Butterflies/Moths

July 13, 2009 While in Houston last weekend, we visited the marvelous Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We enjoyed a fun, interactive exhibit about insects (not just butterflies), looked at displays of preserved specimens and live creepy-crawlies, and gazed through a protective, see-through case to ...

November 19, 2008 At this time of year Austinites reap their reward for having survived another summer. Bright blue skies washed clean by periodic cold fronts top a burnished landscape of evergreen live oaks, yaupon hollies, junipers, agaves, and evergreen salvias like the one favored by a sulphur butterfly’s visit ...

September 09, 2008 ‘Lavender Lady’ passionflower vine The trendy topic of guerrilla gardening, hashed over for months in the garden blogging community (see Garden Rant and Gardening Tips ‘n’ Ideas), has trickled down to the local news. Local readers, tune in to KEYE 42 news tonight at 10 p.m. to ...

April 29, 2008 Painted lady butterflies love purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ). Look at the feasting going on this morning. Their wings match the orange cone above the pink-petaled ballerina skirt. I wonder if that’s why they’re drawn to it? Did you read that study indicating that we prefer people ...

November 20, 2007 Great purple hairstreak. (Thanks for the ID, Lee.) A kaleidoscope of butterflies—and bees—have been fluttering around the shrubby white boneset (Eupatorium havanense ) for days. Also known as white mistflower, though much woodier and shrub-like than blue mistflower, it’s my latest blooming perennial, often starting around Halloween ...

November 18, 2007 On Sunday afternoon this yellow sulphur butterfly dropped by to visit a late-blooming Echinacea purpurea. Many other butterflies visited the shrubby white boneset, but I didn’t get photos. Maybe tomorrow. Another look ...

October 30, 2007 When a travel opportunity knocks, I’m usually grabbing my suitcase on the way to the door. This year I resolved to mesh my love of travel and of gardens by visiting local gardens on my trips. Since August I’ve explored and blogged about Chicago’s and San Antonio’s ...

October 21, 2007 Monarch on Gregg’s mistflower (Conoclinium greggii ) October is monarch migration season in central Texas, and I’ve noticed a few stopping over in my garden recently. The blue mistflower especially tempts them, as does the (not long for this world) vitex tree. Though I enjoy them and ...

October 16, 2007 After unseasonable heat for the Chicago Marathon weekend, our last day in Chicago, October 9th, dawned clear and cooler, with highs in the 70s. Ahhh, much better! Taking advantage of the beautiful day, we took a 45-minute train ride north of town to the Chicago Botanic Garden ...

September 26, 2007 The Harvest Moon is riding high over my garden right now, growing smaller and smaller as it rises into the cloudless, black sky. It shines brighter than last month’s—beautiful to the naked eye, but making for a flatter, less interesting photo. Almost a paper moon. But who ...

September 04, 2007 During a quick visit to the San Antonio Botanical Garden (more on that later), I spent a good five minutes just admiring this Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima ) in a parking-lot island. Also known as dwarf poinciana and red bird of paradise, this showy tropical is ...

July 23, 2007 The sun came out this morning, and the butterflies followed suit, flitting among the narrowleaf zinnias. Anyone know what kind they are? ...

April 10, 2007 White-lined sphinx moth on bulbine The sphinx moths have appeared. Nearly the size of a hummingbird, and with similar aeronautical abilities, these moths always interest me. They have several evocative aliases: hawk moth and hummingbird moth. While I was cutting back the spent blooms on the bulbine ...

April 10, 2007 White-lined sphinx moth on bulbine The sphinx moths have appeared. Nearly the size of a hummingbird, and with similar aeronautical abilities, these moths always interest me. They have several evocative aliases: hawk moth and hummingbird moth. While I was cutting back the spent blooms on the bulbine ...

February 28, 2007 Spider feeding on moth When I walked through the garden this morning, I could smell the faint, spicy scent of the Mexican plum blossoms. Sparrows and wrens sang in the trees, and one sparrow anxiously kept an eye on me as I neared the birdhouse in which ...

February 21, 2007 I was photographing the Carolina jessamine this evening, which is in full bloom on my southern fence, when I noticed a swallowtail fluttering about, dipping from one flower to the next. Early spring visitor. As I drank in the jessamine’s fragrance, the butterfly drank its nectar. Something ...