A Painted Lady in the garden

I haven't seen many butterflies so far this summer, so when this beauty showed up I ran for the camera. The pretty Painted Lady butterfly was not going to pose for me, so I feel lucky to have these few photos.

Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit'

I followed her (just a pronoun) as she fluttered around the Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit' and then, she was off to explore other gardens. If she is a she and has mated there may be eggs someplace in the garden; fingers crossed that is what happened.

I was able to identify it as Vanessa cardui from the eyespots.

The Particulars:
Vanessa cardui 
The Painted Lady

Brushfooted/Nymphalidae Family: This family of butterflies gets its name from its front legs which are shorter than the other four and are not used to stand or walk. Instead of feet the front legs are little brushes of hairs that are used to smell and taste. The front legs of some brushfoots are so small you can't see them. Brushfoots are quite a diverse family, some are brightly colored, some well camouflaged. There are 34 species of Brushfoots found in Tennessee.

Description: Easily identified by 4 eye spots along the hindwing edges of this orange and brown butterfly. The wingspan is 2 to just under 3 inches. Females have a larger, more rounded abdomen than males. The male butterfly’s abdomen has straight sides, while the female’s abdomen is curved.

Range: The Painted Lady/Vanessa cardui butterfly is one of three Vanessa in Tennessee. it's called a cosmopolitan butterfly because it's one of the most widely distributed butterfly in the world and is found in all 48 contiguous states.

Habitat: gardens, fields, old pastures, lake edges, and even in vacant lots.

Larval Host plants: Their larval food plant list is longer than most other butterflies. They commonly use some species of thistle as their primary host, but they also lay eggs on hollyhock, mallow, and plantain species.

Adult Food: The Painted Lady prefers nectar from composites, especially thistles; also aster, cosmos, blazing star, ironweed, and joe-pye weed. Flowers from other families that they visit include mallows, forget-me-nots, waterleaf, bean, nettle, mint, potato, morning glory, carrot, milkweed, elm, and citrus. So many families as a food choice that you are sure to find them in your garden!

Comments: Their adult life consists of drinking nectar, pairing, and laying eggs. Expect to see them from April to November in Tennessee. Life span is about two weeks.

Raising Painted Lady Butterfly: The Painted Lady Butterfly is a popular science activity in elementary schools.  Do a web search to find information and to order kits. This can be an exciting activity for supervised children. The sellers ask only that you make sure you have host plants for them once they arrive...They're voracious eaters!  Here's a link for more general information on raising butterfly.

I've been checking plants to see if there are eggs or cats, but, so far none. I will be sure and let you know when/if I find any!

Creative Common Use Tom Murray photographer

Here's what I am searching for: A black caterpillar, with yellowish lines on each side, and a black head. The first instars make a nest of rolled leaf held together with silk. Photos I've seen of these nests show nearby skeletonized leaves and lots of frass. Please note: Each instar changes appearance, which makes this a difficult cat to id.

Now start searching!
xoxogail

PS Remember if you want pollinators like this pretty Painted Lady in your garden never, ever, ever, ever, ever, use pesticides, even when you come upon a messy, frass filled rolled leaf! Let's all be better at embracing imperfection in our gardens.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Summer Phlox

I count on the different species of Phlox for several seasons of delightful color starting in early spring.

Right now Summer Phlox is blooming in various shades of pink and magenta.

There are even a few of the white flowered 'David',

a lovely striped 'Peppermint Twist' that wants to revert to a favorite parent color, and

a newer cultivar, 'Jeana' that is an absolute delight. I am not alone in thinking she's a marvelous addition to the garden, every Swallowtail in the neighborhood has stopped by for nectar.

The first Phloxes in this garden were here when I arrived. They were the offspring of whatever the previous gardeners might have planted 30+ years ago and were all wonderful magenta flowered beauties. They are still here, well, the offspring of the offspring are still here and after years of letting species and cultivars go to seed, real treasures have been produced in the crossings of the crossings.

a crossing produced this gentle pink

 What do you think of these two very different pinks? (photos above and below) I adore them and, in case you wondered when I would get around to pollinators, they love them, too.

