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Monarch

Monarch?
Location: Jacksonville FL
January 23, 2012 10:01 am
Found this one in an enclosed patio. After photographing, I set it free.
Very pretty!
Sorry for the screen being in the way of the under shot.
Signature: Danno

monarch danno 300x150 Monarch

Monarch

Dear Danno,
You are absolutely correct.  Furthermore, your Monarch is a female.  The sexes can be distinguished by a the scent scale patches on the lower wings of the male, which appear as a dark spot on the black vein close to the body which is visible in the lower butterfly in this mating pair of Monarchs from our archive.  The Monarch is also known as a Milkweed Butterfly.  Monarchs are famous for their seasonal migrations and places like Pismo Beachhave turned Monarch roosting locations into tourist attractions.

monarch danno 2 300x173 Monarch

Monarch

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Posted 24 January 2012 § ‡ Comments (1) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Common Palmfly Caterpillar and Adult from Singapore

Common Palmfly
Location: Singapore
January 21, 2012 10:24 pm
Hi there, i just thought that you might appreciate these pictures of common palmfly caterpillars and butlerflies that ive been nurturing on my roof.
i absolutely love this website, as i am constantly fascinated by bugs icon smile Common Palmfly Caterpillar and Adult from Singapore
Signature: Cassia

common palmfly cat singapore cassia 300x206 Common Palmfly Caterpillar and Adult from Singapore

Common Palmfly

Dear Cassia,
Thank you so much for submitting your photos of a Common Palmfly Caterpillar and adult Butterfly, Elymnias hypermnestra agina.  We were able to locate a link on the Butterflies of Singapore website where it is stated: “Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:   The Common Palmfly is the most widespread species of its genus in the Indo-Australian region. Locally, it is also a rather common species with widespread occurrence across multiple habitats. Typically the adults are shade-loving, and usually sighted flying along the edge of vegetated area and in the vicinity of a clump of palm trees. The adults have the habit of puddling and visiting flowers for mineral and energy intakes.”  The information provided on the Butterflies of Singapore websiteis very comprehensive, including a list of known larval food plants in the palm family like the cocoanut palm and fishtail palm.

common palmfly singapore cassia 300x283 Common Palmfly Caterpillar and Adult from Singapore

Newly Metamorphosed Common Palmfly

 

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Posted 22 January 2012 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Monarchs hatch from Christmas Tree

Christmas tree
January 9, 2012
Location:  This is in Jacksonville, Florida, on the banks of the beautiful St Johns River.
Hi Bugman,
I don’t remember if I sent this photo to you but even if I did, it’s worth a rerun.
Happy New Year,
Lane

christmas tree monarchs lane 300x267 Monarchs hatch from Christmas Tree

Monarchs Hatch from Christmas Tree

Happy New Year Lane,
What a marvelous follow-up to your awesome Monarch Chrysalis Christmas Tree.  Thanks so much for the update.

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Posted 12 January 2012 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Large Spotted Acraea emerges from Chrysalis in the Congo

Heliconian emerges from Chrysalis
UPDATE:  December 29, 2011
Location: Kinshasa, Congo
December 22, 2011 4:06 pm
Daniel and Keith,
We got emergence !  Unfortunately no one was home when it happened to get pictures of the process but we got pictures of the butterfly here :
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/globalvoyager/sets/72157628623329555/
Does it look like Acraea zetes after all ?
Thanks
Katy

acraea chrysalis premetamorphal congo katy 300x169 Large Spotted Acraea emerges from Chrysalis in the Congo
Acraea Chrysalis prior to emergence

Daniel and Keith,
We were lucky to find the butterfly after emerging yesterday.  Unfortunately everyone was out of the house when the event occurred sometime between noon and 4pm.   You can see pictures of the chrysalis that morning and the butterfly in the series created here.  I hope species confirmation can be made with picture of the butterfly form.
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/globalvoyager/sets/72157628623329555/
Thanks again.

acraea emerged congo katy 300x240 Large Spotted Acraea emerges from Chrysalis in the Congo
Newly Metamorphosed Acraea

Dear Katy and her dad,
We would love to include the emerged imago on our site, however, we would like to request that you attach the images to your response as it is not possible to grab the images from Flickriver.

acraea emerged congo katy 2 300x206 Large Spotted Acraea emerges from Chrysalis in the Congo
Newly Metamorphosed Acraea species

