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Click here to see the Tourmaline Butterflies

I'm going to try to post pictures of the butterflies alongside their caterpillars and chrysalises.  I've been adding some pictures of their eggs lately.  I'll keep adding as I'm able to get pictures.  Send your questions and I'll add them to the FAQ page.  Butterfly FAQ's     (Thanks to Ken Werner at Gulf Coast Butterflies (239-353-9492 for all the help!)                   

	Click here to see the Monarch's Metamorphosis
Monarch on Milkweed	Monarch Caterpillar	Monarch Chrysalis
Queen Butterfly on Wild Ageratum	Queen Caterpillar on Milkweed 6 "feelers" instead of 4 and red color at base of each feeler	Queen Chrysalis
Viceroy on Willow leaf	Viceroy Caterpillar on Willow leaf	Queens mating on Willow
Sulphur Butterfly on Pentas	Sulphur Caterpillar on Cassia - Note eggs on edge of second leaf from left	Sulphur Chrysalis
Longwing Zebra	Longwing Zebra Caterpillars on Passion Vine	Longwing Zebra Chrysalis
Gulf Fritillary on Penta
Click here to see the other side	Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar on Passion Vine	Fritillary Chrysalis Looks like the Zebra but without "ears"
Click here to see the Julia Metamorphosis
Julia Butterfly	Julia Caterpillar on Passion Vine	Julia Chrysalis
Eastern Black Swallowtail on Penta
Click here to see the front side	Eastern Black Swallowtail Caterpillar on Parsley	Eastern Black Swallowtail Chrysalis
Southern White	Southern White Caterpillar on Mustard	Southern White Chrysalides ready to hatch
Buckeye	Buckeye Caterpillar on Plantain leaf	Buckeye Chrysalis
Malachite	Malachite Caterpillar on Blechum	Malachite Chrysalis
	Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar (Thanks to Stuart S.)
White Peacock on Porterweed		Front view of Swallowtail  on Penta
Giant Swallowtail on Pentas	Question Mark Butterfly
Polydamas Caterpillar on Pipevine (Aristolochia)	Polydamas eggs are laid in clusters and when they are small, the caterpillars like to gather together at night	Polydamas Swallowtail Caterpillar on Pipevine
Polydamas Chrysalis	Polydamas Butterfly (Tail-less Swallowtail)	Full view of a Polydamas.  You can see how it looks just like a Swallowtail but without tails.
Gulf Fritillary	Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar (Thanks Stuart!)	Painted Lady
I've just been told that this is a White Marked Tussock Moth.  Its host plants are Oak trees.  The hairs are allergenic and it is considered  a minor pest.	A cluster of Io moth caterpillars on willow.   Be careful!  They sting.	Mystery Caterpillar
Pearl Crescent	Eastern Black Swallowtail This is an old one - note the tattered wings	Eight Spotted Forester (Moth) Info courtesy of Kerri by way of  "Peterson First Guide to Caterpillars" by Amy Bartlett Wright.
Male Zebras mating with female chrysalis	Here is a Sulphur Caterpillar in the middle of becoming a chrysalis	Thanks to Stuart S. for telling me that this is an Azalea Caterpillar!
Oleander Moth caterpillars on Oleander (They don't sting) (Picture courtesy of Danielle Barker)	Here is a cool picture sent to me by Nancy Eaton.  It has a Polydamas butterfly, caterpillar and chrysalis all in the same picture!	Does anyone what kind of moth this caterpillar turns into? Photo by Ellis Fleming I'm told that this is a Tersa Sphinx Moth of the Hawk Moth family and feeds on Pentas as a host plant
		Hickory Horned Devil Caterpillar. It will become a Regal Moth (Royal Walnut Moth) -Thanks to Sherri Hudson! http://www.hilarynelson.com/Hobbies/ Bugs/HickoryHornedDevilCaterpillar/
Oleander Moth - it looks like a wasp, but it's harmless! (Photo courtesy of Kevin - thanks!)	Hickory Horned Devil Caterpillar. It will become a Regal Moth (Royal Walnut Moth)	Click here to see more Mystery Caterpillars

Butterfly Eggs

Butterfly (and caterpillar) Predators    Birds and wasps are the most effective predators.  Here are some pictures as I get them.

Ants will eat eggs and sometimes attack butterflies and caterpillars	Walking Sticks are the enemies of butterflies	Assassin Bug - This bug sucks the juice out of caterpillars
Wasps and Yellow Jackets love caterpillars	Ladybugs don't only eat aphids	This is a Leaf Footed Bug (of the stinkbug family. (Thanks Pam!) It is an efficient predator of caterpillars.
These are little tiny parasitic wasps,  they look a lot like fruit flies.  They lay their eggs in the chrysalis.  When the eggs hatch the wasp larvae eat it  and kill it.	This is a Milkweed bug.  The little ones are juveniles.  They are harmless to caterpillars, what they eat are the Milkweed seeds.

