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misssherryg

Gulf Fritillaries

MissSherry
10 years ago

It's a toss up between pipevine swallowtails and gulf fritillaries for my favorite butterfly. There's nothing like newly emerged males of either species to make me stop in my tracks - such intense color! I've got about ?25 gulf frit cats in a cage, three have just emerged from their chrysalis, and there is one more chrysalis that should emerge soon. There are more gulf frit caterpillars than I can count outside, so I've had to give up bringing them in to raise myself - every leaf has a cat or an egg on it, some two. I'm raising about ?65 pipevine swallowtail cats, 17 luna moth cats, 6 spicebush swallowtails, 5 red-spotted purples, and 5 variegated frit cats! I'm running myself ragged bringing in leaves (bushels of pipevine leaves!) and still cook, clean, etc. although I'm doing as little of the other domestic stuff as possible. The last two GF releases have been males, so I couldn't resist making a few pictures. I liked this picture, because you can see his face and body -

{{gwi:543769}}

Topside picture -

{{gwi:543876}}

Lantana, butterfly bush, and porterweed have been the most popular flowers this year, as usual. The porterweed has been in full bloom lately -

{{gwi:543877}}

Sherry

Comments (15)

  • hawaiiponder34
    10 years ago

    what a shot!! very lovely:-)

  • bandjzmom
    10 years ago

    Wowie kazowie! You are one busy lady! Reminds me of someone else that I know. (grin) I really do love that first shot. It's so unusual to get a shot of them where you can see both the top and undersides. I have seen exactly 2 Gulfs in my yard so far this season. The 2nd sighting was a female, and I had hoped for eggs, but nothing so far. I have a fence FULL of Passionvine and no cats at all. I would so love some Variegated Frit cats. I have seen way more adult Pipevines than usual in my yard this season, so I guess they are having a really good year. Right now, I have 15 Spicebush cats, about 45 Black SWT cats, 10 Cloudless Sulphur cats, and maybe 20 Sleepy Orange cats. Maybe the Gulfs will come late here, and I will still be raising cats in November? :)
    Angie

  • MissSherry
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    That could happen, as long as the weather is decently warm, they could show up. It's a shame for all that passionvine to go to waste!

    Two weeks (exactly) after I got the pipevine eggs, the first two have purged! So the end of all this work is in sight!

    You've sure got a lot of black swallowtails - do you have enough food for them all?

    I'm not raising any sulphurs myself. For one thing, my cages are all full of pipevine swallowtail cats, and there are SO many sulphur cats, even if some get eaten, there will still be plenty to emerge successfully. My partridge peas are full, and they've started using the Christmas cassia.

    My garden is full of butterflies every time I go out there. September and October are really the peak of the season - 'wish it was peak season all year!

    Sherry

  • bob_71
    10 years ago

    Really nice pictures!

    Bob

  • Liz
    10 years ago

    Sherry, those pictures are to die for! What a gorgeous butterfly. And an amazing shot. You are one lucky, talented, and generous lady. The rest of us are lucky to have you around, sharing with us.
    Liz

  • MissSherry
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks so much, Liz, and everyone for the kind words!

    Sherry

  • caterwallin
    10 years ago

    Oooh, is that Gulf Fritillary ever pretty! I sure wish that we'd get them up here. Congrats on having so many cats to raise. I bet you're glad that it's not like that all year though. ;-) I can imagine that you're run ragged.
    Cathy

  • suzannie41
    10 years ago

    When I lived in Florida I raised so many Gulf Frits, and they ARE lovely to look at! Thanks for sharing those pix.

  • bethpierce77
    10 years ago

    The Gulf Frit pictures are great. I have brought some GF cats in to a mesh cage on my back porch to raise. Is there anything in particular that I should do for them, other than keep fresh passionflower leaves in there for them?

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    ...and only a couple weeks ago I was thinking this vine was getting out of control and it was a mistake putting it here. Now I just hope it shows back up next year... and that there was more of it!

  • MissSherry
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    They can really do a number on even the biggest passionvines, can't they? Fortunately, passionvines regenerate quickly!

    Sherry

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    If I knew where there was any more of this nearby, I'd go get more leaves for these guys, and take more cuttings. My Mom's vine didn't show back up this year.

    Here's a pic from 9/4.

  • MissSherry
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The vine is beautiful! It's 'Incense' which is a famous hybrid of P. incarnata and P. cincinnata. My big vine is a hybrid of 'Incense' and P. incarnata. The gulf frits have eaten nearly all the regular P. incarnata, so I've been putting them on the big vine, which is huge. There are already cats and eggs on it, but it's so big, it can handle the others.

    Here's a flower from the big vine -

    {{gwi:543878}}

    Sherry

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    Good shot! I wasn't expecting to see any flowers, lucky timing! Now I know, take a cutting as soon as I can, assuming it's back next year.

  • surya55_gw
    10 years ago

    What stunning pics Sherry. Thanks to people like you, Angie and others. Truly awesome.

    Nerry

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