Sulphur Moth

This lovely, delicate moth was busily flittering from bloom to bloom on our Rose of Sharon on a recent afternoon.  My daughter, who is being the master photographer, managed to take this picture while it briefly paused to enjoy this particular flower.  I have identified it as a sulphur moth.  There are so many varieties of sulphurs that I left the identification at that.

Why I Have No Parsley

My parsley has not been growing.  I blamed the soil mix at first but all the rest of my herbs are growing like mad.  Then I blamed the plants themselves, but now I know the truth.  


A few days ago, my daughter discovered this Black Swallowtail caterpillar on my parsley.  Parsley is one of their favorite foods.  This caterpillar appeared to be ready to pupate (form a chrysalis).  We planned to take more photos of it as it progressed towards butterfly-hood.  


Unfortunately, we have a lot of hungry baby cardinals in the area and the caterpillar appears to have been a tasty morsel for one of the babies.  Oh, well.  At least my parsley might grow now!

Swallowtails Everyday!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail (pic by my daughter)

These swallowtail butterflies are common in the eastern U.S.  As you can see, they both enjoy our Rose of Sharon.  The tiger ones were friendly and didn't mind me getting in close for a photo. The black ones, though, were very shy.  It took several attempts over a few days to finally get a decent photo.


For more info on these summer visitors, go to these links:


Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Grasshoppers Molt?

Did you know that grasshoppers molt several times?  I had no idea until I did a little research after my daughter brought this grasshopper molt to me a few days ago.  My photo isn't terrific but you can see some better photos if you do an image search for "grasshopper molt".

The Squash Bugs Have Won

The final squash-type plant has been taken over by the squash bugs.  I'd like to know how they even know I am growing squash!  Last year was the first year I planted squash and zucchini and the squash bugs showed up right away.  Do they have a website or some other mode of communication to let them know where to go?  It's mind-boggling to me!

Anyway, I am finished with zucchini and squash for this year, and cucumbers, too.  Between the heat and the squash bugs, I am flying the white flag around those particular vegetables.  I think I will plant some fall veggies in those now unused containers...nothing squash related, for sure!

Strikingly Beautiful

Just a short time ago, my daughter, Katie, called me to come outside.  "You've got to see this!" she said.  So, I went, of course!  What she had discovered was a lovely white and black moth, resting on the side of the house.

Katie carefully captured it in a specimen container so she could photograph and identify it.  A few minutes later, she announced it is a Giant Leopard Moth.  This is a common moth in NC, but I don't believe I have ever seen one before.  Katie's photo is on the right.  It was taken outside once she had place the moth back on the bricks.

Here is link that gives more pics and information about this strikingly beautiful moth.

 http://butterflies.heuristron.net/moths/leopard.html













 

Growing Herbs

Today, I will finally get my herbs out of there store containers and into their planters.  It has been so hot here that I kept them inside for the duration of the heat wave.  Today, though, they will be enjoying their expanded environment and I expect they will be growing like mad in a few days!  

I have rosemary and oregano as perennial herbs.  They do well outside all winter, but winters are milder here than in many locations.  My annual herbs this year are basil, thyme, sage, parsley, chives.  Herbs add so much flavor to food and they are easy to grow.  They actually like being neglected a bit which is wonderful for me since I am notorious for forgetting to water plants!  That is why I use self-watering containers for my garden vegetables!