Tiger Butterfly Caterpillars and a Crab Spider

I was observing my Butterfly Garden this AM and noticed more Tiger Butterfly Caterpillars and a beautiful Crab Spider.

Purple Passionflower

Frank gave me a clipping of the Purple Passionflower vine about 10 months ago. It has taken started to spread and bloom. This is a pretty flower that does attract some butterflies, but not as much as the Red Passionflower vine will.

I am starting to think that this is a Red Passionflower. Even though I am color blind, the flower does look red to me; however, colors can vary during different seasons, amount of consistent heat, and with the amount of sunlight. Additionally, the flowers are not clustering like the red varietal typically does?

More pictures of my Butterfly Garden

I took more pictures of our garden this AM. I am still learning the different modes of my new camera. I am quickly learning that I need need a tripod, as in zoom shots, the smallest shake ruins the picture. Below I have shots of a Monarch butterfly drying his wings, Cuban Buttercup flowers, Jatrophia flowers, Monarch butterfly eggs on a Milkweed seed pod, a Monarch caterpillar on a Milkweed, and a bee on a flower.

Just Hatched!

I noticed a Monarch Butterfly that had just hatched from its cocoon this AM. What a Beautiful sight to observe this creature drying its wings! The specimen is is resting on a Foxtail palm, next to a small Giant Air Plant. Before cocooning, the caterpillar had been feeding on the Milkweed plants in my Butterfly Garden.

Butterflies, Caterpillars, an Iguana, and a Black Racer

Below are pictures from my friend, Frank's home. Has done a great job of planting beautiful trees, bushes, and a Butterfly Garden. He has planted Purple, Red, and Blue Passion Fruit Vines that really attract Butterflies! These are Monarch Butterflies and Caterpillar.






I came home from work one day and discovered this approximately 3-4' Iguana perched on a Fox Tail Palm limb that was hanging over our gate. Basically, this creature was around 12” from my face. This guy remained in this spot for three days before I hosed him away. He was obviously a pet this escaped or was let loose because of his size.



I was visiting another friend’s house who also done a great job of landscaping his yard with indigenous specimen. I was looking at his Fire Bush hedge and noticed this 3-4’ Black Racer sunning himself.





For those of you who wondering why I am posting this blog, its because it is rare to see a snake or a butterfly in the city these days!

Butterfly Garden

I have a small butterfly garden in front of our home. I have attached a few shots that exhibit Milkweed with Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars eating them before they cocoon. A few weeks after this shot was taken, we came home to over 30 Butterflies on our patio, drying their wings, to take their first flight! This was an awesome sight. Currently, our plants attract Monarch, Queen, and Viceroy Butterflies. Milkweed is an easily grown plant that attracts Butterflies to lay their eggs on so that the Caterpillars will feed on the plant before morphing into a cocoon. These plants grow back fast after being stripped of their foliage.

For those of you who are wondering why I posted this blog, its because I am probably the only house in this neighborhood that has an animal friendly environment!