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LinkedInPosts Tagged: Passiflora
What Good Is a Butterfly?
In his fascinating book, "Life on a Little-Known Planet: A Biologist's View of Insects and Their World," Connecticut-born biologist/entomologist Howard Ensign Evans (1919-2002) asks "What good is a butterfly?" "To the farmer, it is an adult cabbage worm or carrot caterpillar, and...
A tattered Gulf Fritillary sipping nectar from a zinnia in a Vacaville, Calif., garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Gulf Fritillary laying an egg on her host plant, Passiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Gulf Fritillary showing rejection toward a mate after laying an egg on the tendrils of a passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Insect Wedding Photography: No Invitation Needed
One point about insect wedding photography is that you don't need an invitation to attend. You just have to keep your distance and not disturb the bridal couple. No sudden movements. No stressful impatience. And no camera flash, please. It helps, though, if you grow the host plant so a...
Insect wedding photography: Two Gulf Fritillaries, Agraulis vanillae, in a Vacaville, Calif. pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A caterpillar inches along the altar of the Gulf Fritillaries. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A prospective suitor is rejected. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Caught in the Act of Laying an Egg on Tendrils
You know the drill, lay 'em on the tendrils. But Gulf Fritillary butterflies, Agraulis vanillae, don't always lay their eggs on the tendrils of their host plant, the passionflower vine (Passiflora) although textbooks may indicate that. We've seen Gulf Frits lay eggs on and under the...
A Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, depositing an egg on the tendrils of her host plant, Passiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A little maneuvering here, a little maneuvering there, and it's done--a Gulf Fritillary egg on the tendrils of a Passiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Gulf Fritillary spreads her wings and is gone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Frits in November?
Gulf Fritillaries in November? Yes! Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) are still active here in Solano County, on those warm, sunny afternoons that defy the season. They're still hanging around their host plant, Passiflora (passionflower vine), "looking for love"...
A Gulf Fritillary spreads its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A hungry Gulf Fritillary caterpillar crawling around the Passiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
U Turn? A Gulf Fritillary caterpillar in action. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This Gulf Fritillary egg is about to hatch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Passion on Passion
It's not often you see "passion on passion." That would be the "passion butterfly"--Gulf Fritillary, Agaulis vanillae--on the blossom of its host plant, the passionflower vine, Passiflora. You often see the males patrolling the vine and the females laying eggs on the leaves. But...
The Gulf Fritillary, Agaulis vanillae, spreads its wings on a passion flower in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The orange butterfly has silver spangled wings, which makes it appear as two different butterflies. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Gulf Fritillary making the rounds of the passionflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Gulf Fritillary moves around one more time. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
