Monday, March 1, 2010

Butterflies and Lantana

Murphy has been at work again..... for more than a year now I have been wanting to buy a butterfly catching net and could not find one anywhere, then about two weeks ago I found a shop which had some and I was SO excited. At last!! I bought THREE, one for home, one for the office and one to keep in the car. There are so many butterflies which fly around but never settle on plants, NOW was my chance to catch them and get to take pictures!!

Well guess what? I have not seen even ONE butterfly since I got my net!! (Sigh!!) Well I guess there is always next season then watch out butterflies. :)
Although Lantana is an invasive species and is being sprayed with poison in many places, it DOES attaract a great number of butterflies, skippers and other nectar loving bugs so I am hoping that will never get rid of the Lantana. After all, what other plant woud they then use? It is such a fine balance messing around with nature and can mean the demise of a species if tampered with.

Common Dotted Border (Mylothris agathina) Spotted Joker (Byblia ilythia)
Common Hairtail (Anthene definita)
Painted Lady (Cynthia cardui)
African Monarch (danaus chrysippus)

Yello Pansy (Junonia oenone)
Now of course you are wondering what this Carpenter bee has in common with all the butterflies? Why the Lantana of course!! :) One of the many other species to enjoy the nectar too.
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34 comments:

  1. Firefly the Travel GuyMarch 1, 2010 at 12:34 AM

    I just wish butterflies would sit still for longer when I approach with my camera.

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  2. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 1, 2010 at 12:53 AM

    I will tell you my secret if we meet up Jonker. :) I hope I have time to make it that far up the coast so we can all have lunch but will let you know a few days before we get there. There is so much to do and see along the way.

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  3. AndreaMarch 1, 2010 at 2:35 AM

    Interesting serie.
    As you can imagine,I don't know anything about african butterflies...
    So the more you post,the more I enjoy them...

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  4. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 1, 2010 at 2:53 AM

    Thanks Andrea. I am going to Kruger this week and hope to bring you more interesting ones. :)

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  5. This Is My Blog - fishing guyMarch 1, 2010 at 5:23 AM

    Joan: I love your varieties of butterflies, you have some great variations from what I see. That Lantana is planted here and dies in the Winter.

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  6. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 1, 2010 at 6:06 AM

    Thanks Tom. Ours dies off in most places for the winter too but then shoots out again come summer. It is a very difficult plant to get rid of as the birds love the seeds of it.

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  7. WendyMarch 1, 2010 at 6:16 AM

    Wow, such a nice colorful post! I can't WAIT until summer time!!

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  8. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 1, 2010 at 7:00 AM

    Hi Leeloo. The winter must seem very long for you. Here at the most we get three months of really cold weather in places and that is enough for me. :)Hope this brightens up your day. :)

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  9. GaelynMarch 1, 2010 at 7:33 AM

    I'm sure the net could be used for other bugs. Love that pansy butterfly. We'll take it along, just in case. ;-)

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  10. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 1, 2010 at 7:46 AM

    You are right it probably can Gaelyn. One of those nets is permanently in my car so it will come in handy. :)

    How nice to have this connecting so you can communicate while you are waiting for your flight. I hope you have a good wind which will help get you here faster. :) To avoid our rush hour traffic I am going to go out to the airport early in anycase. I hate traffic at the best of times. Enjoy Frankfurt.

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  11. Rambling WoodsMarch 1, 2010 at 10:44 AM

    Oh my gosh..I need one.. Can you see my neighbors as I walk around the pond with a butterfly net. It will confirm all their suspicions of me.. LOL..I will have to look to see where I can get one.....Michelle

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  12. UnknownMarch 1, 2010 at 11:48 AM

    Now this is a gorgeous set of butterfly shots! And Lantana, of course! :-)

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  13. Diane AZMarch 1, 2010 at 1:21 PM

    The butterflies and bee love the Lantana! Fantastic images, the Common Dotted Border and Yellow Pansy are so pretty!

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  14. blog with no nameMarch 1, 2010 at 2:37 PM

    Butterflies have a special place in some cultures, there is a butterfly dance up north on the hopi mesas. P.S. You and Gaelyn have a blast while you are together!

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  15. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 1, 2010 at 6:29 PM

    LOL!! Don't let the neighbors bother you Michelle. Mine avoid me like the plague but I dont bother about it. I think they also hide their kids away from this crazy old woman!! LOL!!

    I searched for one for ages and was about to make my own then saw this one at a toy shop of all places so you might look at a local toy shop as I am sure they will have one. I wonder why they think only kids would be interested in catching butterflies? Well maybe I AM still a kid at heart. :)

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  16. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 1, 2010 at 6:30 PM

    Thanks Jose. I am hoping to find some great ones up in Kruger as I think I have taken shots of most of the local ones.

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  17. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 1, 2010 at 6:31 PM

    Thanks Diane. That Dotted Border is one of my favorite butterflies. I love the combination of colors in it.

