American Ladies Vanessa virginiensis

From the "Plant it and they will come" file ...

This spring I decided to plant hostplants for the American Lady. The most common are Pussytoes and Pearly Everlasting, both species of the genus Anaphalis. So I ordered some Pussytoes from Prairie Moon and within weeks, there were little nests containing multiple V. virginiensis caterpillars (discovered 5/31/10).

In fact, the plants were pretty much down to the nub, so it was necessary to quickly find more hostplants. The powerline near us yielded some Pearly Everlasting, along with even more nests. Here's one, with a 2nd or 3rd instar cat. The nests are made by folding up the leaves at the top of the plant with a kind of silk, and the caterpillar eats by scraping off the tops of the leaves while inside the nest. Needless to say, he also poops inside the nest, so everything gets rather messy.



All in all, 10 cats were discovered. Here are four of them in various stages:



The setup seen here, several plants in a Glad container with water, works well for Monarchs, but not so well for these -- there's not quite enough foliage to form a nest, perhaps?

A 5th instar cat



By 6/11/10, the cats began to pupate





and on 6/20/10 we got our first Lady!



Overall, the results were poor. Four cats died. One pupated near the cage zipper and got caught by mistake. One chrysalis failed to eclose. Four hatched successfully. The hope is that next year, when the Pussytoes are stronger and more leafy, we can bring more cats to adulthood.

JRC

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Red Admiral Explosion

The last three days have seen the emergence of a huge brood of Red Admirals Vanessa atalanta. We went for a butterfly walk today and saw approximately 75 individuals, along with...

1. Question Mark Polygonia interrogationis (4)
   
2. American Lady Vanessa virginiensis (2)
   
3. Red-spotted Purple Limenitis a. astynax (1)
   
4. Spicebush Swallowtail Papilio troilus (1, female)
   
5. Orange Sulfur Colias eurytheme (5)
   
6. Cabbage White Pieris rapae (5)
   
7. Eastern Tailed Blue Cupido comyntas (2)
   
8. Little Wood Satyr Megisto cymela (1)
   
9. Pearl Crescent Phyciodes tharos (2)
   
10. Common Sootywing Pholisora catullus (1)
    
11. Tawny-Edged Skipper Polites themistocles (1)
    
12. Sachem Atalopedes campestris (1)
    
13. Silver-Spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus (3)
    
14. Horace's Duskywings Erynnis horatius (4)

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta




Tawny-Edged Skipper Polites themistocles


Horace's Skipper Erynnis horatius


Red-Tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis


JRC
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Sudden Hops Death

The hops vine last year netted 30 Polygonia interrogationis adults. This year, it came up strong and then suddenly died. C'est tragique. Read more...

Soldier's Delight 5/5/10

Soldier's Delight is a state park in Baltimore Co., MD. Its geology is unusual in that its rock formations are primarily serpentine, resulting in unusual flora, resulting in unusual fauna.


The big finds at Soldier's Delight are Falcate Orangetips and Elfins. Unfortunately I saw none of these, although a posted sign in the visitor's center announced that FOs had been seen on the butterfly walk of 5/2/10. The Orangetip hostplant, Lyre-Leaved Rockcress, was everywhere.

The other local specialty was out in force, however: Cobweb Skippers.

Cobweb Skipper Hesperia metea --


All in all, there were about 15 of these, including a female being chased by a quite amorous male. In the end, he chased her up my camera strap!





There were also several duskywings, including at least one Horace's:

Horace's Duskywing Erynnis horatius -- Duskywings are a pain to identify, but the short, naked palps (mouth parts) on this individual are convincing evidence that this is neither a Dreamy nor Sleepy Duskywing. *sigh*


Several Swallowtails were out: a Tiger and two Spicebush.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Pterourus glaucus (older references have Papilio glaucus)


Also seen: two Orange Sulfurs Colias eurytheme, c. 20 Pearl Crescents Phyciodes tharos (many in a strongly marked spring form), and an American Lady Vanessa virginiensis.

JRC
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Myrtle Beach 4/10/10

The annual pilgrimage to Huntington State Park yielded a couple of surprises.


First was a walk through the Sandpiper trail. As usual, the colony of Juniper Hairstreaks stayed well to the tops of redcedars.



But new this year were Henry's Elfin Callophrys henrici. I thought they were Brown Elfins, but the pics are convincing...

This individual nectared for a while on this plant of unknown identity. It has dark blue berries with a single large seed inside (an olive, perhaps?)



Around 4PM, two individuals were hanging out on some bushes with blueberry-like leaves and red berries. The lighting was unfortunate.

Update: is that egg-laying going on?







Second, the park has a powerline cut-through right near US 17. This cut-through is prime butterfly territory, awash in dewberries as a nectar source. I did see some poison ivy just emerging, though...

There were a large number of duskywings about. Some were relatively well-marked and large; others were less marked and noticeably small. I suspect that the majority are Horace's Duskywing (Erynnis horatius) with a couple of Juvenal's Duskywings (Erynnis juvenalis) thrown in. Let the reader decide!



A very frosted individual who would not pose properly...




Look, ma! No hindwing spots! The lack of spots is diagnostic for E. horatius.




There were also a large number of Silver-spotted Skippers Epargyreus clarus



In contrast to June behavior, these refused absolutely to pose for photos.

Of note was a small flock of American Ladies Vanessa virginiensis. These individuals were the smallest I've seen, easily 2/3 normal size or less. For comparison, these are sitting on dewberry flowers.






Also seen but not pictured: Black or Spicebush Swallowtail on the wing.

JRC
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Question Mark Polygonia interrogationis

On 8/24/09 we found Polygonia interrogationis eggs on the hops plant on the fence (Humulus lupulus).

By 10/24 we had released 30 individuals.

The eggs are laid extravagantly on hops, with the survival rate in the wild of less than 10%. There are two broods, a spring and a late summer brood.





The larvae hatch and start eating right away.

1st instar


3rd instar


5th instar


The pupae vary in color from brown to gray. The spikes on the abdominal casing are an identifying mark.


The black color on the hindwing is more common in the late summer brood.


Individuals show one of two colors below, a rich brown or a gray. All of these individuals ate the same diet and came, apparently, from the same parents, so I cannot account for the color difference.





JRC
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Broad-winged Skipper Poanes viator

We found this individual at the Baltimore Zoo on a fine day in August.



JRC Read more...