What's Flying Around - Page 21 - Wildlife Gardeners

swamp thing · 09-02-2010, 10:23 PM

New York Ironweed, Vernonia noveboracensis, native to most of the eastern US. It gets really tall, at least eight feet or so.

turttle · 09-03-2010, 01:27 PM

I'm in trouble. I bought some New York Iron weed and it was in bloom in a pot, and was about two feet tall. I didn't bother to check final heights and put it near the front of my perennial bed. I guess I better move it. The butterflies love the nectar and my yellow bear caterpillars definitely favor it and the blue mistflower over all the other plants I find them on.

Is it my imagination or do most skippers look very much alike on their ventral wings? I've tried to ID a bunch of them from photos, comparing to my field guide, and a lot of them look the same to me.

We still have monarch caterpillars here in NC, so hopefully they will not be migrating before Earl and Fiona have passed.

ButterflyLinda · 09-03-2010, 03:45 PM

I have two kinds of ironweed, V. Lindheimeri and V. Baldwinii. Butterflies do like them when they're blooming. The V. Baldwinii spreads a lot underground...a tendency to keep in mind on some ironweed. The second kind only spreads by seed...I THINK. Lately, I keep seeing skippers on them. The look-alike skipper problem...I think everybody has that problem. And Texas seems to have tons of different kinds, so most of the time I don't worry about ID. Certain skippers whose caterpillars I've raised from time to time are more familiar to me when I see the adult.

dapjwy · 10-06-2010, 06:42 PM

I spotted this guy flying and fluttering around--it was going so fast, I'm lucky it stopped long enough for me to get a clear shot.

schphgochi · 11-08-2010, 07:29 AM

Talk about weird weather...

I was out putting up my Christmas lights (nice weather...so I decided to at least get them up outside before the snow/cold hits) outside yesterday...I live near Chicago...
and I see a flutter out of the corner of my eye...
I chased it..
It was a Buckeye...
I mean...
a buckeye?
in November?
In Chicago?

I don't think I have every seen butterflies this late (except for Mourning Cloak) in the season around here...

dapjwy · 11-08-2010, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schphgochi

Talk about weird weather...

I was out putting up my Christmas lights (nice weather...so I decided to at least get them up outside before the snow/cold hits) outside yesterday...I live near Chicago...
and I see a flutter out of the corner of my eye...
I chased it..
It was a Buckeye...
I mean...
a buckeye?
in November?
In Chicago?

I don't think I have every seen butterflies this late (except for Mourning Cloak) in the season around here...

Cool.

I must say that I've been spoiled--I could go for an extended Fall...every year! ...Followed by a short winter.

09-03-2010, 01:27 PM	#202
turttle Curious George & UAOKA recipient Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Chapel Hill, NC	I'm in trouble. I bought some New York Iron weed and it was in bloom in a pot, and was about two feet tall. I didn't bother to check final heights and put it near the front of my perennial bed. I guess I better move it. The butterflies love the nectar and my yellow bear caterpillars definitely favor it and the blue mistflower over all the other plants I find them on. Is it my imagination or do most skippers look very much alike on their ventral wings? I've tried to ID a bunch of them from photos, comparing to my field guide, and a lot of them look the same to me. We still have monarch caterpillars here in NC, so hopefully they will not be migrating before Earl and Fiona have passed. __________________ There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, this is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar. - Lord Byron Turttle's pollinator garden

10-06-2010, 06:42 PM	#204
dapjwy WG Hospitality & UAOKA recipient Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Pennsylvania	I spotted this guy flying and fluttering around--it was going so fast, I'm lucky it stopped long enough for me to get a clear shot. Attached Thumbnails

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09-02-2010, 10:23 PM	#201
swamp thing Slapping, Swearing, Itching, Scratching Mosquito Bait Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: pennsylvania,usa	New York Ironweed, Vernonia noveboracensis, native to most of the eastern US. It gets really tall, at least eight feet or so.

09-03-2010, 03:45 PM	#203
ButterflyLinda Salamander Join Date: May 2010 Location: Texas	I have two kinds of ironweed, V. Lindheimeri and V. Baldwinii. Butterflies do like them when they're blooming. The V. Baldwinii spreads a lot underground...a tendency to keep in mind on some ironweed. The second kind only spreads by seed...I THINK. Lately, I keep seeing skippers on them. The look-alike skipper problem...I think everybody has that problem. And Texas seems to have tons of different kinds, so most of the time I don't worry about ID. Certain skippers whose caterpillars I've raised from time to time are more familiar to me when I see the adult.

11-08-2010, 07:29 AM	#205
schphgochi Grub Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Mokena IL	Talk about weird weather... I was out putting up my Christmas lights (nice weather...so I decided to at least get them up outside before the snow/cold hits) outside yesterday...I live near Chicago... and I see a flutter out of the corner of my eye... I chased it.. It was a Buckeye... I mean... a buckeye? in November? In Chicago? I don't think I have every seen butterflies this late (except for Mourning Cloak) in the season around here...