Posts Tagged: gulf fritillary
Gotta Love Those 'Cats
You gotta love those 'cats. Gulf Fritillary caterpillars (Agraulis vanillae) are always hungry. They're as hungry as teenagers returning home from a marathon swimming meet or from a double-overtime...
Mirror image--Two Gulf Fritillary caterpillars crawl along a Passiflora stem, looking for food. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Always hungry, the Gulf Fritillary caterpillar is not one to turn down food. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Here we go! Wonder how much food is over there? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
When you're out of leaves, no worries. Next, eat the flower buds. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
If Gulf Fritillary caterpillars keep eating and manage to evade predators and diseases, they'll turn into spectacular orangish-reddish butterflies with silver-spangled underwings. This one is landing on a Passiflora blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's a Predatory World Out There
It's a predatory world out there. Newly emerged Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) are fluttering around the yard--nectaring on lantana, finding mates, mating, and trying to avoid predators. The...
Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, laying an egg (see tiny yellow dot protruding from the abdomen.) (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Signs of a predator encounter: wings ripped and torn--probably by a bird. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
An adult Gulf Fritillary--wingspan still intact--basking in the sunshine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Butterfly Ballet: No Boundaries, No Borders
If you're nurturing a passionflower vine (Passiflora), you've probably seen "The Butterfly Ballet."' The Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae), orangish-reddish butterflies with...
Gulf Fritillaries in a "Butterfly Ballet." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A trio of Gulf Fritillaries. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Fritillary casts a shadow over a tendril. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Strange Weather We're Having
Strange weather we're having here in Central California. After soaring into the 90s, the temperatures pushed again into the 80s today (Oct.21). The Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis...
A Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) lands on a passioinflower blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a passionflower vine blossom. Passiflora is the host plant of the Gulf Fritillary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Like a flamenco dancer, the Gulf Fritillary is showy. Here it is on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Privacy, Please!
Privacy, please! You're walking by a patch of lavender and Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) and you notice that two Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) are doing what birds 'n' bees 'n...
Two Gulf Fritillaries doing what comes naturally. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A butterfly passing by prompted this Gulf Frit male to react, by opening its wings.. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee "photobombs" the mating Gulf Fritillaries. The butterflies immediately flew away, still attached. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)