Regardless of the “official” name, this almost definitely the White Striped Longtail and this Butterfly ranges from Argentina through Central America, West Indies, and South Texas.

So for the experts out there, what’s the official name of this Butterfly, Chioides Catillus or Chioides Albofasciatus?  Is it is uncommon in Houston as it appears to be?

Dorantes Longtail Butterfly Wings Closed

Dorantes Longtail Butterfly Wings Spread

Below is a Long Tailed Skipper for comparison.  Notice how the tail looks different

Long Tailed Skipper Getting Nectar On Milkweed

Primarily I was focused on tagging and photographing the Monarchs, but when this Long Tailed Skipper appeared on the Butterfly Bush, I had to get a picture of that!

Yea, I know these Butterflies can eat up some of your garden vegetables, but boy, do they have some really pretty colors!

Beautiful Long Tailed Skipper On Butterfly Bush

There are a total of 5 videos, each one is less than 2 minutes long.  Watching these should give you a decent idea of how to start (or continue) a successful Butterfly Garden.

In this first video, I talk about how to buy Milkweed, what prices you should expect to pay (at least in Houston), how to tell if you have healthy Milkweed, and how to plant your Milkweed plants.

In this second video clip, I talk about the importance of having Nectar plants for your Butterfly Garden.  I also show a brief clip of my Butterfly Enclosures.

By the way, some good nectar plants I recommend are Penta, Salvia, Purple Coneflower, Lantana, Butterfly Bush, and the Cigar Bush.

In this third video clip, I talk about some other Host Plants for your Butterfly Garden including, Pipevine, Fennel, and Citrus Trees.

In the fourth video clip, I talk about some additional Host Plants for Butterflies including Spicebush and Passion Vine,  as well as what kinds of Butterflies you can expect to attract with the different Host Plants.

In this fifth and final video clip I talk about some additional Butterfly Gardening tools such as portable Butterfly Enclosures and long tweezers.

If you have any questions about these videos, where to buy plants or the additional Butterfly Gardening tools, just send me an email or leave a comment.

Hope you enjoy and it makes sense!

Long Tailed Skipper On Cigar Bush

My first reaction was that the features and the hair weren’t as sharp as I was expecting.  With minor sharpening I think it looks okay

Old Monarch On Cigar Bush

My reaction to the above shot is it again wasn’t quite as crisp as I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised by the overall color and shadows of the picture.

Hummingbird On Wire, 7D

On this picture, I was pleasantly surprised by the nicely blended background.  My 40D wouldn’t have done near as well I don’t think.

Here’s another similar shot, but more feather detail is present.

Another Hummingbird, 7D

Tomorrow should be another busy day as it looks like about 12-15 will be hatching.  I put a Butterfly Bush in the Butterfly Enclosure so they can get some nectar after they hatch and since we won’t be able to release them until we get home from work.

The one photo below of the Monarch against the blue sky is probably my favorite photo thus far, and of course I didn’t take it:-).  The second picture is one of the hatchlings on a Purple Coneflower.  Finally the third picture is 3 of the hatchlings on the Butterfly Bush

wait for it…

wait for it…

Beans, or in the case of our garden, Green Beans.

We had these Butterflies last year but I didn’t know what they were at the time.