Showing posts with label butterflies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label butterflies. Show all posts

Monday, July 12, 2010

if you plant it, they will come

I blogged a few weeks ago about the multitude of caterpillar visitors I've been hosting in my backyard. Well guess what? I now have a multitude of butterflies! Crazy how that works, right?

Swallowtails, Gulf Fritillaries, and the occasional Monarch seem to be the popular kids in town; but I've also had several random (ok maybe random is too harsh; I just can't ID them) little guys who "flutter by" regularly. Several have even landed long enough for me to capture 'em via the trusty Kodak (see above and below, for a few).

Anyway, this morning I'm running late for work (a rarity for me) at a time when we happen to be facing multiple, big-time deadlines. Needless to say, it was especially crucial to my sanity that I arrive early ... but that's another post .... So, I'm flying around like a mad woman, fling open the back door, am putting my key in the lock, when I happen to catch a glimpse of something black, moving off to my right. I look over and immediately see this wonder, hanging from my rosemary:


She's pretty amazing, huh? She'd just emerged from her chrysalis and was sunning herself upside down, drying her crumpled wings before beginning her newest "chapter." The whole experience made me stop, take a deep breath, and just stare for awhile. Of course I went back inside and grabbed my camera. That pending proposal burning a whole on my laptop suddenly didn't seem as worthy of my immediate attention.


One of her caterpillar friends happens to be undergoing the same "change" right next to the rosemary; so I snapped a shot of that as well:


Yes, my parsley is a total and complete mess--it's completely caterpillar-chewed and covered with countless additional caterpillars. But as Martha would say, it's a good thing.

A few more shots from two days ago:

Monday, May 24, 2010

benvenuto, black swallowtails!

When I moved from Houston to College Station a few years back, one of the things I missed most was our butterfly garden at the school where I taught. Watching it grow and flourish--seemingly daily--was a wonder. From beginning to end (not that there ever was an end), we dreamed, planned, purchased, planted, and nurtured the perfect home for countless caterpillars and butterflies (and more than a few aphids). I also developed a love, bordering on obsession, for caterpillars and butterflies.

When I arrived home from work about an hour ago I went through the usual routine: Kick off heels, open the mail, feed obnoxiously vocal cats, pour a glass of happiness, then head out back to water the plants.

That's when I saw them: BLACK SWALLOWTAIL CATERPILLARS! On my Italian parsley! First one ... then two ... then three! I swear it felt like Christmas eve. There's something totally moving about knowing those plants out there are hosting some of the most amazing creatures alive. I'm hoping like hell they do their chrysalis boogie someplace close where I can find 'em.

My cup runneth over :).

The pot o' parsley, aka, "Swallowtail 'hood:"

The first visitor I spied:

Numbers two & three:

Tonight's house special: Italian parsley
Maybe in their new lives they'll pose for another photo session?