Invitation Accepted

After yesterdays invitation to any passing Monarch to come and sample the delights of my butterfly garden several accepted and were taking a liking to my Swamp Milkweeds.

Monarch

Monarch

 Monarch

Butterfly Garden Success!

I have my first caterpillar in my butterfly garden. It's a Black Swallowtail, the first of many I hope.
For all you Monarchs out there I have some juicy Butterfly Milkweed just for you. Come and get it, dinner is served.

Black Swallowtail Caterpillar

Butterfly Milkweed

Pandora Sphinx

I planted a load of flowers for the butterflies and the food plants including several types of Milkweed, Fennel and Parsley for them to lay their eggs and provide food for the caterpillars. Although I've seen several Monarchs, and lots of Swallowtail varieties I've not had the opportunity to actually photograph any. That changed yesterday with the discovery of not a butterfly but a moth. It's a Pandora Sphinx moth, I managed to get several pictures on a Hosta leaf.

Pandora Sphinx

Eumorpha pandorus

Flowers in the yard

I created what I hope will be a nice butterfly garden earlier this year. I've seen Monarchs laying eggs on a Swamp Milkweed and theres been a Black Swallowtail checking out the Fennel plants so I'm hoping I see caterpillars soon. Heres some of the flowers from the weekend.

Aster

Mountain Mint

Cardinal Flower

Solomons Seal

Sunflower Sp.

Dunno Flower?

Catalpa

This Catalpa tree in the yard has shed all it's beautiful flowers and now its growing the long seed pods. I think it looks good in an IR photo.

Hot and humid outside

Its hot and humid so I'm playing with some old pictures, honing my post processing skills.

Sunrise at Bass Harbor Lighthouse