Butterfly And Wildlife Gardening And Photography» Butterfly Bush

Butterflies Love The Butterfly Bush

texdr — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:38:20 +0000

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 the Bluebirds and Purple Martins who would fly a little too close for its liking.

Monarch Butterfly On Very Purple Butterfly Bush

One Tagged Monarch, One New Monarch, And One Returning Monarch

texdr — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 01:46:29 +0000

Three new Monarch Butterflies today (4 if you count the deformed wing Monarch I posted about earlier).

One was a returning male Monarch that we had previously tagged. It was feeding in the early morning on the white flowers of the Butterfly Bush.

Male Monarch Butterfly On White Butterfly Bush Against Sky Background

The second one was one that we had not previously tagged and it was getting nectar from one of the yellow Zinnia flowers.

Untagged Monarch On Yellow Zinnia

The final Monarch Butterfly we saw today is one that emerged from our outdoor Butterfly enclosure. I cheated on this picture because I intentionally placed it on the Shrimp plant while it was expanding and drying its wings. I just wanted a different picture from what I’ve been taking.

Monarch Butterfly Inflating Wings On Shrimp Plant

First Migrating Monarch Butterfly Of 2011 In Houston

texdr — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 01:54:28 +0000

Yea! The first Fall migrating Monarch Butterfly of 2011 (at least the first one I’ve seen) has arrived. I might have seen two, but since I only was able to take a picture of one of them, I’ll just say one for now.

I spotted the male Monarch on our pink Butterfly Bush (a Hummingbird and Butterfly favorite). I couldn’t decide if I should try and tag him for his journey to Mexico or take a picture. I decided on taking the picture in hopes that I could attach a tag to him later, but I never could catch him for that.

So how do I know this is a Monarch that has likely migrated from Canada on its way to Mexico? Honestly I don’t know for sure, but there are a couple of signs. One, he’s a little faded on the wings and has some scratch marks on there as well. The second sign is he’s missing part of his lower left hind wing. That hints that this guy has been on a long journey.

If you haven’t visited Journey South recently (or haven’t visited their site before) I’d recommend you visit their site if you’re interested in the journey of the Monarch Butterflies. In their latest update, there’s some concern about the Migration of Monarch Butterflies through Texas because of the extreme drought we’ve been experiencing. If the Monarchs aren’t able to “fatten” up enough while migrating through Texas to make it through the Winter in Mexico, then this could affect their survival. Simply put, the drought has made it tough on all plants, including the important nectar plants that these Butterflies need to survive.

Fall Migration 2011 Male Monarch On Butterfly Bush

Last Of The Ruby Throated Hummingbirds For Fall 2011

texdr — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 02:38:58 +0000

The majority of our Ruby Throated Hummingbirds left last weekend, but we do have 2 females that remain. Honestly, I think they like it without all the males fighting over the feeders.

For Fall 2011, we maybe had 10 total Ruby Throats, which has been about average the last couple of years. Back before Hurricane Ike, we had close to 100 during the Fall, but haven’t had those high of numbers since then.

This particular female in the pictures below, likes to stand guard in the Pussy Willow tree. I’m not sure if she is guarding the feeders, or just watching me take pictures of her.

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird On Pussywillow Tree

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird Looking Regal On Pussywillow Tree

One Of The Last Two Ruby Throated Hummingbirds Of Fall 2011

Ruby Throated Hummingbird Feeding On White Butterfly Bush

Butterfly Bush Is A Butterfly Magnet

texdr — Mon, 16 May 2011 03:27:46 +0000

If you don’t have a Butterfly Bush, I highly recommend getting one if you want to attract Butterflies. These plants are wonderful nectar plants for Butterflies and Hummingbirds really like them as well.

Today there was a large male Eastern Black Swallowtail that just couldn’t get away from this plant. In this particular photo the male is on one of the pink colored flowers, but this plant we have has a mixture of colors including pink, white, and purple.

Male Eastern Black Swallowtail On Pink Butterfly Bush

Giant Swallowtail Getting Nectar From Pink Butterfly Bush

texdr — Sun, 08 May 2011 05:13:48 +0000

We have several Butterfly Bushes across the yard and they tend to be magnets for Butterflies. A new visitor for this season was a Giant Swallowtail Butterfly.

Giant Swallowtail On Pink Butterfly Bush

This Butterfly was so enamored with this particular Butterfly Bush I could barely get a few pictures. It would visit one section of the plant, then fly to another, then fly to another. I assume this was a female as I did see her flying near one of our Fruit trees, presumably to lay eggs.

Giant Swallowtail Getting Nectar From Pink Butterfly Bush

First Time Viewing Of Palamedes Swallowtail

texdr — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 02:07:35 +0000

We saw lots of Butterflies in the backyard today, two of which we’ve never seen before.

