Welcome to Saturday
Good morning all.
Book of Flower Studies 1510-1515
Master of Claude de France
Metropolitan Museum of Art
In order to try and counteract some of the damage that we have done to native plants, pollinators, and the ecosystems that sustain them, I am just starting to seek out information that might help stem their decline. I'm only one person, an amateur, with one small space and so any impact I have is microscopic. But there are a lot of other people doing this same thing; trying to cultivate a healthy ecosystem for bees, butterflies, birds, and all the other pollinators. I was surprised to see how many organizations and groups are working on this project.
I'm going to scatter some of what I found here, it is not in a coherent form yet, but it is a beginning. Everyone's region of the country is different with regard to the native species, but some of what I found applies to all.
I like the emphasis in this video on native plants as well as the idea of including as many people as possible in these efforts.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1UxwYs6ecs]
37 minutes
This website is full of information on how and why to create native landscapes.
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/native_pollinators/index.html
Buy your seeds and native plants from reliable, local sources. Flowering plants purchased at major gardening retailers have been shown to contain systemic pesticides that kill visiting honeybees. Systemic insecticides, such as neonicotinoids, are commonly used, broad-spectrum, indiscriminate toxics, and can be found throughout all of the plants tissues, including their pollen and nectar.
Every state has a Native Plant Society, and they are a helpful resource in promoting knowledge and recognition of the importance of preserving native plants. This is mine.
https://npsot.org/wp/
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a good resource for North American plants.
https://www.wildflower.org/plants-main
Taking care of the bees by making sure they have flowers...
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-5FrJjicrM]
10.5 minutes
Here are some design ideas from a landscape architect:
https://pollinatorgardens.org/2016/01/12/design-ideas-for-gardeners/
This is a really interesting video about creating the landscapes to sustain the insects, birds, and butterflies. The speaker, Doug Tallamy is very good.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrRJm-yLsQ8]
This website identifies local keystone species.
https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder
This website has a nice gallery of pictures of butterflies.
https://www.naba.org/chapters/nabast/galleryswallowtails.html
This is an interesting article on why it is so difficult to grow the milkweed to sustain the Monarch butterflies.
https://www.texasobserver.org/the-butterfly-effect/
This is a website that lists many of the organizations that are working to protect the Monarchs
https://monarchjointventure.org/about-us/partners
this is a list of more than 50 organizations that work on protecting the monarch migration and on helping other pollinators thrive.
Below are some of those organizations:
Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund
The Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund works to get more monarch and pollinator habitat on the ground by providing landowners with incentives to restore habitat. They employ innovative techniques that enable landowners to support pollinators on their land.
Bee City USA is a national nonprofit organization that galvanizes communities to sustain pollinators--responsible for 1 in 3 bites we eat and the reproduction of 90% of the world's wild plant species--by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants and free to nearly free of pesticides.
Cibolo Nature Center
Cibolo Nature Center, in the Texas Hill Country, is in an area of high priority for monarch conservation. CNC is working with the MJV to provide monarch monitoring and conservation workshops for citizen scientists and Master Naturalists throughout the state.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYNHy5kywC8]
The Texas Observer has consistently been reporting on the destruction of the National Butterfly Center by the border wall construction. The story is tragic.
https://www.texasobserver.org/national-butterfly-center-staff-surprised-...
https://www.texasobserver.org/national-butterfly-center-sues-trump-admin...
The Book of Flower studies at the top, is a really beautiful book. If anyone is interested in old botanical studies I recommend going to the Met website, you can look through part of the book on the site, it's awesome.
https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/current-exhibitions
Hummingbird and Apple Blossoms 1875
Martin Johnson Heade
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Comments
Good Morning, randtntx, the German magazine Der Spiegel
asks this morning if Trump wants to lose the election. I would say 'yes'. He has no other option.
Oh well, who still cares about it, right?
Good Morning
It does seem that way doesn't it. His actions are contrary to winning over any support. It is odd.
It does not make any sense to me. Perhaps he really doesn't have any other options?
Thanks for stopping by mimi, nice to 'see' you.
Great stuff Rand
We try to plant lots of flowers to attract the pollinators here. Really like the links to native plants. Did not know about inherent pesticides in seeds. Good to know!
Thanks
I just noticed
my response to you is waaay down below. I guess that's what happens when you cross out someone's name and put it in the subject line.
Good morning...
