Posts Tagged: Passiflora
Gulf Fritillary: A Glorious Butterfly
It's commonly called a "passion butterfly," but we call it a Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillaea)...
A newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary dries its wings while a caterpillar crawls around looking for food. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This image shows a Gulf Fritillary, a chrysalis, a caterpillar and a caterpillar J'ing, about to form a chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The silver-spangled underwings of the Gulf Fritllary--in sharp contrast to the orange-reddish wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Gulf Fritillary spreads its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Well, hello, there! Another Gulf Fritillary arrives on the scene. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Where Are You, Gulf Fritillaries?
Where are you, Gulf Fritillaries? The Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) population seems to be...
A Gulf Fritillary shares a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) with a hover fly (Syrphid). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Gulf Fritillary laying an egg on the tendril of a passionflower vine (Passiflora). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up shot of a Gulf Fritillary egg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A very hungry Gulf Fritillary caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary and its chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Gulf Fritillary spreads its wings on Passiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Butterfly Ballet: Gulf Fritillary in Action
Sometimes there's a method to our madness, or madness to our method. Take the silver-spangled,...
A Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Gulf Fritillary, a silver-spangled, orangish-red butterfly, heads for its host plant, Passiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A dip here, a dive there and you have a butterfly ballet (Gulf Fritillary). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Fritillary checking out the passionflower vine (Passiflora). She then laid her eggs on the tendrils and leaves. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This Gulf Fritillary stops for some flight fuel--nectar from lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Autumn's Hues: The Gulf Fritillary and Mexican Sunflower
"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough."--Rabindranath Tagore...
A newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Gulf Fritillary will soon be able to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The silver-spangled Gulf Fritillary, a showy orange butterfly, looks like two different species. When it spreads its wings, it's orange. The underwings: silver. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Not two butterflies; this is one, the Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The showy Gulf Fritillary on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hungry, Hungry Caterpillars!
It starts out slow. Beginning in the spring (and sometimes year-around in some locales) Gulf...
A Gulf Fritillary laying eggs on her host plant, passionflower vine. Note the eggs (yellow dots) on the left. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
By fall, the only thing left on the passionflower vine is the fruit. The leaves are gone. The hungry caterpillars are like insect shredding machines. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
No leaves--just fruit--remain on this skeletonized passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The end result: a Gulf Fritillary adult. This one is nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)