Daniel,
Please find images attached

acraea emerged congo katy 4 300x183 Large Spotted Acraea emerges from Chrysalis in the Congo
Large Spotted Acraea or closely related species

Dear Katy and her Dad,
We are thrilled to get your new photos for our website.  In addition to creating an addendum to your December 22 submission of the Acraea Caterpillar and Chrysalis, we will be creating a brand new posting that links to the original.

acraea emerged congo katy 3 300x206 Large Spotted Acraea emerges from Chrysalis in the Congo

Large Spotted Acraea or closely related species

Keith Wolfe responds
Hi Katy,
Having little firsthand experience with Acraea adults (it is the unglamorous 75% of a butterfly’s life that fascinates me), I emailed noted authorities Torben Larsen (http://www.apollobooks.com/WestAfrica.htm) and, just to be sure, Dominique Bernaud (http://www.acraea.com/).  Both confirm your butterfly to be the light form of Acraea zetes; A. z. zetes f. menippe to be exact.  Also, please tell your father that I finally heard from the last of the four experts I contacted regarding this earlier Charaxes caterpillar – http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2011/07/26/charaxes-caterpillar-from-the-congo/.  Unfortunately opinions varied, so my best guess after considering all the data is Charaxes (possibly) brutus.
Keep up the excellent effort, Katy and Dad!  Besides being fun and interesting, especially when done together, bug hunting has the very real potential for discovering something new to science.
Best wishes for good health and happiness in the New Year,
Keith

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Posted 30 December 2011 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Large-spotted Acraea Caterpillar and Chrysalis from the Congo

Congo, Kinshasa spiked and yellow banded caterpilalr and pupa
Location: Kinshasa, Congo
December 22, 2011 4:06 pm
Mr. Bugman,
Can you please help us ID the caterpillar and pupa in the following photographs from Kinshasa, Congo ?
Thanks
Signature: Katy and her dad

caterpillar congo katy 300x206 Large spotted Acraea Caterpillar and Chrysalis from the Congo

Large-spotted Acraea Caterpillar from the Congo

Dear Katy and her dad,
Can you confirm if the caterpillar pictured metamorphosed into the attached chrysalis, or if they are different species?  We will contact Keith Wolfe to see if he is able to identify this species which we believe is a member of the Brush Footed Butterfly family Nymphalidae.

nymphalidae chrysalis congo katy 300x215 Large spotted Acraea Caterpillar and Chrysalis from the Congo

Two views of a Large-spotted Acraea Chrysalis

Daniel,
We are not completely sure that they are the same but the chrysalis
was in the same place we left the caterpillar 3 days prior.  Katy’s
mom says she thinks she saw it already attached  there in yellow form.
Thanks for your help!

Keith Wolfe responds.
Dear Katy, Dad (plus Mom), and Daniel,
This is the larva and pupa of the Large-spotted Acraea, Acraea zetes.  I will write more after returning home tomorrow.  Merry Christmas!
Best wishes,
Keith

Daniel and Kieth,
Thanks much for the ID and Merry Christmas.
Katy and her mom and dad.

Keith Wolfe elaborates:
December 28, 2011
Hello again Katy, Dad, and Daniel,
Yes, with luck, your chrysalis will metamorphose into Acraea zetes (http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/heliconiinae/acraea/index.html#zetes); here’s the same caterpillar from Gabon — http://www.flickr.com/photos/31963237@N00/455607804/.  However, with something like 135 species of Acraea recorded from the DRC, most of whose immature stages are unknown, it’s entirely possible that my long-distance ID is wrong.  Thus, please let us know the outcome, preferably showing the resulting butterfly to a local authority or carefully comparing it to a reliable reference.  Disclaimer: the hyperlink appearing in my initial response was inserted by the ever-helpful Bugman.
Cheers from a chilly California,
Keith

Keith,
Thanks again for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us!!  We brought the chrysalis into the house with hopes to see it emerge and if lucky, document the event as it occurs.  At the very least we will get pictures of the emergent butterfly before releasing it .
Stay warm and Happy New Year to you both.
Katy and her dad.