This is a luscious color

Speaking of pollinators. Carpenter bees are frequent phlox visitors, but, their big bodies makes it hard to fit into the flowers so they will drill or cut into the corolla of the phlox to get at the nectar.

look out for the nectar robbers

They are cheating the pollination process when they get the nectar without a pollen transfer! They're robbing the nectar, but there's still plenty for other pollinator visitors.

Butterflies, moths (including Hummingbird and Sphinx moths) and skippers are the primary pollinators of phlox. Their proboscis are long enough to reach the nectar at the base of the narrow phlox corolla and pollen is carried to the next flower.  

Phlox has all the characteristics of a classic butterfly nectar flower.

• clustered flowers with a landing platform
• brightly colored
• open during the day
• ample nectar producer 
• nectar deeply hidden in corolla

If you want to attract butterflies, moths, skippers and other pollinators to your garden then plant more phlox! That's what I've been doing. Phlox paniculata 'Jeana' was planted this spring and I have every intention of planting more of that cultivar. She rocks as a butterfly magnet. You can find species Phlox paniculata at many native plant nurseries including GroWild here in Middle Tennessee or from mail order nurseries like Prairie Moon.

Hummingbird clearwing moth

 If you want to see what kind of offspring you can get from all the cross pollination that will be happening, then don't deadhead your plants, let them go to seed and self sow. The parent plants always bloom true, but seedlings will be a pleasant surprise of mixed colors for your garden.

Have fun out there and keep cool!
Happy Wildflower Wednesday
xoxogail

The particulars
Type:  Herbaceous
Sun Exposure:  Full Sun to partial Shade
Bloom Color: Jewel box of colors
Bloom Time:  Mid Summer to late Summer/Early Fall
Hardiness: From Minneapolis to the Gulf Coast. They've escaped from gardens and naturalized
Wildlife Value: This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies, moths and skippers
Flowers: Fragrant
Water Needs: Water regularly, good drainage
Soil: Rich, moist, well draining. Enrich clay soil with humus and compost.
Care: Divide occasionally. Phlox are susceptible to mildew and phlox bugs make sure they have good air movement and each fall, after the first killing frost cut it to the ground and trash the cuttings, this will keep the mold spores in check since they can over winter in the stalks as well as  eliminating any phlox bugs that might be over wintering in the stalks. 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.



Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wordless Wednesday: Last Butterfly In The Garden

 The cloudless sulphur, Phoebis sennae nectaring on Salvia elegans

xoxogail


Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

A Swallowtail Stopped By

To nectar on the Butterflyweed.

Forewing with diagonal band of yellow spots. Tails are edged with black and filled with yellow

I waited patiently for it to stop flitting and pose prettily with wings fully spread, but, it was feasting madly.

It superficially resembled an Eastern Swallowtail while gliding about, but once it settled on the Asclepias tuberosa, it was clear that it was not one of my regular garden visitors. The coloring was wrong and it had an unusually large wing span. I was pretty sure it was a Giant Swallowtail and just as I've read, that first sighting was dazzling! (go here for more images)

What a beauty and the 6.3 inch (16cm) wing span makes it the largest North American butterfly.

Speaking of North America, the Giant Swallowtail is on the move. It's moving further north and further west! In the last few years it's been spotted in Los Angelos, CA and Ontario, Canada. You might want to check out this article about its migration to Canada.

The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly/Papilio cresphontes' flight is a graceful series of strong flaps and long glides. It spends its time on the wing, nectaring or patrolling for mates (if male). It's welcome in most gardens, but, is considered a pest in Florida where citrus trees are its chosen host plant. Once they mate the female lays one bright orange egg on a host plant~here in Middle Tennessee it's either the Prickly Ash tree/Zanthoxylum americanum or the Hop Tree/Ptelea trifoliata, when the egg hatches the caterpillars, which resemble bird droppings, begin to eat the leaves and young shoots. (If you want to see the larva that looks like bird poo go here!)

 

It might not be welcome in a Florida citrus grove, but, it's more than welcome to stop by my garden and nectar all it wants, after all, I garden for wildlife.

xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.