Thanks for the OT and pollinator info. The elementary school on the mountain has a butterfly garden. Our garden has lots of flowers and butterflies. We do have milkweed...white and orange....and some monarchs, but swallowtails are our most common. Their larva are eating the parsley now. We grow enough for them too.
I'm not too good on butterfly ID like one of my buddies. So I use this online key
https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Butterflies
There are fewer insects each year here. We are just one strand in the web of life, but we think we are the most important. Boy do we have it wrong!
Well, hope all is well in your corner. Rain from hurricane Delta is due here soon. They're just calling for an inch (which we can use). Hope everyone has a good one!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Lucky for you
that you have milkweed. It seems to be a favorite food for not just Monarchs but other critters as well. It's such a pleasure to see areas teaming with butterflies, flowers, insects, and other birds. I never paid attention to those sort of messy-looking, scraggly meadow like areas before. But they can be full of life and activity. I guess I was always drawn to the more dramatic landscapes like mountains and forests, and seascapes, but now I'm seeing these meadow-like places and and small corners in a garden or a park and they are beautiful in a different way.
I'm much more open to growing what I previously would have considered a weed. I have a new appreciation for white brush and thistle. I planted a bunch of fennel and dill last month, hope I get to provide a feast for some hungry caterpillars.
I'm not good at butterfly or caterpillar ID, so I will check out that link, thanks.
Hope you get just the right amount of rain for your plants and critters LO.
weeds?
Saw your lovely thistle picture this AM and thought invasive weed! We do keep native non-invasive thistle, and we have a couple.
All the best!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
You are right
that is a Scottish Thistle, it does not qualify as a native for my area. I guess that makes it a weed. But it is cute.
Thanks randtntx for this ot
Lots of good information here and will come back to watch videos after I bike to the Farmer's market this morning.
My property in Texas is in the hill country and during my time in Texas during isolation, the Ladybird Johnson Wildlife Center was a great place for walking and enjoying their work.
Having lived in the Austin area since the 70's do remember walking around in Zilker park and coming across trees loaded with monarchs.
On my next trip to Texas a trip to the Natural Gardener will be on my list. This seems a worthwhile and rewarding experiment for me to embrace.
Have a great day
Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.
This ain't no dress rehearsal!
Good morning
, funny you mention Zilker park, I used to live right up the street or to be more accurate, right up the hill from it. It was a favorite place for walks and jogs along the winding creek bottom and wooded area. I'm sorry to say, I never noticed trees loaded with Monarchs. That is probably my own fault though as I suspect the Monarchs were there but that I wasn't attuned to that sort of thing, most probably because I wouldn't have known what they were. You are way ahead of me.
As I begin this journey of reallytrying to figure out the ecology around this area, I'm excited about all of the fascinating resources out there for us. There are so many butterfly gardens and nature areas in various public places like parks, libraries, schools, bikeways, etc. They showcase a large variety of native plants that are xeric and hardy and strong and beautiful. You are right, Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center is a good one.
I tend to gripe about this state a lot but we have some fabulous flora and fauna and beautiful areas. It's past time I appreciate it fully and I hope more people do the same. I'm thinking critical mass in these sorts of endeavors might be helpful.
Between your references, dystopians nature photos, OtC's videos
and traveler's and JB's experiences I am gaining some ever-expanding second-hand experience of a place I haven't known at all. Thanks all.
It's virtual traveling
. If you have any questions I can try and be a virtual tour-guide.
Thanks for the offer, randtntx
You all make Texas sound much more varied and interesting than the cliched impression I had. Thanks.
good monning randtx
Thanks for the great thread.
Here is Santa Cruz we have two Monarch Butterfly Preserves
One near Lighthouse Feild
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vPDxvUPRi0]
And one that backs onto my house among a handful of others. I yearly clear the area below my house because of fire danger. It is run by the Xerces Society Though all I have is a letter in a file from them. Otherwise they are not visible.
https://www.xerces.org/
I grow a great number of plants for birds, bees, keep water on mud for the paper wasps and generally support the system in all ways I can. I feed a lot of birds. Just last night I saw a young peregrine fly bombing an owl. The Red Shouldered Hawks are the ones that mostly annoy it. The crows shout at it in big bunches along with the jays. The owl is a big gray one that hangs out in the preserve. It gets harassed a lot but seems to survive.
Take good care. Be well.
Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation
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Good morning magi. You probably know this already, but:
Big grey owl sounds like probably great horned. If it's call is a pattern of deep Hoot sounds, then that's it.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Think you are right
It does have ’ears’ like that. Big and grey. Will gave it a check with binocs. Now I am curious. I have never heard it. Thanks for the tip.
Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation
Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook
Owlish
Having worked nights outdoors for decades, owls were our songbirds! You'll have to stay up pretty late to hear them. When they get going, they really make a racket. Few know it, as they're busy counting sheep.
They're long distance who-who-ers, too. Their call is so low-pitched that it carries quite a distance. Often there are miles and miles between those calling, particularly on a calm night.
That video
of the Monarchs is beautiful. Thanks.
I was reading that there are two migratory paths for the Monarchs, one is the path by you, through CA. The other goes by me, through TX. Pretty cool huh?
Two cheers for your two Monarch butterfly preserves in Santa Cruz. The guy in the 3rd video above, Doug Tallamy, was making a little bit of fun of people who have gone full out trying to 'save' the Monarchs, but I think it is just fine. Every little bit helps. I think his point was that we tend to forget about all the other insects that are just as important to save.
As I told JB above, y'all are way ahead of me.
I'm getting with the program though and doing what I can.
We have owls that patrol here now and again. I can occasionally hear them calling across the tree canopy, which is something I love to hear. On rare occasions I actually catch a glimpse of them, usually just before dawn, a fleeting silhouette against a barely lightening sky. I have to stand outside, in the dark very quietly without moving for that reward.
I have never seen them harassed by the hawks around here though.
Thanks for the xerces link, I'm on an information-gathering tear.
yes, they migrate here and there
Here they have a parasite. Everywhere I think. Some are not migrating bc they are not strong enough so they over winter here. I have four bushes and have seen four chrysalises open. Two just shrunk and turned brown. They check for the parasites at the sanctuary where they raise them and cull the ones that are contaminated. But I think it is better to let them live and over winter. This may be the new normal given the changing climate and biodiversity.
Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation
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I'm sorry to hear that
but I'm glad that there are people who are alert to the problem. With everything in flux we will have to use a variety of strategies and just see what works.
Hi QMS,
it's disappointing to me that you can go to a nursery with the specific intent of buying a plant to feed a specific butterfly larva and caterpillar only to find that it has been treated with a systemic pesticide which ends up killing the very caterpillar your'e trying to attract! It's so crazy. I read that "to protect the integrity of the fruit and to avoid killing butterfly larvae, it is important to purchase from a center that can guarantee the plant has not been treated with systemic pesticides." Bottom line; you have to ask before you buy the plant.
Thanks for the Steve Miller tune, that fits like a glove here, I haven't heard that in a long time.
Stunningly beautiful.
This is my favorite kind of botanical art.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
It is beautiful
isn't it. I get enchanted by those images and get lost in the virtual museum looking at them. Then I can never make up my mind which image I want to post, I want to post them all. I have a huge weakness for books with botanical drawings and studies of insects and birds as well. If I had the money I would collect them, or may be not. They really belong in the public domain. I'm so glad you liked them.
There is so much information out there for you to utilize with your gardening project. My problem is that I have to keep refining my sources and weeding out the information that is not the best. That's not necessarily easy. For instance there are many recommendations to buy and use native plants, but some are way better to use than others. How to know which?
The 3rd video above with Doug Tallamy, mentions this problem and recommends a site (I posted the link just below the video) that may help, although I have not explored it in depth so I don't know for sure. Anyway if we keep in mind what is best for our specific ecosystem and conditions, we may tend towards making the right choices. It's a challenge, I really don't want to be guilty of planting something that is harmful.
Have fun with your garden, planning it and watching it develop is great.
Back in the sixties, the Smithsonian gave away some sets
of prints of those, I think maybe a wpa product, we got some, but I left them for my folks when I left home to move north. They might still have some, or similar.
Be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
That's pretty interesting
. These days when you go to an exhibit you don't get anything for free, the slick brochure will set you back quite a bit. It's all about raking in the money.
I wouldn't mind going to the Smithsonian again. I'm one of those weird people that like museums.
This was a trove they had found, all you had to do was write
them a postcard and they would mail you a set. Really.
Also a museum lover.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Wow
that's pretty neat. I wonder if they do anything remotely like that any more. I have to say many museums have really great programs for kids, so there is that.
Thank you for all this amazing info!
