The Queen in South Florida

One could say "isn't the Queen the Monarch?"! I hadn't even considered the similarity in the names of the Monarch and the Queen until just now as I started to write this post. I suppose their royal-like presence is what inspired their names. (hmm something to research)

I had seen some Queen butterflies in the yard but not until a few weeks ago had I seen the Queen caterpillar. While inspecting some of the eaten up milkweed I spotted this little guy. There are certainly some similarities to the Monarch caterpillar especially the coloring but the stripes are certainly different and there is that extra set of tentacles and aren't those red dots cool?!

 The pink flowers in the background are salvia. These photos were taken in my wildflower garden so everything grows like a jungle. However the jungle is getting a major thinning right now after a summer of running super wild!

Dainty Sulphur

I spotted several of these little guys (and girls) when taking Cleo for a walk yesterday. I went back to get my camera to grab a few photos so I could identify them. A year ago I would have thought they were just little moths flying about in the grass. (Thank you David Suzuki!)

 I think they are dainty sulphurs, being Florida's smallest yellow butterfly, about 3/4 to 1 .25 inches (wing span). This is the female with the black markings. Interesting that the colorings very depending on the season. They are more heavily pigmented in winter. 

Here is a male....(I think!)...with less black markings.

We also found this white peacock  in the grass...

The beebalm is showing its color......

I have a load of pots waiting to be photographed but it's so much more fun to be out in the garden!