Good Morning, Kris. I love your old butterfly magnet and the new ones and the plant that attracts them. Gorgeous scarlet blooms Yes, that's a gulf fritillary; but the other one is an anise swallowtail. The difference is the solid black bar on the leading edge of the forewing. The tiger swallowtail had tiger stripes instead. Palos Verdes Peninsula was famous for these butterflies. The wild fennel was their larval food plant. As a child, we used to make annual pilgrimages to see them. There were multitudes, but now the fennel is mostly gone and so are the anise swallowtail butterflies.
Thanks for the ID, Jane! I stared and the IDs available on-line and my own fuzzy pictures, only to make a guess based on which butterfly appeared to be more common. I do have wild fennel growing at the bottom of my slope so perhaps that accounts for the visit. It was mad for that Senecio flower!
It looks more like something you'd find pinned to a jacket than stuck on a refrigerator, doesn't it? The magnet had belonged to my mother-in-law and I brought it home as a memento after she passed away.
The swallowtail spent close to 20 minutes fluttering about that one plant. If I hadn't been hovering with my camera, I'm sure it would have been longer still.
Coincidently, I finally got some photos this morning of a Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). There were so many of these around here when we were children and now I hardly ever see them. Here's a link.
It isn't a broach, Christina - it's a refrigerator magnet. They're common here but perhaps not so in Europe? Most are pretty tacky. This enameled one is fancier than most. I brought it from my mother-in-law's home when we cleared the house for sale. She used it to tack photos of her grandchildren to her refrigerator.
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Good Morning, Kris. I love your old butterfly magnet and the new ones and the plant that attracts them. Gorgeous scarlet blooms Yes, that's a gulf fritillary; but the other one is an anise swallowtail. The difference is the solid black bar on the leading edge of the forewing. The tiger swallowtail had tiger stripes instead. Palos Verdes Peninsula was famous for these butterflies. The wild fennel was their larval food plant. As a child, we used to make annual pilgrimages to see them. There were multitudes, but now the fennel is mostly gone and so are the anise swallowtail butterflies.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ID, Jane! I stared and the IDs available on-line and my own fuzzy pictures, only to make a guess based on which butterfly appeared to be more common. I do have wild fennel growing at the bottom of my slope so perhaps that accounts for the visit. It was mad for that Senecio flower!
DeleteNot just birds but you have butterflies too to watch in the garden :)
ReplyDeleteYes, the garden has life, even if the grass is dead.
DeleteSo many butterflies...love the Western and that pin is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteIt looks more like something you'd find pinned to a jacket than stuck on a refrigerator, doesn't it? The magnet had belonged to my mother-in-law and I brought it home as a memento after she passed away.
DeleteGorgeous! that is one beautiful swallowtail, and the plant is pretty special as well
ReplyDeleteThe swallowtail spent close to 20 minutes fluttering about that one plant. If I hadn't been hovering with my camera, I'm sure it would have been longer still.
DeleteLove the butterfly magnets old and new! Such gorgeous butterflies you have! I've seen very few in my garden this summer. Lots of moths though.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, Peter, the abundance of butterflies this year means I'm doing something right with the garden.
DeleteCoincidently, I finally got some photos this morning of a Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). There were so many of these around here when we were children and now I hardly ever see them. Here's a link.
ReplyDeleteToo few larval plants around, I guess. Great photo Eric.
DeleteLovely to see your beautiful swallowtail, very different from the ones here. the broach is very unusual, do you wear it often?
ReplyDeleteIt isn't a broach, Christina - it's a refrigerator magnet. They're common here but perhaps not so in Europe? Most are pretty tacky. This enameled one is fancier than most. I brought it from my mother-in-law's home when we cleared the house for sale. She used it to tack photos of her grandchildren to her refrigerator.
Delete