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  18. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 1, 2010 at 6:35 PM

    Hello Mike. Butterflies and dragonflies are somehow the two most beautiful of all the creatures to me. I have not heard of the Butterfly Dance and would love to hear more about it.

    Thanks, I am really looking forward to this trip with her. It has been a long wait since she got her ticket and now at last it is happening. I think we are going to have a lot of fun and she will return home exhausted. :)

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  19. BeckyMarch 1, 2010 at 6:46 PM

    I bought my first Lantana last year, and it was so beautiful! I had not seen any before, but as for the Butterflies, the few we did have were always on that plant. I will be getting more this spring for sure.
    The butterflies are awesome Joan! A person can never see enough of them!
    BTW no snow today! Can you believe it. Temp way up to 40ยบ There IS a light at the end of that tunnel after all. On the down side now we have to deal with all the melting snow and water runoff. sigh....
    B.

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  20. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 1, 2010 at 7:20 PM

    Thanks Becky. I wonder how the butterflies can stand the smell of the Lantana? It stinks!! LOL!! Well, to me that is but I am not a butterfly althought I sometimes do wish I had wings to fly.

    What, NO SNOW?? My goodness, you are being spoilt aren't you? LOL!! Seriously, I am pleased for you and certainly hope your stream does not overflow with the melting of it. Just a couple of days of those temeratures then it will all be gone and spring will be on its way. About time too!!

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  21. MaryMarch 1, 2010 at 8:18 PM

    You have some beautiful butterflies! I think that first one knows that he looks great on that flower :-) I love that yello pansy one! How cool! I can't wait until we have butterflies again.

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  22. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 1, 2010 at 8:41 PM

    Thanks Mary. I hope you dont have to wait too long to have your butterflies filling your garden once again. Hopefully summer/spring is on its way now.

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  23. UnknownMarch 2, 2010 at 9:32 AM

    AAAAAHHHH BUTTERFLIIIEEEEESSSS!!! *runs away screaming*

    LOL... just kidding. They are beautiful Joan! Hopefully you will get to use your net soon. :o)

    My favourite shown here is the pansy one, I LOVE pansies!!! They are so hardy, even though they look so delicate. I wonder if the butterflies are the same way, or if they're just named because of their colouring.

    We have invasive species here too, both plant and animal species. I have a hard time deciding what I think we should do. The presence of humans just mucks so many things up. If it were all left up to nature it would all work out just fine. ;o)

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  24. Craver ViiMarch 2, 2010 at 10:50 AM

    These are great butterfly pics. Say, did I ever tell you about my friend's butterfly? It seemed this butterfly had a habit of using coarse language. It could cuss a full five minutes without repeating itself...

    ;-)

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  25. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 2, 2010 at 5:14 PM

    LOL!! This must be freaky for you Krista. :) Sorry my friend!! :)

    I love pansies too. They come in the most beautiful colors and are a pleasure to have in the garden. Perfect for borders too. You might enjoy this info on them:

    http://saphotographs.blogspot.com/2008/09/time-for-pansies-has-arrived_23.html

    I feel as you do on some of the so-called invasive species. Like the Lantana, some of them have their uses.

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  26. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 2, 2010 at 5:16 PM

    Thanks Craver. Where have you been? Your are NOT allowed to stay away so long. :)

    LOL!! I am glad you liked Tony's joke. I thought it very funny and it sure started my day off well. :)

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  27. Tammie LeeMarch 4, 2010 at 9:00 AM

    these are so lovely! I am enjoying seeing their beauty amongst my gray day that has snow on the ground.

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  28. FABMarch 4, 2010 at 1:27 PM

    So many diverse colours and the Yellow Pansy..so appropriately named. FAB.

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  29. sandyMarch 4, 2010 at 8:15 PM

    These are breathtaking, the light is gorgeous in these.

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  30. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 18, 2010 at 10:35 AM

    I am pleased I was able to brighten up your grey day Tammie. Sometimes winter seems to go on forever. :(

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  31. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 18, 2010 at 10:36 AM

    Thanks Frank. It is one of my favourite butterflies and quite common here.

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  32. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 18, 2010 at 10:37 AM

    Thanks Sandy. Nature sure does a great job at pleasing the eye.

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  33. AnonymousMarch 21, 2010 at 4:27 AM

    Your hairtail we call a "hair-streak," and that African Monarch? Well it looks just the same as the ones we have here, but seeing as how it is in Africa, that makes it an "African Monarch" I suppose. It is like "Maryland Fried Chicken"...what if it is cooked or fried in North Carolina? LOL! Beautiful butterflies Joan. : )

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  34. SAPhotographs (Joan)March 21, 2010 at 11:26 AM

    Sounds kind of confusing doesn't it Ken? LOL!! North Carolina Chicken does not sound as tasty for some reason. :)

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