UPDATE:  December 29, 2011
Daniel and Keith,
We got emergence !  Unfortunately no one was home when it happened to get pictures of the process but we got pictures of the butterfly here :
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/globalvoyager/sets/72157628623329555/
Does it look like Acraea zetes after all ?
Thanks
Katy

acraea chrysalis premetamorphal congo katy 300x169 Large spotted Acraea Caterpillar and Chrysalis from the Congo

Acraea Chrysalis prior to emergence

Daniel and Keith,
We were lucky to find the butterfly after emerging yesterday.  Unfortunately everyone was out of the house when the event occurred sometime between noon and 4pm.   You can see pictures of the chrysalis that morning and the butterfly in the series created here.  I hope species confirmation can be made with picture of the butterfly form.
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/globalvoyager/sets/72157628623329555/
Thanks again.

acraea emerged congo katy 300x240 Large spotted Acraea Caterpillar and Chrysalis from the Congo

Newly Metamorphosed Acraea

Dear Katy and her dad,
We would love to include the emerged imago on our site, however, we would like to request that you attach the images to your response as it is not possible to grab the images from Flickriver.

acraea emerged congo katy 2 300x206 Large spotted Acraea Caterpillar and Chrysalis from the Congo

Newly Metamorphosed Acraea species

Daniel,
Please find images attached

acraea emerged congo katy 4 300x183 Large spotted Acraea Caterpillar and Chrysalis from the Congo

Large Spotted Acraea or closely related species from the Congo

Dear Katy and her Dad,
We are thrilled to get your new photos for our website.  In addition to creating an addendum to your December 22 submission of the Acraea Caterpillar and Chrysalis, we will be creating a brand new posting that links to the original.

1

Posted 24 December 2011 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Mourning Cloak in Mt Washington

December 22, 2011 @ 1:16 PM PST
Location:  Mt Washington, Los Angeles, CA
It is currently unseasonably cold in Los Angeles, but the days are sunny.  The wood pile in the front continues to be a magnet for Brush Footed Butterflies.  This Mourning Cloak was soaking up the sun this afternoon.  We first noticed it with its wings open, but by the time we got the camera, the critter got camera shy.  In trying to coax it to open its wings for a photo (as well as to better soak up the sun) we merely managed to induce it to fly away.  Recently this same wood pile served as a perch for Red Admirals.

mourning cloak 20111222 300x206 Mourning Cloak in Mt Washington

Mourning Cloak

Posted 22 December 2011 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Mating Gulf Fritillaries

Mating Gulf Fritillaries
Location: South Pasadena, CA
November 21, 2011 10:59 pm
While you have several really beautiful photos of these butterflies mating,I didn’t see any in this position. I found these on my pumpkin vine last weekend.
Signature: Barbara

gulf fritillaries mating barbara 300x229 Mating Gulf Fritillaries

Gulf Fritillaries Mating

Hi Barbara,
Thanks so much for sending us your marvelous photo of mating Gulf Fritillaries.  How is your Green Lynx Spider population this year?

I haven’t seen too many full grown green lynx spiders.  Here’s a seven-legged individual I’ve seen a few times.

green lynx amputee barbara 300x230 Mating Gulf Fritillaries

Male Green Lynx Amputee

Thanks Barbara,
We wonder what caused this male Green Lynx, whose sex is evidenced by his well developed pedipalps, to lose his rear leg.

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Posted 22 November 2011 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Red Admiral Butterfly in Mt Washington

Red Admiral
November 13, 2011
We were enjoying the beautiful fall sunshine and warm weather in the garden and we watched this Red Admiral alight on the wood pile to sun itself, soaking up the warmth by aiming its dark wings at the sun.  When another Red Admiral approached the wood pile, this possessive individual flew off to do butterfly battle and quickly returned to guard its territory.  We had a recent conversation with noted lepidopterist Julian Donahue who lives nearby as we were discussing butterflies and native plants to be planted in Elyria Canyon Park with funding the Mt Washington Beautification committee received from the Los Angeles Chapter of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA).  Julian was not aware that Red Admirals are common in the neighborhood, so we informed him that they are frequent visitors to our gardens at the What’s That Bug? offices, a scant fifteen minute walk from Julian’s house.  We are thrilled we got this photo to document the Red Admiral’s presence in Mt Washington.  This guy’s wings are a bit tattered, but that didn’t prevent it from exhibiting the spunkiness we associate with this lovely Brush Footed Butterfly.

red admiral 20111113 300x219 Red Admiral Butterfly in Mt Washington

Red Admiral Butterfly

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Posted 13 November 2011 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

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