Tag Archive | Butterflies
Heath Aster Feeds Insects
Asters and goldenrods are fall wildflowers that produce nectar and pollen for many insects that are preparing for the upcoming winter. Heath aster is one of wildflower that blooms in the fall. Its heath-like growth and white daisy-like blossoms is what makes this aster stand out from other types. Bumble bees, honey bees, wasps, butterflies, […]
The Last Big Harvest
Fall is the time of year when goldenrods brighten the fields and roadsides with showy yellow blossoms. It is the time for the last major harvesting of nectar and pollen by bees, wasps, migrating butterflies and many other insects. Nectar gathered by bumblebees and honeybees will help these insects survive the winter. Pollen is also […]
The Vanishing Butterfly
It is May on Long Island and as I walk down a trail that winds through oak woodlands, my attention is drawn to flashes of blue about a foot or two above the ground. As I get closer, I see that the flashes are from a metallic blue colored butterfly fluttering across the trail. I […]
Delightful Backyard Butterflies
I planted fire-bush shrubs in our backyard to attract butterflies and hummingbirds with great success. The flowers are a good source of nectar for these creatures. cloudless sulphur butterflies and zebra long-wings are two of the butterflies that frequent these bushes. We see Ruby-throated Hummingbirds too in the early morning and at dusk flying from […]
How Milkweed Helped the Tiger Swallowtail!
Monarch butterflies continue to find the milkweed plants in our garden to lay eggs. Soon, there are only green sticks left to our milkweed plants dotted with hungry caterpillars. Anne counts 15 monarch caterpillars of various sizes. We find a small one crawling on our hot concrete driveway looking for more milkweed plants to eat. […]
A Queen is Born!
The queen caterpillars we found on our milkweed plants have grown, pupated and are about to hatch. We see one of the chrysalids (butterfly pupa) turn from a spring green to a dark color signifying the impending birth of the adult butterfly. Soon the butterfly breaks free of the chrysalis, hangs on to the shell […]