One of the Butterflies that we’ve never seen before in the backyard was this Palamedes Swallowtail. It was feeding on one of our Butterfly Bush plants.

Palamedes Swallowtail On Butterfly Bush

Female Queen Butterfly Is Awful Thirsty

texdr — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 02:33:05 +0000

We’ve had a female Queen Butterfly around the last two days getting nectar from the Milkweed and Butterfly Bush Plants. I haven’t seen her lay any eggs yet. This is Leecy’s favorite Butterfly.

We’ve also had a female Monarch in the garden and she and the Queen try and chase each other away from the Milkweed plants they are on.

Female Queen Butterfly Getting Nectar From Milkweed

Female Queen Butterfly Getting Nectar From Milkweed Wings Spread

Female Queen Butterfly Getting Nectar From Pink Butterfly Bush

Painted Lady Butterflies Love Butterfly Bush

texdr — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 03:15:35 +0000

Painted Lady Butterflies are always a challenge for me to photograph. They rarely sit still for long.

The Butterfly Bush had some appeal where we actually had two different Painted Ladies. One particular Butterfly positioned itself in a perfect position against the blue sky.

Painted Lady On Pink Butterfly Bush

Painted Lady On Pink Butterfly Bush Blue Sky

Painted Lady Getting Nectar On Pink Butterfly Bush

Beautiful Long Tailed Skipper On Butterfly Bush

texdr — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 03:30:08 +0000

We had Monarchs, Sulphurs, and Long Tailed Skipper Butterflies today. It was a beautiful day outside, not a cloud in the sky.

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

Monarchs Are Migrating Through Houston!

texdr — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 04:19:32 +0000

Now the Monarchs are really migrating through Houston! We saw probably close to 10 Monarchs today. The strange thing was most of them just kept on flying, they didn’t stop anywhere in the yard.

Fortunately, not all of them kept on flying. Two of them stopped by and I was able to tag them. One (the male) was on the Butterfly Bush, whereas the female was on the Milkweed.

For those interested, the female was tag NGC #402 and the male was tag NGC 403.

I couldn’t get my camera out in time, so these two pictures were taken with my iPhone, which was the only camera I had nearby.

Tagged Monarch Female NGC 402

Tagged Monarch Male NGC 403

American Painted Lady Butterfly On Pink Butterfly Bush

texdr — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 02:41:38 +0000

I don’t often see, much less photograph, the American Painted Lady Butterfly, but I was fortunate enough to see one the other day.

This Butterfly was feeding on one of the Butterfly Bush’s we have. Obviously Butterflies love this plant, but Hummingbirds love it as well.

American Painted Lady On Butterfly Bush

Gulf Fritillary On Multi-Colored Butterfly Bush

texdr — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 05:08:06 +0000

Finally! A Butterfly! Seems like a rare occurrence lately, although it’s probably just because I haven’t been getting home at a decent hour to see them.

This is a Gulf Fritillary that was on my multi-colored Butterfly Bush.

Gulf Fritillary On Multi-Colored Butterfly Bush

American Painted Lady Butterfly On Butterfly Bush

texdr — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 01:34:01 +0000

I think this is only the second time I’ve ever photographed or seen this particular Butterfly in our yard.

This is an American Painted Lady. In Houston, these Butterflies are most abundant in the Spring and Fall.

You have to look a little close to see this Butterfly as I was shooting it from a distance and didn’t want it to fly off if I got any closer.

American Painted Lady On Butterfly Bush

Butterflies Were Everywhere Today

texdr — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 04:30:57 +0000

Holy Cow! Today there were Butterflies everywhere in the backyard. We had a Monarch, Question Mark, Variegated Fritillary, Giant Swallowtail, Gray Hairstreak, Eastern Black Swallowtail, some type of Crescent Butterfly, and a Pipevine Swallowtail.

I got a few pictures, but I missed several and several others weren’t that good as I got over-excited.

The plants that seemed to be attracting the most Butterflies were the Lantana and Butterfly Bush.

The most prevalent Butterfly I saw today was the Eastern Black Swallowtail. Interestingly, none of them were laying any eggs, they were just going after the nectar and chasing each other.

Eastern Black Swallowtail On Butterfly Bush

On top of all that, we’re having a crisis. We are running out of Dutchman’s Pipevine (Aristolochia Fimbriata) and neither Joshua’s Native Plants nor Buchanan’s Native Plants has any in stock. We have at least 15 huge Pipevine Swallowtail Caterpillars and although I’ve been thinking they will soon stop eating and form Chrysalises, I’m apparently mistaken. I could have sworn they were going to stop eating yesterday, and yet today there they were, still munching away. They were even eating the Dutchman’s Pipevine stems since there were so few leaves.

I’m going to start calling first thing in the morning and see if any other nurseries have this plant in stock. For those of you in the Houston area reading this, if you know of a source, please share!