We found a butterfly in the garden
that We didn't recognize but thought it was a CUBAN CRESCENT. We emailed
the picture to Buck and Linda Cooper for help to identify it...
Sure enough, it is a Cuban Crescent
and probably a stray as they are very rare in our area!
Lo and behold, we caught them
breeding in the garden!!! Obviously, more than one stray here! (Must
be because of their host plant DICLEPTERA in the garden, and sure enough, there
is plenty here.)
They must be happy here, the female
is laying eggs!!!
Now, we have caterpillars on the
leaves. We'll have to wait and see where they go from here... We
hope to have a happy ending in a few weeks!!!
After watching and waiting we found
a Chrysalis, captured it and after the tenth day it hatched and our butterfly
circle is complete!
It is a miracle that we caught all
this on camera!!!