If you are interested in Butterfly Gardening, here are some plants that are great for attracting butterflies.  Keep in mind that you need two kinds of plants for a good turnout in your butterfly garden, nectar plants that serve to feed the adult butterflies, and larval food plants that they can lay their eggs on for the caterpillars to eat when they hatch.  If you give them both of these types of plants, they can raise their families right in your yard and never have to leave! Butterfly Plants.  Free Milkweed seeds  
Larval Food Plants:      Milkweed:          Monarchs and Queens
                                        Passion Vine:     Zebras, Fritillaries, and Julias
                                        Parsley & Dill    Swallowtails
                                        Pipevine            Polydamas & Pipevine Swallowtails
                                        Cassia:               Yellow Sulphurs (all different kinds)    
                                        Willow:              Viceroys
                                         Mustard            Southern Whites
                                         Plumbago          Hairstreaks
                                         Plantain             Buckeye
                                        Climbing Aster    Pearl Crescent
Nectar Plants:       Pentas, Porterweed, Ageratum, and Mexican Flame Vine do best in my yard.  Hummingbirds will also use these, so you get the best of both worlds!  Buddleia (Butterfly Bush) is great and so is Scorpiontail.

I will be adding more information as I am able.

Good Books on Butterflies:
Florida's Fabulous Butterflies (includes special chapter on moths)  -  Emmel/Kenney
Butterfly Book, The Complete Guide to Butterfly Gardening, Identification, and Behavior - Stokes & Williams
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies - Knopf

Some Great Butterfly Links:                More Butterfly Links
YouTube - How To Repair a Monarch's Wing - NEAT!
Live Monarch - Butterfly Site
Butterfly Zone   - At the Bronx Zoo              
Butterfly World
Floridata                     
European Butterflies                                                                
Butterfly Conservation
Butterflies of Europe      
Schmetterlinge Butterfly Page
Captain's European Butterfly Guide   
Butterflies of Hawaii     
JungleWalk - Butterfly pictures, great site!
The Milkweed Farm
Monarch Watch
North American Butterfly Association
Monarch Monitoring Project
The Living Rainforest - not exactly a "butterfly" link, but a great site!
Ecolage - Source for butterfly plants
Butterfly & Nature Gift Store
The Butterfly Site.com - Butterfly info
Free Wallpaper Site - Animals & Butterflies
Butterfly Pictures
Butterfly House - Whitehouse, Ohio
Photos of butterflies & caterpillars
Sue's Butterfly Haven
Hummingbird Moths
Milkweed bug info
The Butterfly Palace in Branson Missouri
Butterfly Art - Butterfly Art brings you a wide variety of mounted butterfly designs made from some of the rarest and most stunning butterflies found in South America!

Here's a cool butterfly story from Mark K.:
As a kid, I discovered a wild milkweed garden near my home in Carmichael, CA and my fascination with the monarch butterfly was gestated. I took some caterpillars home in a shoebox (I wouldn't do this now) and brought them fresh milkweed as needed. These caterpillars spun cocoons in my bedroom - from the roof, shelves, window seal, etc. To my and my family's amazement, the butterfly's hatched eventually and I would find them flying around in my room when I came home from school.  I then successfully released them into the outside environment.  I love these butterflies and wouldn't attempt to remove them from the natural environment now, but I've wanted to plant some milkweed for quite some time now.  I'd love to have some of your free milkweed seeds if you have any left.  I can send a self-addressed stamped envelope if necessary. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Mark K.

Butterfly Questions:

Why are they not hatching?
My caterpillars are growing and getting big and fat, but then the chrysalis is not completing its work. The Monarchs are getting all the way to the point where they are starting to turn black and then its all over.
I had a couple of Fritillaries start to hang, get a little milky white and then went no further.
Could it be all this rain? It seemed in the spring they were hatching like crazy. Now nothing. I finally had 2 Monarchs and a Black Swallowtail hatch today.
Thanks
Jill

Hi Jill!
I don't know a lot about what adversely affects caterpillars and chrysalides, but it sounds like they are either getting sick, or becoming the victims of parasites.
I've had that happen to mine before too. If you spot a chrysalis that has gone all black, destroy it so the parasite or disease will not be able to continue on to affect others.
I've noticed the same problem with my butterfly population after the season got off to a good start. I suspect that a season with a LOT of butterflies gives the parasitic predators and diseases a good population to work on and they suddenly increase.
The good news is that nothing stops butterflies for long. They will return next season as always. In Nature's cycle, if all the butterflies died, then the parasites and diseases would all die too. Just as the plants grow back after the caterpillars eat them to nubs, so the butterfly population rebounds after a problem.

 

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