Buckeye Butterfly

Buckeye Butterfly

 

The picture below is of a buckeye butterfly that I spotted in my backyard today.




Buckeye Butterfly

 

It is easy to identify these butterflies when you see them, once you know what they are!

It fluttered around in my grass.  The buckeye only landed and rested enough at times for me to get a couple of these pictures.




Buckeye Butterfly

 

 

Buckeye Butterfly

 

Buckeye Butterfly

Question Mark Butterfly

Question Mark Butterfly

Today I saw a Question Mark butterfly flying around one of my trees in my backyard.  These butterflies are always flying close to me.




Question Mark Butterfly
 

I love the shape of their wings!  I used to call them leaf butterflies because they blended in so well like a leaf.  The inside of their wings are beautiful.  It contrasts sharply to the light color on the outside.

A picture of the inside wings.

 




Question Mark Butterfly

 

They are beautiful.

 



Kissing Bugs

WARNING:

 

Kissing Bugs

I don't know if anyone has heard the news about kissing bugs spreading a danger of aids or a disease like it. 
Here's the article I read:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/chagas-tropical-disease-really-aids-145745645.html

I read the article and looked up what these bugs look like.

We have these bugs in Texas during the summer!

I will be taking some precaution of this until summer is over.

Zenas

My Zenas




Zenas

I planted these zenas a couple of weeks ago.  Looks like they are doing good.  Soon they will be food for the butterflies in my backyard.

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly



Gulf Fritillary butterfly feeding on zena

The Gulf Fritillary Butterfly is around Texas at this time of year. 

It's host plant is passionflower.  The caterpillars look like a orange-red-brown color with black thorns around the body. 

They are really not thorns!  They are actually pretty soft.  These black thorn looking things get larger as the caterpillar gets larger.

The Butterfly is very beautiful with white spots and a mixture of brown and reddish color around them.  I love watching these butterflies spread their wings because there is a totally different color on the inside from the outside!  A nice brown texture with black lining within.

Take a look!!

 

Gulf Fritillary butterfly feeding on lantana

 

Oh, yeah.  I forgott the 3 tiny little white dots on the upper part of the wing... How could I forgett that.  (Joking)

Gulf Fritillary

Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar

I have some passionflower in my backyard.  Recently, I spotted a gulf fritillary caterpillar feeding on it.



Gulf Fritillary caterpillar on host plant

I have yet to see the butterfly, but I am waiting!  ....

Today's Butterfly

Today's Butterfly

Snout Nose Butterfly

Today there was a snout nose butterfly resting on a passionflower vine in my backyard.



Snout Nose butterfly



Snout Nose butterfly

It flew away and I found it later on some sandbur.



Snout Nose butterfly