Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Wildlife Wednesday November 2016: A month of butterflies

Our butterfly season is in full swing.  At the beginning of October I posted a recommended list of native butterfly nectar plants from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center which I also grow in my garden.  As it turns out the butterflies voted with their wings and declared the Crucita or Blue Mistflower (Chromolaena odorata) the undisputed champion of native butterfly plants.  In fact, of all the plants on the vaunted list, only my Gregg's Mistflower attracted a significant number of butterflies.  Meanwhile, our Central Texas gardening community on Facebook has been brimming with stunning butterfly videos that are the envy of our friends in other parts of the country.  Some of you have already seen most of these photos and videos on my Facebook page, but I'm posting again for Wildlife Wednesday to share with readers who might not have seen them.  Wildlife Wednesday is hosted on the first Wednesday of each month by Tina at "My Gardener says...".  Tina features Blue Mistflower and many of the same butterflies this month too but I don't think she'll mind.  We live in the same region, about 70 miles apart so it's to be expected from time to time.

Of course I have them in motion.  A Fall bloomer just in time for butterfly season, it's been hopping like this for 10 days and still going even as the flowers fade.


Like Gregg's Mistflower on steroids, Chromolaena odorata is at least 11' tall, six feet wide and covered head-to-toe with butterflies.


Blue Mistflower is just so amazing as a butterfly nectar plant, especially attractive to Monarchs and Queens.  I counted 10 or more Monarch butterflies at a time on this one plant and I have two in the garden.




Let's take a closer look at some of my other butterfly visitors in October.

Bordered Patch


Common mestra was a new one for me this year.   Usually found farther south along the border, it seems they made their way as far north as Austin according to my blogger friends.



Unmistakable Gulf Fritillary so bright in the sunlight I can see it from the house 40 feet away.



 Locally prolific Queens moved over from Gregg's mistflower for a few days too.


Giant Swallowtail is a favorite of mine.

 

Mating Queen Butterflies on the Blue Mistflower


Meanwhile, Black Swallowtails prefer Gomphrena 'Fireworks'.


Be sure to check out "My Gardener Says..." for more Wildlife Wednesday.

15 comments:

  1. Bravo! It looks like you have both Gregg's Mistflower (Conoclinium greggii) and Blue Mistflower (C. coelestinum)? I have the latter in my garden and the Monarchs love it! We still have some butterflies up here, but the numbers are declining with the season. Still no frost, though, and none in the immediate forecast! Thanks for sharing your videos and beautiful butterfly photos!

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  2. Actually the Blue Mistflower in my garden is Chromoleana odorata which is a warm climate version native to deep South Texas and Florida. Thanks for your comment which made me realize I had gotten it wrong. These plants are particularly confusing and I have corrected the botanical name in my post.

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  3. Great shots of butterflies! Love the cool videos too.

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  4. Hi Shirley, what fantastic photos of all the different butterflies over your way. I really love the colours of the Gulf Fritillary and the Queen butterflies, as far as I know, we don't have them here in Australia. Cool gifs too! :)

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  5. Your garden is enjoying some of the same conditions that mine is--full of life! The videos are great, as are your photos!! Thanks for joining in this month, it's always a treat to read your posts, Shirley.

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  6. Like flying flowers, your butterflies add bright color and beauty to your garden! How lucky that you get this beautiful fall show. Here it's been gray and extremely wet, in fact the wettest October ever. It lifts my spirits to know that the sun is shining somewhere!

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    1. Flying flowers, I just love that! We have rain today but the sun shines between the showers, so different from gray.

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  7. Shirley, you've GOT to get the white native mistflower! Like yours, mine is blooming now and full of so many varieties of lovelies! One I have not seen before was showing up in droves.... Mary Irish identified it for me as a white spotted black moth, which she says wins the prize for the most unoriginal name. But they are so cool! Wish I could put a picture here for you.

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    1. Patty, I do have the white mistflower which is just about to bloom. I actually mentioned it in my October WW post. I recently heard Mary speak on growing agaves and yuccas. I learned so much.

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  8. You are obviously doing it right in your AIRb&b.

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  9. That mistflower is an amazing draw. Butterflies have been in relatively short supply here this year. I've been wondering if this could be yet another drought effect - did you see a decline in butterflies during the height of your drought? The biggest draw in my garden is Senna bicapsularis, which reliably brings in the cloudless sulphur butterflies.

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  10. Wow. I can't imagine gardening with all those glorious butterflies flitting passed. Nothing would ever get done.

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  11. MUCH prefer your Fireworks to the ones tomorrow!

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  12. I have loads of blue mist flower in my garden. It's almost a weed for more. But I love it and so do the pollinators so it stays. Love all those monarchs! I hope to see you at the 2017 Capital Region Garden Bloggers Fling. I'm hosting! More info on my blog. :o)

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  13. Like flying blossoms, your butterflies add brilliant shading and excellence to your garden! a debt of gratitude is in order for share...
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