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- A rare four leafed clover in my yard
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- The first monarch butterfly of the season
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- A fabulous zebra swallowtail nectaring on butterfly bush
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- Zebra swallowtail caterpillars feed on this paw paw which is in fruit now
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- A pearl crescent feeds on the fertile flowers of oak leaf hydrangea below the showy white infertile flowers
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- An American lady butterfly feeds on butterfly bush
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- A female black tiger swallowtail feeds on butterfly bush
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- The strange snout butterfly
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- The hackberry emperor butterfly looks for some sweat to drink on a shoe
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- The female ebony jewel wing damselfly
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- The immature male powdered dancer is a bland color
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- The mature male powdered dancer damselfly is bright blue
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- A rarely seen Septima’s clubtail dragonfly along the Haw River
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- A longhorn flower beetle which is a pine borer feeds on a dogbane flower head
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- The rarely seen flower head of the yucca
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- A hummingbird feeds on a red hot poker from Ethoipia
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- A “married” pair of broadhead skinks hang out together
Monumental changes are underway in my backyard as I suddenly start seeing many species of butterflies that were not previously present. Is this due to my finding a 4 leafed clover and getting lucky? I do not think so since there are several plants now blooming that attract many insects- especially butterfly bush (Buddleia CranRazz; https://www.monrovia.com/cranrazz-butterfly-bush.html ). This particular horticultural variety is the best of the many ones I have tried all of which are non-native species. Although this can be an invasive species I have not found it to be so BUT I always deadhead the flowers after they bloom to stop any seed spread. So as a long term early to late summer bloomer this plant can be a fantastic attractant of pollinators. BUT it has the stigma of not being native so you will have to keep this secret from your native plant friends! Several American lady butterflies and a female black tiger swallowtail were furiously collecting nectar from the butterfly bushes. The black tiger (female only) is one of a group of “black and blue” butterflies that mimic the toxic pipevine swallowtail.
Some other plants blooming now are oak leaf hydrangea, a native but with a relatively short blooming period, echinacea, and red hot pokers from Ethiopia which attract hummingbirds (see my photo) and orchard orioles.
I have native milkweeds growing in my yard but my first monarch of the season was seen drinking nectar from a butterfly bush. Zebra swallowtails are becoming more common after their caterpillars feed on paw paw plants down along the river floodplain. A very different suite of pollinators are attracted to oak leaf hydrangea which has showy (likely sterile) white flowers with very long narrow corolla tubes with tiny fertile flowers underneath. This pearl crescent butterfly was working the small flowers as were numerous non-native honeybees and many very small insects.
Some butterflies such as the snout are more likely to be seen basking in open areas than on flowers; its larval food plant is the hackberry which is common in the floodplain. Another butterfly that feeds on hackberries as a caterpillar is the hackberry emperor; strangely enough it is rarely seen on flowers but alights on people and their clothes or shoes to drink sweat to get sodium. Sodium unlike potassium is rare in most plants but is needed for body metabolism and is thus often found in mammalian sweat or feces. Butterflies “puddle” in areas of damp soil where sodium salts are present and can be attracted by an artificial salt lick.
Another fabulous group of insects that are emerging from their aquatic larvae are the odonates- the dragonflies and damselflies. They can be considerably more challenging to identify so you may have to get help from an expert or Bugguide.net. They are quite an ancient group of flying insects yet have complex social lives. Typically the males are more colorful. This female ebony jewelwing damselfly is not as brightly colored as the male. The male powdered dancer damselfly changes to a bright blue color as an adult which facilitates the courting of females. The Septima’s clubtail dragonfly which is common here in late May can be quite rare elsewhere for unknown reasons.
You might be surprised to find many beetles in flowers. This zebra long horned beetle feeds in pine trees as a larva and is here seen in flowers of the dog bane, a relative of the milkweed that is toxic. One of my yuccas suddenly came into bloom which is something that may happen only every several decades. Strangely enough only a specific type of moth (Tegeticula sp.) can pollinate the flowers so they are not useful in attracting butterflies but are a striking sight when in bloom.
As the weather warms some reptiles are seen more often. My resident broadhead skinks are engaged in mating activities and the males have bright red heads. This pair of skinks was interesting since they were together on a stump possibly as a mated pair. Why are they remaining together? It is likely advantageous for the male to remain with the female until her eggs are fertilized – he can ward off other males who might replace his sperm. So do we see the origin of marriage in these primitive reptiles?
What an exciting time of year it is when the butterflies appear in all their glory. Your gardening talents come into play if you want to really have more pollinators visit your yard and benefit from your plants.