Buddha-fly Emerges!

Posted on by

I have nice neighbors who take care of my dog and cats (and often, parts of the gardens) when I travel. I feel fortunate in with this arrangement. They help me, I help them–that’s what community is about, right?  When I traveled from home over the Thanksgiving weekend, I mentioned to my neighbors that at least one of the butterflies I’ve been nannying was likely to emerge.  This concerned Kind Neighbors;  I think they visualized opening the Butterfly Room (formerly Son’s Room) and clouds of the winged lovelies would flit about the house. I assured Kind Neighbors that at most, only one would emerge and it wouldn’t do much, if any, flying until I arrived home.  And sure enough,  a newly emerged Queen butterfly awaited my return.

IMGP2844_cropped_1940x2401..new

Buddha-fly!

Initially I found her near to the floor, away from where she’d morphed on the little Buddha statue.  An easy and safe (for the butterfly) way to pick up any newly emerged adult butterfly is to wet your finger, then gently place it in front of the insect’s legs–he or she will usually climb right aboard.  My husband picked her up and she proceeded to flit about on his shirt,

IMGP2846.new

IMGP2847.new

…and arm.

IMGP2853.new

IMGP2854.new

She’s a female Queen;  she lacks the dark scent spots that a male Queen would have on the hind wings. IMGP2857.new

 

We escorted her to the back garden and placed her on a blooming Tropical Sage,

IMGP2858.new

IMGP2862.new

…where she stayed for just a few minutes before flying to a cluster of Inland Sea OatsIMGP2865.new

IMGP2870.new IMGP2866.new

IMGP2873.new She remained there bit longer.

Toward sundown I noticed she’d migrated to a nearby patch of Gregg’s Mistflower,

IMGP2878.new IMGP2879.new

…and that was the last I saw of her.

Good nectaring, flying, and breeding, Buddha-fly!

14 thoughts on “Buddha-fly Emerges!”

  2. They grow up so fast, don’t they!!?

    I hadn’t heard that tip about moistening your fingertip to pick up a butterfly before and by golly that is a good one to know. Thanks for sharing that, and the exciting journey from Buddha to garden. I suppose a lot of local butterflies will be seeking shelter in grass clumps tonight as the cold weather returns. Glad I haven’t bothered to trim any of mine back.

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • They do grow up fast! I don’t know where I learned about wetting the finger–I seem to recall some wildlife thing that we took our kids to long ago. I know that butterflies “taste” with their feet, then eat with the proboscis, so maybe the willingness to climb onto a wet surface is an involuntary reaction to gauge a possible food source.

      It is chilly and windy today. Another Queen emerged–a boy this time. He’s currently resting on the window sill. I may have to feed tomorrow, though I can probably wait until Wednesday, when it will be a bit warmer, to release. I definitely need to keep that door shut though, against curious cats!

      Like

      Reply ↓

    • Indeed! I’ll release the male Queen tomorrow. We’ve been a bit chilly, but it’ll warm to the mid ’60s tomorrow, so out he goes to nectar where he can.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  6. I once taught that butterfly trick to some kids in a classroom and they nearly died from the thrill. hahaha
    Grats on the safe arrival of Buddafly.

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • I think it give us humans a sense of control, even when it’s not really. I must say though, that I’ve loved having the two (only two) butterflies in the house. I was able to observe, close up, their beauty and intricacies and I can’t do that when they’re outside doing their butterfly things. I just released the other, a male. It’s still a little cold, but is suppose to rain tomorrow, so it’s just not a great week. I think he’ll be okay. Maybe he’ll find Buddha-fly and, well, you know….

      Like

      Reply ↓

      • They are way tougher than our fears. I’ve raised butterflies a few times and had the same feeling of the experience feeling amazingly intimate. As long as they have some space and food and the experience doesn’t go on forever I don’t think they are inconvenienced.

        Like

      • It was a gift to view both up close and personal. To watch their heads move, to see the beauty and complexity of their coloration and scales. It’s just not possible in the garden–they have more important things to do.

        Like

Leave a comment