It's cold, there's snow, it's dark too early, there's ice, it's cold (did I mention it was cold? Gah! I hate winter!)
Seems like a great time to talk about butterflies.
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Butterflies, and moths, are in the family Lepidoptera and have over 174,000 species worldwide. I've only seen a few dozen species so there are plenty of new ones to look forward to.
Today, I'd like to show some of the more interesting butterflies I've observed in my part of the world - upstate New York in the northeastern corner of the United States, either on my own property or on a nature preserve or park not too far away.
That pretty creature in my header photo is known as the Giant Swallowtail, Papilio cresphontes. Their caterpillars look uncommonly like bird droppings and are sometimes considered pests in citrus orchards in the south, where they are known as orange dogs. The larvae also eat other plants from the Rue family, such as prickly ash and, of course, common rue.
Red lobelia attracts giant swallowtails and hummingbirds!
If you grow rue in the garden to attract these butterflies, be careful around it and wear gloves when handling it. Rue is known to cause a condition called phytophotodermatitis, also called rue rash. The sap from the plant reacts with sunlight, leaving the gardener with what looks like a nasty burn, complete with blisters. I've had it and it's not fun at all. Takes forever to heal and leaves dark marks on your skin.
Back to butterflies! I was treated in 2013 to a visit from a Baltimore Checkerspot, Euphydryas phaeton. Oddly, I've never seen one since. Host plants for the caterpillars include penstemon and plantain, a gorgeous garden flower and a weed, respectively. I have both, more of the latter than the former, unfortunately.
The adults, like most butterflies, will feed on just about any nectar source available. This one started on a rose bud, moved on to a marigold and finally perched on a daylily bloom. I don't know how much nectar it actually got from each of these, but it was definitely checking with its long proboscis. A list of good nectar producing plants for attracting butterflies is here. As the site warns, do some research to ensure you don't accidentally unleash an invasive plant in your garden!
Speaking of nectar, you can attract butterflies by putting out fruit for them. The worse it looks, they better they seem to like, it. This bedraggled female swallowtail couldn't resist the rotten oranges I had put out for the catbirds and forgotten about. Bananas and watermelon are also good choices, if you are going to try this on purpose. I'm told a good slathering of molasses makes it irresistible.
There's just no accounting for taste
Monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus, are probably one of the best known and most amazing butterflies in the states.
Their annual migration, taking 3 generations to complete, is one of the natural wonders. Sadly, their wintering grounds are being decimated by illegal logging. Additionally, the eradication of milkweed, the only food the caterpillars can eat, is a major problem. If you have milkweed on your property, please leave it! The butterflies will thank you.
Butterflies, in both their larval and adult forms, often evolved to mimic unsavory substances, such as the caterpillars mentioned above which look like bird droppings, or other butterflies which have a bad taste. The viceroy, Limenitis archippus, is a butterfly that seems to have evolved to mimic the monarch butterfly, which is nasty-tasting due to its diet of milkweed. The development of mimicry of a noxious species by a harmless one is known as Batesian mimicry.
See the black line dividing the hind wings horizontally? Big clue this is a viceroy, not a monarch.
However, recent research has shown that the viceroy is just as unpalatable as the monarch, leading scientists to conclude the viceroy mimicry of the monarch is actually Müllerian mimicry. In this case, the two species are usually preyed on by the same predator species and develop similar a similar appearance to warn the predator off. Neat stuff, huh?
One of the things I love about being a gardener is how critters will become accustomed to your presence and go about their business with nothing more than a few nervous glances at you. I've had birds happily raiding the feeders not three feet from my head, frogs that let me hand feed them and one persistent dragonfly that would simply not leave me alone.
Not that I minded!
It always amazes me, though, when a butterfly find me to be an acceptable perch. This lovely creature landed on my arm and would not be dislodged. Crossing my fingers, I went into the house to summon my personal photographer, aka the Darling Spouse, taking Ms. Thing with me. She did not object. We returned outdoors for the photo shoot and I was thankful we had a digital camera. If we had to pay to have all those shots developed, we'd be bankrupt. Here's one of the best before she flew off.
We identified her after the fact as a female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus. The caterpillars of this species display two defensive mimicry strategies during their lives. When they are very tiny, they mimic bird droppings, much as the giant swallowtail. As they get older, they turn a uniform pale green and develop eye spots just behind their heads. It makes them look much bigger than they really are and may scare away predators.
Lastly, just some pretty pictures to round things out.
American Copper, Lycaena phlaeas
Great Spangled Fritillary, Speyeria cybele - check out the eye spots!
Common Sootywing, Pholisora catullus
What sorts of butterflies and caterpillars do you have in your area? Share your encounters and pictures with us!
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