Waiting to Grow

Just a quick Heimlich update...

He's been living in his glass palace for four days now, and by my estimate, has more than doubled in size. He chows on milkweed, eating a leaf or two every day, and he's definitely eating more as he grows larger.

He is also a champion pooper, as you might expect from one who does nothing but eat all day. Caterpillar waste is called "frass", and you can see some scattered around on the bottom of the jar. I clean it out daily, because who wants to live in their own poo?

If you're worried about him getting enough exercise, you'll be glad to know that he sometimes takes a stroll in between snacks.

My guess is, at the rate he's growing, it won't be long before he needs to shed his skin. With luck, I'll be able to catch one of those molts on camera.

Keep checking back for Heimlich updates!

Let the Sunshine In

On my way out to get the mail, I had to stop and admire the beach sunflower I planted in the front yard this spring. We don't spend much time in the front yard, but it is the side of the house most people see, so we try to keep it looking nice with minimal effort. Beach sunflower is a fantastic Florida native that fits the bill perfectly. It works as groundcover in full sun or partial shade, and is incredibly drought-tolerant once established.



I planted it this spring after trying several other plants out under this tree in front. I planted some mondo grass, but it didn't do much of anything. I tried several kinds of annuals, but the heat was just too much, even in shade for part of the day. Finally, I decided to try beach sunflower. Since this plant generally grows directly on sand dunes, I knew it should be able to tolerate hot dry conditions.

Because it's a Florida native, of course it was somewhat difficult to find. Fortunately, all the native plant nurseries in the area carry it pretty reliably. I bought mine at Wilcox Nursery in Largo, my favorite place for native plants. We planted four plants under the tree, facing west, back in March. They were watered in and established within about 3 weeks, and since then, I haven't done anything to them. They just grow and bloom and grow and bloom!



We also planted one by the mailbox. Personally, I prefer it to the neighbor's marigolds, but I suppose some prefer a more "manicured" look.

Note that these plants have a spread of 2-3 feet in all directions. Again, that's one plant by the mailbox. This is a true groundcover - one plant will spread to fill in space where you need it.

It does seem to draw some butterflies; I saw a Horace's Duskywing visiting it one day. Since it's in the front yard, where we don't spend much time, it's quite likely that other butterflies visit when we're not looking.

Although I prefer to be in My Florida Backyard, I like knowing that I can keep the front yard looking friendly and cheerful with plants like beach sunflower.






P.S. Just to remind you how much Gulf Fritillary caterpillars love passionvine, check out all the little guys competing for food on this one leaf! (Gee, I wonder who's gonna win?)

A Bug's Life

Somehow, I never got to participate in that classic elementary school classroom experiment: watching a caterpillar grow into a butterfly. I've been experiencing it somewhat in the butterfly garden in My Florida Backyard, but lately we've had a wasp problem. Wasps, you see, eat caterpillars. This is great in a garden where you don't want caterpillars eating your plants, but since one of the main purposes of my butterfly garden is to produce more butterflies, it's pretty frustrating to watch the wasps prowling my milkweed in search of new tasty treats.


So, following some internet directions, I found myself a jar, filled it with some milkweed leaves and a stick, and fastened some lightweight material over the top with a rubber band - voila:

That being done, I found myself a resident:

I've decided to call him Heimlich, in honor of that great Disney caterpillar. I'm going to follow his progress, and I'll keep you updated here on My Florida Backyard!

I Love to Laugh

A little woodpecker-related humor, compliments of webcomic xkcd:

Have a great weekend!

Cast a Giant Shadow

My Florida Backyard had a visit today from one of the biggest of butterflies, the Giant Swallowtail.

See more shots of this amazing visitor at my Flickr Butterfly Gallery.

I'm enchanted by all butterflies, big and small, but there's something about the Giant Swallowtail that just makes you hold your breath in admiration. I feel honored whenever one visits.

Black Bottom

It's a breathlessly hot afternoon, and only the bumble bees seem hard at work. I caught this guy poking his head into every Mexican Petunia (sterile cultivar, of course) he could find.

I admire his industriousness, but I'm just going to keep sitting under the ceiling fan and staying cool. It's too darn hot for anything else.

Fun Fact: The scientific name for the Common Eastern Bumble Bee is "Bombus Impatiens".

In the Good Old Summertime

When I was first learning to read, I loved the book Summer, by Alice Low with pictures by Roy McKie. In the book, a little girl and boy (and their dog) explain how "We love the things that summer brings" and the whole thing is illustrated in these crazy vivid pictures that could only have been drawn in the 60s.

I've always loved summer, so it's no surprise that our copy (yes, I still have it) is tattered and dog-eared and held together with tape. I read it over and over, long after I progressed to chapter books and beyond. One of my favorite passages began "Summer brings us things with wings!", and that's certainly true in My Florida Backyard.

My backyard seems full of butterflies today. The monarchs are visiting the milkweed, the gulf fritillaries are laying eggs on the passionvine, and others are drinking nectar from the lantana.

I captured this new visitor, a fairly dull-looking butterfly with a great name - Horace's Duskywing.


Then there was this rather sorry-looking fellow, who reminded me of another childhood favorite - Shel Silverstein's poem, "It's Hot". The last stanza reads:

It’s hot!
I’ve tried with ‘lectric fans,
And pools and ice cream cones.
I think I’ll take my skin off
And sit around in my bones.

It’s still hot!

See Also: Flickr Butterfly Gallery