You may also notice all the Aphids on the Milkweed.  I’ve tried spraying them and wiping them off by hand.  I’m just learning to live with them for now.

First Queen Butterfly Of 2010

On another note, Leecy and I were letting the dogs out for their final potty break of the night and I noticed a small pair of golden eyes staring back at me.  I grabbed the flashlight and starting walking towards the eyes.  I expected a small Raccoon, but as I got closer, it was definitely not a Raccoon.  It was a baby Skunk!

Luckily I noticed those eyes before I let the dogs out, as Sascha (German Shepherd) has a great nose for wild animals.  She’s been the one who has found most of the Raccoons, Mice, injured Birds, etc.  I can only imagine what would have happened if she would have scented that Skunk!  She wouldn’t have hurt it, but she almost definitely would have stunk.

Nope, haven’t disappeared, just taking a small break. I’ve also been getting home later than normal during the week, and working hard on maintaining the yard on the weekends.

Here’s what new or changed as of July 27, 2010.

The Purple Martins have all fled the nest. They come by and sing in the mornings, but they no longer stay over night.
Lots of the young Cardinals and starting to get in their colored feathers, so they look a little ratty right now.
The Aphids and Milkweed bugs are really making their presence known on all the Milkweed. I’m spraying them off all the time.
We occasionally see a Giant Swallowtail laying eggs by the fruit trees.
We also have just barely seen any Gulf Fritilliaries.
A few Skipper Butterflies stop briefly on the nectar flowers from time to time.
Doves, Cardinals, and Bluejay’s spend the most time at the feeders.
Starting to see a few Frogs, but not as much as I would expect with all this rain. No sign of Michael Jane, the big Bullfrog in many months.
Lots of Dragonflies, all day and evening. Some are getting huge.
Hummingbirds. We have 3, two female and 1 male
Last, but not least Mosquitoes. They are all over the place with these rains and moist ground we’ve been having

I really need to get out somewhere and go shoot for a day. Everything seems to be non-stop lately. Perhaps I’ll revisit Houston Arboretum, or the park in Kingwood, or some place entirely new. Just need to get out somewhere with the camera and some time.

How about some of you reading the blog. Seeing lots of butterflies where you are?

I’ll start with the Monarchs.  Originally we had 9 Monarch caterpillars from that adult Monarch who probably traveled from Mexico.  Now we have 7.  Two of them died, but I’m not sure why.  I had been keeping the Monarch caterpillars in a protected enclosure to protect them from wasps, and I also had placed them on the Milkweed that had no Aphids.  When I checked yesterday, 2 of the Monarch caterpillars had died.  Since I’m not 100% certain that this Milkweed hasn’t been treated (and that being the reason for no Aphids on the plant), I decided to move them to the Aphid infested Milkweed.  At least I know that Milkweed is not treated (that’s one of my personal tests for knowing that Milkweed hasn’t been treated.  If it has Aphids, it likely is okay for the Monarchs).  I also moved them to an area that gets a bit more sun.  They seem to like that.  I’m guessing they have maybe a week at most before they move on to the Chrysalis stage.

For the record, this is by far the lowest number of Monarch caterpillars we’ve had in the Spring.  We haven’t even seen many Monarchs flying around.

Mexican Monarch Caterpillar Eating Milkweed

Two Mexican Monarch Caterpillars Eating Milkweed

More Mexican Monarch Caterpillar Eating Milkweed

Now on to the Purple Martins.  There is lots of activity in our 14 room Purple Martin house.  Yesterday we took down the house to check out the nesting activity.  We have a total of 6 nests, but no eggs or baby birds.  In the morning, the Martins seems to be really focused on continuing to build their nests.  I’m hopeful that we will see some eggs real soon.

Everyone knows about Ladybugs and Aphids right?  You typically can buy 1500-2000 Ladybugs for about $10.00, spread them around your Aphid affected plants, and in theory, they will eat the Aphids.  Personally, I’ve only had moderate success with this method, but I continue to use it.

Ladybug Stalking Aphids

Another insect that helps in Aphid control is the Hover Fly.  I didn’t know what this insect was until today.  These are insects that feed on that “honey dew” released by Aphids.  You can see some of that in the picture above (little white bubble).

Here’s a picture of a Hovey Fly eating, or regurgitating something, I’m not sure what.

Hover Fly Feeding On Aphids

Ladybug Eating Aphid

The strange thing about this was that the Aphid was still alive and moving, while the Ladybug was eating it (I’m assuming it was eating it, maybe it was just holding it).

After a few moments of watching this, another Ladybug strolled by and decided to watch the event.

Ladybug Eating Aphid While Another Watches

You may remember me mentioning we have only seen 1 Monarch and she didn’t lay very many eggs on the milkweed.

We were only about to find about 5 really small Monarch Caterpillars

Young Monarch Caterpillars From Parents From Mexico

We decide to transfer them from our Aphid infested Milkweed to the Milkweed that’s been in quarantine.

Closeup Of Monarch Caterpillar Whose Parent Came From Mexico

However, we also spotted something that we have no idea what it is and could use some help

Ladybug Larvae

We have no idea what this critter is, nor what it is eating.  This isn’t a Butterfly Caterpillar is it?  Is it something that eats Butterfly Caterpillars?  Does it eat Aphids?

Any help from anyone?

Aphids.  Normally I don’t stress too much about these little pokemon looking critters, but some of my Milkweed is just covered in these things and I’m sure it’s causing some stress on the plants.  I tried last weekend to pick up some Ladybugs to but the places I went too were sold out.  I’ll try again this weekend.  The challenge will be keeping the Ladybugs around long enough to eat most of these Aphids as I don’t think they care too much for this super hot, humid weather we are having.

Another pest, but normally not a huge one for me.  This guy just happened to land nearby when I was taking pictures.  I’m not sure if this is the tachinid fly or just a regular housefly.  Either way, I consider it a pest.

Red Eye

This thing is a monster!  Look at those legs?  I can’t remember what these things are called and I’m too tired to look it up, but whenever I see one, I squash em.

Bad Bug

Just for the record, I don’t dislike all bugs, just the ones that eat or destroy Butterfly caterpillars or mess up my plants.  For good measure, I thought I would throw in a picture of a “good guy.”  Although I do have quite a few nectar plants in the garden, it seems that lately the Honeybees are more attracted to the flowers (and pollen?) on the Fennel.

Honeybee