Will be extremely useful to me in planning my garden.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I considered driving to Austin
to visit the Lady Bird Johnson wildflower garden, but it is a pain in the ass to schedule the precise time of arrival, get to it at the allotted time on the pre-purchased ticket.
One of these days, I will get there.
Have a great day everyone!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I know
. I haven't done any visiting of gardens or parks etc. in some time just because of the "pain in the ass" factor and the social distancing etc. I really miss all those little outings. I'm going to have to figure out if my family can do those things again safely. I'm not sure.
Have a good one.
I spoke with a couple of folks that had just returned from
New Orleans. They had found all bars were closed, most restaurants, and they had high hopes to salvage the trip with a visit to the Botanical Gardens there. The place had been closed for 4 months, and very recently reopened.
These people say it was a mess. I wonder if the Lady Bird place is like that?
Oh, well, no use in going anywhere at this time. Walking 30 minutes in a mask doesn't sound fun.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
The trip to New Orleans
sounds kind of sad. I think I'd rather stay home and play some jazz and eat a beignet.
But seriously, all this closing down of things is kind of scary. What the heck. I don't mind wearing a mask for 30 minutes but ghost towns give me the creeps.
Travel is currently difficult to impossible.
I am not sure what the couple had expected, but they are from the Houston area, and NO is a common getaway for them, like it is for my area just north of Houston.
I think they were willing to try it in case they got to enjoy anything NO offers.
Scary to think about the gardens being neglected for 4 months, then opening up with obvious problems. It doesn't take much to get a hotel or restaurant cleaned up and running, but gardens go south, require a lot of time and effort to get back on their game.
I have not spent time learning about weeds that feed butterflies or other insects. Very interesting. I did make certain decisions on my acreage about planting grass, and where. Found out that just "grass" hay growers consider weeds has more protein that Bahia, the go-to hay. Horses and cattle thrive better on grazing that is diverse.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I know next to nothing
about grasses. I did buy a small bag of a mixture of Texas native grass seed last fall. I planted it this past spring as an experiment under a stand of Oaks where there is a lot of shade. It claimed to be a shade-friendly grass mix and it seems to be doing well. I'm pretty happy with it, I may have to get some more. I don't intend to mow it, it doesn't look like it will need to be mowed. Apparently, once it's established it's drought tolerant.
I got it from a seed company in Junction called Native American Seed. They have an interesting catalog. Here's a link if you want to check them out https://www.seedsource.com
They also have a great selection of native wildflowers. I'll be planting those this fall.
I consulted with the county extenstion agent.
ou have one, no matter where you live. They are mostly affilitated tieh Texas A
They are in every county. Affiliated with Texas A & M for seed and soil testing, weed and grass info, etc...
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good morning rand. Great column, thanks. If you intended this
as an open thread, you could edit it and add open thread to your tags.
Another good source of local natives is botannical gardens, especially those connected to local Universities. The Americal Horticultural Society should have a fairly comprehensive list at www.ahsgardening.org/rap - that's their reciprocal admissions page for members which also has links to information on planting pollinator gardens and other matters. National Wildlife foundation has information on creating backyard (or front yard) habitats here:
https://www.nwf.org/garden-for-wildlife/certify.
There was an organization that seems to have vanished which was promoting the idea of creating and documenting multi-species habitats, for plants and animals, which they were hoping to use to create or expand migration corridors, among other things.
One consideratin with flowers and shrubs is to try to find and select a collection of plants such that one or more plants will be in bloom and/or bearing berries or other fruits during every season, to provide a continuing source of foods (and shelter and such) all year long.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Thanks
for the OT reminder. Thanks for the links as well, I will add them to my list. With just a cursory foray into The American Horticultural Society and The National Wildlife Foundation, I know I will go back.
While some organizations may have vanished, there are a number of groups here who encourage work by citizen-scientists. This is a route that I think is awesome, especially for children because it is so hands-on and it makes the theory of all this come alive. I hope they continue with this work.
You are so right about creating a habitat that has the potential for being a continuing source of food throughout the year. That is one advantage that this region of the country has; a super-long growing season. With a little research about each plant, it's possible to extend the food availability to the maximum. That's one of my goals.
Thanks el, best to you
to echo EL's comment
This is a prime directive in butterfly gardens, to always have something in bloom. Best if types with both pollen, and nectar (often different). Same goes for anything producing berries or fruit. Naturally most places do this on their own in the wild. Things are sprouting and there are new flowers in bloom from spring to fall.
