Atala!!!

I finally saw an atala butterfly in our yard last week. Of course I didn't have my camera on me but this morning she was sitting on the coontie and kindly waited until I ran inside and got my camera.

To learn about the atala check out these sites .....

Butterfly comes back from near extinction

How to Make the Rare Atala Butterfly a Regular Visitor

Cassius Blue in the Garden

A year ago I wouldn't have thought that I'd be butterfly gardening but once I learned about the Monarch's threat I started planting milkweed, and it has snowballed into more native gardening and searching for butterfly host plants and all with great rewards ..... butterflies in the garden! We have started to record the different ones we see and I am trying to have my camera with me more often when I'm outside so I can catch a shot of them. Some I can only identify with the help of a photograph like this little guy, Cassius Blue. He is so similar to the Miami Blue and Ceraunus Blue that it took quite some time of studying my various photos to determine which he/she is.

Giant Swallowtail

 When I can catch a photo of the giant swallowtail butterfly I don't mind the thorny wild lime tree in our wild flower garden. The wild lime is the only larval host we have in the yard so without it I wouldn't get to see this gorgeous guy (girl?) flit about.

.....a few mugs waiting for the next bisque load .... which one is 'grande'? At Starbucks it would be the one on the left? Update on Starbuck sizes: No wonder I was confused at Starbucks. I thought grande was their small size but it is indeed their large size so it is the one on the right. Thanks for the Starbuck sizes Mila!

The Monarch

When I learned about the decline of monarch butterflies and their becoming endangered we bought a few more milkweed plants for the yard. Some time after seeing lots of caterpillars on the milkweed I finally spotted a butterfly who had just emerged.....

Here's an interesting read about the monarchs ..... http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/science-matters/2013/10/help-solve-an-orange-and-black-mystery/

South Florida Swallowtail

Our wildflower garden has been attracting lots of butterflies and we finally got a good photo of what we think is a swallowtail. He is much larger than any of the other butterflies who visit; such fun to watch!