Monarchs On The March!

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Tina

It’s more like they’re on the wing–winging their way north, that is. A quick bit of news about the North American Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, from Texas Butterfly Ranch:

Let the Migration Begin: Milkweeds Sprout as Monarch Butterflies Arrive in Texas

Scientists and citizen scientists report that the Monarchs left their wintering roosts in the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico on March 24th. Whoop!! My garden is ready for the incredible migratory insects with Tropical Milkweed, Asclepias curassavica that overwintered in my gardens and is sprouting new growth,

…and a couple of new, one-gallon plants of the same, with more foliage, ready for eggs and larvae.

Additionally, Austin’s fabulous local nursery, Barton Springs Nursery, now has a regular supplier of native milkweed and my gardening/blogging buddy, TexasDeb at austin agrodolce, kindly picked up a couple of A. tuberosa for me recently, which I popped into the ground this past weekend.

The Asclepias species of plants are the host plant for the Monarch, which cannot survive without it. I’ve ordered a flat of native milkweed to plant in my spot of the world and to share, from monarchwatch.org, but I don’t know when it will arrive. That organization is now selling four-inch pots of native milkweed throughout North America, with delivery dates in spring. I hope I receive the milkweed soon, preferably before the Monarchs arrive in Central Texas, but if not, the plants will be here in fall and hopefully, beyond.

The Monarchs headed to Central Texas are those who left Canada in September, migrated southward across North America and into Mexico for winter. They are the longest surviving Monarch generation, living 7 to 9 months. That generation will migrate to and mate in Texas, lay eggs and die. Monarchs lay their eggs on the milkweed plants, the larvae eat, grow, morph to adulthood and the adults of the next generation move northward, ending in the last Monarch generation of the year hatching in late summer. That generation leaves Canada in August/September and migrates several thousand miles south to Mexico for winter.

It’s a cool and wet spring in Texas this year with lots of blooms, native and otherwise, which is good for the “first” generation that will hatch in the coming 6-8 weeks. Whether there is enough milkweed for the parents to lay eggs is the question and only time and population increase, will tell. I wrote about the precarious situation of this remarkable insect here, if you’d like to know more about their plight.

You can follow the northward migration by reading Monarch Butterfly Journey North.

Here they come!

Anoles Abound

Posted on March 29, 2015 by Tina

They’re baaaaack! Lovers of the warm seasons in the southern United States, my resident Carolina anole, Anolis carolinensis, lizards have emerged from winter dormancy.

I rescued this guy from my boy cat, Nuri,

…who’s (thankfully) is not much of a hunter, instead preferring to carry anoles around in his mouth, yowling all the while. It’s quite a trick caterwauling while transporting frightened lizards between his teeth and I’m not altogether sure how he creates those sounds while holding onto his little captives. Nuri typically drops the not-really-doomed reptiles as soon as he sees that I’ve spotted him with his gift. Of course, I have to compliment Nuri with a Good kitty! as I scoop up the panting prey to relocate to a safer, cat-free spot.

This smaller anole is brown-er on the trunk of a tree,

…but transforms to green before my eyes.

He skittered off to an unknown hiding spot shortly afterward to complete his greening-up.

They would both like to remind gardeners to keep domestic cats indoors and to appreciate and foster a safe place for garden wildlife and on April 1st, no foolin’–get ready for Wildlife Wednesday. Please post about wild happenings in your gardens to celebrate wildlife who need the gardens that we gardeners love.

Good wildlife gardening!!

Pressed “Resume”

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Tina

In December, I took this photo,

…of a newly pupated Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly, Papilio polyxenes. I lamented that this insect hatched, developed through its instar stages as a voraciously eating caterpillar, and then pupated so late in the season. The winters here in Central Texas are mild, certainly compared to some, but would this lovely creature overwinter and emerge in spring? All I could do was to wait, watch and hope. Diapause is the mechanism that many in the animal kingdom use to survive changing environmental conditions, like those occurring in winter, including heavy rains and hard freezes. Diapause includes hibernation and physiological slowing down (the swallowtail actually produces a kind of antifreeze against frigid temperatures) in order to survive until more favorable conditions arise, like warmer temperatures, longer daylight hours and increased food supplies.

Those conditions arrived earlier this week for my swallowtail.

Beautiful.

I kept a close eye on the chrysalis all winter, checking it once a week or so, as I managed to remember, and taking care not to damage it as leaves were raked and perennials pruned. The chrysalis remained a healthy iridescent green all winter. At some point, I took the twig that the chrysalis attached to and placed it upright in the soil,

…so that I could find it easily, but other than that, I did nothing but await changes. Last week the chrysalis darkened, which is a sign of impending butterfly emergence. Or, death of the pupa.

Thankfully, it was the former that happened–emergence of the adult butterfly.

Butterflies dry their wings by alternately closing and opening them in those first hours.

Look at that adorable face, looking maybe just a little nervous that it can’t hold onto the leaf of a Gulf Coast Penstemon, Penstemon tenuis. I believe this is a female, because she has yellow dots above the blue band on the hind wings; the males have more yellow topping the blue band.

She rests, wings open, near her former food source and future offspring grazing grounds of Fennel (right top) and also her winter digs, to left side of her left wing.

I’ve seen a Black Swallowtail all this week flying fast through the garden. Is it the same one?

I don’t know and it doesn’t really matter. The blossoms are opening and pollinators awakening in response. Or is it the other way around?

The obvious ones, because of their beauty,

…get the most attention and photo/blog play. But their oft ignored and unappreciated, but no less important plainer cousins such as flies, skipper butterflies, moths, and other insect species are the foundation for a healthy, abundant garden and overall diverse environment.

Good nectaring, pollinating, and breeding to all of them!