What EL says...
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
good stuff rand
Always like to see these ideas get airplay and circulation. I know a couple birder folk that were volunteers at LBJ wildflower center and one Austinite just told me that work has been on the kabosh since march.
A great wonderful illustration. Of course where it was illustrated, in Europe, it was a native. Here I think most of the books call that Musk Thistle. In America it is a nasty invasive. I make sure to top them before they go to seed, and only let native Texas Thistle do that here. Same with Malta Star Thistle, another invasive, that shall never go to seed in my presence.
We can each make our own little differences, and millions of them do add up.
Here are a couple butterfly site links:
https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/
http://butterfliesofamerica.com/L/intro.htm
There is a nice native plant nursery in Medina Texas, south of Kerrville, forget the name. At the local library garden (in my megalopolis of 200) which is about 1500 sq. ft. I have recorded 103 species of butterflies. Native plant and pollinator gardens are a blast. Right now I am getting 25+ species daily on about 16 sq. ft. of Blue Mistflower (Eupatorium sps.) at our front porch.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
I'm really inspired
by your 25+ species daily on 16 sq feet of Eupatorium . Wow. It makes me want to double down and get things in gear.
Now I'm questioning how 'blue-blooded' my thistle is. Is it good enough or is it of inferior ancestry. I'm going to have to do some solid identification. God forbid it's Malta Star Thistle. I would be so mad at myself.
It is sort of funny that while I'm talking up native species, I'm using an image of a nasty invasive.
Lookout pointed that out to me as well, but really it was more an appreciation of the artwork and the book than the species. The artist was from Tours (from what I can tell) and the plant is supposedly from Scotland and it was done in 1510. So how the heck did the artist get a plant from Scotland? I don't know. I bet it would be an invasive in Tours as well.
Thanks for the butterfly/moth links and for the nursery in Medina. I'm determined to find a nursery that knows if they are selling pesticide laden plants.
Sorry to hear that LBJ wildflower center is sidelined. Their online presence seems to be still good though. Hopefully that will continue.
I'm going to go with your idea that the small things that millions of us do make a difference cumulatively.
Thanks again d., best to you.
My front porch list Oct. 1-11
Here is my front porch list from the last 11 days. Mostly it is all on the Blue Mistflower Eupatorium sps. (maybe greggii). There was a Lantana going great which is over and out for a few days now from that flower cycle. There is a little bit of Tropical Sage (tubular red) and some Red Turkscap (both attract hummingbirds, and bigger butterflies) blooming. 45 species. I have taken 45 minute walks at the local deco gardens (Lots of Texas towns have these 'beautification' projects - we have 3) or at the library garden, and in the best falls, had 45 species in 45 minutes. Fast as I can call them.
Swallowtails ~ Papilionidae
Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)
Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)
Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)
Whites, Sulphurs, Yellows, Oranges, etc., ~ Pieridae
Southern Dogface (Zerene (Colias) cesonia)
Lyside Sulphur (Kricogonia lyside)
Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae)
Large Orange Sulphur (Phoebis agarithe)
Little Yellow (Eurema lisa)
Mimosa Yellow (Eurema nise)
Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe)
Gossamer-wings - Lycaenidae
~ Hairstreaks
Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus)
"Olive" Juniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus)
~ Blues
Reakirt's Blue (Hemiargus isola)
Ceraunus Blue (Hemiargus ceraunus)
Brushfoots ~ Nymphalidae
American Snout (Libytheana carinenta)
Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia)
Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)
Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia)
Vesta Crescent (Phyciodes vesta)
Texan Crescent (Phyciodes texana)
Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)
Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon)
American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)
Common Mestra (Mestra amymone)
Question Mark (Polygonus interrogationis)
Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
Queen (Danaus gilippus)
Soldier (Danaus eresimus)
Skippers ~ Hesperidae
White-patched Skipper (Chiomara georgina)
Common Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus communis)
Eufala Skipper (Lerodea eufala)
Clouded Skipper (Lerema accius)
Southern Broken-Dash (Wallengrenia otho)
Sachem (Field Skipper) (Atalopedes compestris)
Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)
Whirlabout (Polites vibex)
False Duskywing (Gesta invisus)
Orange Skipperling (Copaeodes aurantiaca)
Dun Skipper (Euphyes vestris)
Julia's Skipper (Nastra julia)
Purple-washed Skipper (Panoquina lucas)
Celia's Roadside-Skipper (Amblyscirtes celia)
Texas Powdered Skipper (Systasea pulverulenta)
Mostly all seen from a chair. Total numbers in the hundreds. A couple of them are rare finds making it real exciting.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Oh wow
that's amazing. I'm going to have to come back and look at that list later as I begin to be better at identification of butterflies. I have quite a few, not nearly as many as you, but a good amount.
