Butterfly and Wildlife Gardening And Photography In Houston Texas
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Category Archives: Butterfly Gardening In Houston The Monarch Butterflies have all left Mexico and sightings across Texas are becoming common. It may sound like the “same ol” “same ol” but it’s not. In my yard I have seen perhaps only 3 Monarch Butterflies. Journey North and other Monarch Butterfly watchers reported that the population of Butterflies in Mexico this year was…  I’ve got lots of news to share (especially since it’s been so long since I have posted), but only 1 picture. Let me start with what all is occurring in the backyard. The Monarch Butterflies have arrived, but unfortunately I’ve only seen 1-2. The Ruby Throated Hummingbirds just arrived today (March 19). There is one…  2011 was such a devastating year for the Gulf Fritillary Butterfly, at least in my backyard. The drought was so bad I think it affected many Butterflies, but in terms of normal abundance, this species was hit pretty hard. Fast forward to 2012, and now January 2013 and these Butterflies have really made a comeback. …  Here’s something you don’t see every day in Houston. A Zebra Longwing Butterfly. According to the wonderful Butterflies of Houston and Southeast Texas book, “The beautiful and unmistakable zebra butterfly is unfortunately a rare visitor to Houston from Mexico and the lower Rio Grande Valley.” It was early this morning and I was letting the…  The Monarch Butterflies are definitely migrating through Texas on their way to Mexico. I’ve been seeing 2-3 butterflies per day. All of them are feeding on the nectar plants. Strangely enough, I haven’t seen any male Monarchs, strictly females.  I like the following Gulf Fritillary Butterfly picture because of my accidental glowing background. The butterfly is on a peach Zinnia, and behind that there was a pink Zinnia, and the blue background was the accidental part which is actually part of a pool float.  A couple of weeks ago I noticed a female Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly laying eggs on the Fennel. Well, apparently those eggs have now hatched to decent sized caterpillars. There are four caterpillars just on this one stalk, but there were several others on different areas of the Fennel.  i saw my first confirmed sighting of a migrating Monarch Butterfly today. It was well worn color-wise, and had a few tears on the wings. I didn’t have time to try and tag the Butterfly, but I’m hopeful it will be around tomorrow. The experts are predicting another dire year for the Monarchs because of…  I went outside this morning because the temperature was so nice. I was surprised to see so many Butterflies flying around. There was an Female Eastern Black Swallowtail laying tons of eggs on the Fennel, lots of Gulf Fritillaries getting nectar from the nectar plants (Zinnia and Lantana), and a male Queen Butterfly on the…  This poor Eastern Black Swallowtail is really torn up. I think she’s on her last legs. I watched her feed on the Lantana for a while, then head over to the Fennel to lay eggs.  We’re in the dog days of summer where temperatures are in the upper 90′s and the heat index is around 104-108 degrees. It’s also the time that whenever I take my lens outside I can expect a bit of a wait before I can start shooting due to the condensation on the lens. Presently we…  Let me start off by saying I had very high hopes for this lens and I have no bias against Sigma. I’m also not an expert, so feel free to take my review with a grain of salt. In short, I am returning this lens. I’m just not loving it, and to my eyes, the…  Although I haven’t posted much lately, it’s not because there hasn’t been any Butterfly activity in the backyard. Right now we have Giant Swallowtails, Monarchs, Skippers, Sulphurs, Eastern Black Swallowtails, and lots and lots of Gulf Fritillary Butterflies. Last year with the drought, the Gulf Fritillaries really appeared to be effected. We saw very few. …  We’ve had lots of butterflies roaming around the yard but I have posted many pictures of them. We are seeing a good supply of Gulf Fritillary, Monarch Butterflies, Skippers, and Giant Swallowtail Butterflies. Last year during the drought, these common butterflies made very rare appearances. The Zinnias have so much nectar that the Giant Swallowtail…  Our Butterfly Bush is really starting to bloom now with big purple flowers. That has attracted both the Hummingbirds (Ruby Throat) and the Butterflies. This one particular Monarch Butterfly was feasting up a storm on this plant. I think it was also on a bit of a sugar high as this crazy Butterfly was chasing… |
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