I'm always impressed with your photos.

Susan

Susan, I am seeing the Spined Soldier Bugs along with a bug that I've never seen before! Here is a picture...
{{gwi:528935}}
They all just hang around my Sennas & wait! GRRRR is right!!! I tried using my scissors but they are too fast! I have been squishing any Milkweed bugs I see & have smashed a few beetles that were probably Soldier bugs! I don't have time to "stand guard"!!!
I also have a 'Lavendar Lady' Passionvine in a pot(they won't survive our winter) & it is under one of my bird feeders. The Carolina Wrens have pretty much kept the GF cats off it but it has very few leaves & no blooms. I will use a different location for it next spring...just too tempting for the birds!
I have been checking daily my milkweed, sennas, & rue but haven't seen any more eggs so far! Just tons of wasps & bugs laying in wait! I keep seeing the females hanging around but haven't "caught them in the act!"
I have a new plant that volunteered is definitely in the pea family...I think it is Strophostyles helvola...Trailing Fuzzybean. I'm not sure if it is a host but it volunteered in my BF garden where the Hairy Vetch was earlier this year. I let it grow but haven't seen anything on it so far.
I had a ton of Orange Sulphurs this spring but haven't seen any since the host plants dried up! I am still seeing a few Little Yellows as well as Phaon Crescents(they are so tiny!)
Sherry, didn't you post a picture of GST eggs vs BST eggs? The cats are so tiny still, I'm not sure if they are all BSTs!
Thanks,
Lila

I can't be sure - if you can get a side image or topside image of the bug, I might be more definitive - but that looks like a Wheel Bug. Is it pretty large, with what looks like a sideways turned wheel on top? I get them in the early morning before they become active. I have missed a couple of times, but I generally can get them.

I grow Lavender Lady in the ground here in OKC. I've had the vine for about 12 years. The roots are somewhat protected (by plants I put in at the base, like a Daylily, and some annuals, but my yard faces North. I think it is much hardier than they say elsewhere on the Internet. LL is late to break dormancy in spring - I usually don't see it until June.

Trailing Fuzzybean is rep0rted to host Southern Cloudywing and Silver-Spotted Skippers.

Yeah, my Monarchs are not laying eggs much either. I only have 5 to release so far. This is what happened last year. I usually get lots of eggs this time of year, but not much happening egg-wise.

Susan