Thanks for that very informative discourse, Dan. Great gallery too. If
everyone had your outlook the world wouldn't be in the ecological mess
it is today. Of course the real problem is human overpopulation but one
is not allowed to say that. In the end I fear nature will take
corrective action. Covid could well be considered a kind of final
warning. Much worse is coming. I wonder if anyone heard what David
Attenborough was saying at the G7 last week?
Alan C
On 15-Jun-21 06:10 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:
As most of you know, I am really into butterflies. <G>
I concentrate on Monarchs, for a number of reasons:
They are among the most endangered.
They are probably the most beautiful butterflies in the Eastern US.
They are marathon athletes, as most migrate from the Northeast to Mexico
and back once a year.
They are mysterious; no one knows how, after several generations up north,
the eastern US population of Monarchs knows it is time to go to Mexico for
the winter, or how they manage to navigate that trip.
They are resourceful, eating only milkweed plants in the larval stage so
that the adult butterflies will be toxic, or at least distasteful, to most
predators.
They are highly adaptable; although they migrate on the east and west
coasts of the US., they also thrive as permanent populations in Florida,
Texas, parts of California, and even Maui, where they are the only common
butterfly.
Nevertheless, I love all butterflies, and although I grow and release two
to four groups of Monarchs every year, I usually start the season off with
a brood of Painted Ladies or
American Ladies. They are quite similar and quite attractive, and they are
easy to grow, as they will feed on specially prepared solid food, which is
usually provided in the container in which the eggs or larvae arrive,
whereas Monarchs require a steady diet of fresh milkweed, and are much more
voracious. The Painted Ladies are readily available in kit form, from
scientific and educational supply companies, as most of them are used in
school projects. The Painted ladies lay their eggs on thistle, which we
have plenty of around here, because of all the thistle seed bird feeders
kept by me and my neighbors.
In any event, Yesterday I released three Painted Lady butterflies, and I
have another ready to go today. This small gallery is a series of images
following the Painted Ladies from the plastic cup in which they arrived
through yesterday's release.
http://dan-matyola.squarespace.com/danmatyolas-pesos/2021/6/15/painted-ladies
K-5 IIs, with smc FA 100 mm macro F 2.8 and smc DA 35 mm macro F 2.8
Comments, questions, suggestions, and criticisms are invited and welcome.
Dan
Dan Matyola
*https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery
<https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery>*
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