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noticed a few butterflies on the Sarracenia today

the first, i think, is a red-spotted purple, the 2nd is a red admiral.




 
Hm. A little large for the sarra. I suggest you take a dipstick and push them inside the sarra's mouf. :)
 
Beautiful butterflies.
Can't help but love the gorgeous background too ;)
 
LOL see that's about the only type of bug I wouldn't mind a CP not eating
 
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Very nice! I can't believe the second picture. It's fantastic!!!

Just be careful they don't lay eggs on your plants. Caterpillars can be devastating...
 
Wonderful photo's. I never had them visit my plants, just flies and wasps. You must have been realllllllly sneaky to get these!
 
Wonderful photo's. I never had them visit my plants, just flies and wasps. You must have been realllllllly sneaky to get these!

actually, I was able to get pretty close without spooking them. it helped that i had a lens with a nice zoom capabillity.
 
Red-spotted purple & Red admiral I believe. Beautiful butterflies. While we have those around, they don't usually get near the CPs. However the little Pearl crescents are drawn to the CPs and several get caught each year (sadly).

LOL see that's about the only type of bug I wouldn't mind a CP not eating
I go a step further, although it's a very anthropocentric view, I don't like to see any beautiful or 'helpful' critters (aka: non-pests) get captured by my CPs. While I feed them yellow jackets, I periodically rescue butterflies. When Jim Scott fed that sphinx moth to his CPs a few weeks ago - - - - - let's just say, that was something I would probably not do....
 
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Well, I neither rescue insects from my outside CPs, or feed them any. I also do not worry when a hawk takes a songbird from my feeders. I do however interfer if my neighbor's cat is out.
 
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Well, I neither rescue insects from my outside CPs, or feed them any.
Most of the time, I'm too late anyway ...

I also do not worry when a hawk takes a songbird from my feeders.
Same here - although I wish they were more successful with the non-native, flying-bowling-ball European starlings than they are with the others... Several years ago, we had a massive blizzard Christmas eve into Christmas day. My wife was on the phone wishing her mom happy holidays & catching up while idly watching the heavy snow fall. All of a sudden a Coopers hawk swooped in and snatched a male cardinal. She almost swallowed the phone as she called to us. The Coopers spread his wings over his catch for a minute in the snow before taking it to a nearby pine & eating it (plucking it 1st).
I do however interfer if my neighbor's cat is out.
Outside house cats (& their feral cousins) are a major songbird issue .... what do you do?
 
  • #11
Outside house cats (& their feral cousins) are a major songbird issue .... what do you do?

So far I've managed to get my neigbors to bell him, had to threaten that if he took one more bird from my feeder that I would be taking him to the shelter. There is a leash law in my county for cats as well as dogs. I also use a hose on him if I catch him near the feeders. Both my cats are altered and strictly indoor cats, my dog is altered an either on a leash or in the fenced yard. I can't stand irrresponsible pet owners.
 
  • #12
I let my plants eat what they want. occasionally I'll through a large ant, or a cricket in a pitcher.
 
  • #13
Butterflies are cool. So are many moths. The problem is they lay eggs and the larvae have nice mandibles for chewing leaves and voracious appetites to go with them.

Anything the plants catch on their own is theirs to keep. Any moths I happen to catch flitting about my plants becomes fodder. I have yet to identify the adults of the culprits that chew up my Sarracenia and Drosera.

I will feed my outdoor Drosera fruit flies as the plants don't seem to catch much on their own. Probably there are slim pickings left after running the Sarracenia gauntlet.
 
  • #14
Just be careful they don't lay eggs on your plants. Caterpillars can be devastating...
Actually, they won't. Not any type of butterfly, as far as I know. I raise some.

It's the moths you have to worry about. Red Admirals eat Nettle, False Nettle, Hops, And Barley. Red Spotted Purples eat fruit and willow trees.
 
  • #15
Butterflies are beautiful. I'd hate to see them be victims. Now Japanese beetles...
 
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