I have a tough time distinguishing between them, for instance, I have seen a yellow and black swallow tail type butterfly but I don't feel sure which specific one it is. I also have seen a beautiful black and blue swallowtail...again, not sure which one. All the yellow ones look alike to me.
Lately, for the past several days, there have been a whole crowd of rusty-colored smaller butterflies. They seem like they are on their way somewhere because they had not been here and then all of a sudden there are tons of them.
Well, anyway, it's really interesting. Thanks for all your input and tips. I'm looking forward to making use of them.
I forgot to mention
(edited to redirect @ dystopian) I have a couple of really nice stands of Turk's cap and have noticed the hummers like them and even the Lesser goldfinch seemed to visit them, but I don't remember any butterflies stopping by.
Hmm, I wonder if I just didn't notice.
on the local swallowtails
The small rusty ones are skippers. There are lots of types, but each has defining characters upon scrutiny. Some are orangeish, others just brown, they are often seen on lawns too.
The black and blue swallowtails here are overwhelmingly Pipevine Swallowtail. They are abundant in most of Texas. There are five or so other swallowtails that mimic the Pipevine, in several species. Dark morph females. But most are scarce. The Pipevine gets distasteful from larval foodplant (Pipevine - looks like grass) like Monarchs. Other things mimic them, as with Monarchs, Batesian mimicry.
The yellow and black swallowtails are likely Eastern Tiger Swallowtail but Two-tailed are also here. If forewing black bands are equally thick as the yellow between them, or thicker, they are Eastern Tiger. If the black bands are narrower than the yellow between them, Two-tailed.
Giant Swallowtail is also around, mostly brown with yellow bars across wing. Larva is a citrus pest called 'orange dog'.
Only larger long-tongued butterflies can use the Turkscap. Sulphurs, Swallowtails, zebras, the bigger stuff. Large Orange Sulphur and Cloudless Sulphur in particular love them.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Thanks so much
. This is an ongoing project, and I can only get better at it. Today I learned that many native grasses are a good seed source for birds and some are larval food sources for butterflies. How did I not know that? The Painted Bunting apparently likes Texas Cupgrass.
I have a lot to learn.
Hi randtntx
One could get really lost in looking at the art of butterflies and flowers. What gorgeous flower art you featured. Thank you for sharing your interest and research in these areas for others to benefit from.
In the process of looking at the Met’s collection of flower art I found this stunning sculpture. It started out as a single German ceramic sculpture, and was adorned with a French porcelain base and flowers 23 years later. What a collaboration.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/207138
The landscape architect's advice is clear and helpful.
Be well all.
It's easy
to wander in the Met collections longer than one intends. I think I have to prohibit myself from clicking on the Met link until I have set a time limit for my visit.
The porcelain that you posted is amazing. The details of the flowers, ( I read they were Vincennes flowers, those are the ones added later in France I think) and that beautiful colorful bird...she's big! She must be a mythological, or fantasy character. The whole configuration is incredibly charming. Thanks for finding it, it's kind of fun right?
Good to see you Janis, best to you.
Kinda fun, it is!
Good advice to take it in dedicated doses every once in awhile.
Love this subject!
So busy Saturday that I just got to this "Welcome to Saturday" thread. Now, it's past 2 AM on Sunday ...and I need to hit the rack. BUT what a cool thead this is. I'll be back tomorrow to read in depth.
Thanks, randntx!
Glad you enjoyed it
, hope you found something interesting in a link or two. I'm getting helpful information from the comments and I will revisit some of the links I posted as well because there is more than I can absorb at once.
Have a good one, thanks for stopping by.
Info overload almost!
Yes, there's a ton of good information here. I've only scratched the surface so far. Gonna have to bookmark it.
Even as a little kid, I was always the one chasing the butterflies, etc. Sometimes I still do, but they can easily outdistance me these days ...maybe they always could.
Thanks again!
My pleasure,
This is fun stuff for me, butterflies and all.