Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Milkweed

The host plant for Monarch larvae and caterpillars, 
Milkweed is the plant of choice for the Monarch Butterfly. 

As I released the Swallowtails I raised, 
I thought the Milkweed would be the perfect spot to photograph them, the Swallowtails agreed.







I found that the bees loved it too.



This is the caterpillar we found on the Milkweed during one of our Swallowtail releases.
It has formed it's chrysalis and in a few more day's,
it will evolve into a Monarch Butterfly.
Stay tuned for those pictures, 
it is the only Monarch caterpillar I found and raised!

31 comments:

Christine said...

Just awesome Debbie! THe colors and the size of the butterflies are thrilling!

baili said...

Stunning shots my friend and OUTSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHY!!!

never saw before so thank you so much for this gorgeous treat

eileeninmd said...

Hello, your milkweed looks different than what I see here in the wild. It is a beautiful plant, love the gorgeous butterfly images. It is exciting to raise a Monarch! Kudos to you! Have a great day!

Marie Smith said...

It is interesting how the butterflies are so large when they emerge. They don't have to grow up. Beautiful photos, Debbie!

Sandi said...

Beautiful shots! How did you get that?? Wow.

Beside a babbling brook... said...

What kind of Milkweed, please?

I thought we had Milkweed here, but have not seen anything like this gorgeous plant.

Mmmmmm, just gorgeous!

Ohhh, eagerly awaiting you latest "Babe." :-)

Stephanie said...

Oh Debbie, what vivid color and detail! Your images are amazing...absolutely amazing!

Sweet hugs to you!

Judy said...

You are such a good "bug" momma!!!!!

Cathy H. said...

Beautiful captures of your butterflies! Can't wait to see the Monarch!

Sally said...

Gorgeous photos, Debbie! I've come to expect nothing less from you; your amazing photography!

I don't think I've seen milkweed before; it's so pretty. :)

xoxo

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

ohhhhh you had me moaning and groaning in love...of nature

Ruth Hiebert said...

Each picture is so beautiful.The colourful flowers offset the butterflies so well.

DeniseinVA said...

Gorgeous blossoms and bees and butterflies. I bought a milkweed plant. It is tiny but hopefully I will have something as pretty to share next year. Great photos Debbie!

Gregg Dunne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brian King said...

Wow, talk about vibrant colors! The butterflies are beautiful! Glad you've got a monarch coming, too.

Adam said...

so beautiful

Debbie said...

thanks gregg, i'm so glad you enjoyed these!!!

The Furry Gnome said...

Those are a really bright milkweed! Ours is a much softer pink colour.

Pam said...

Okay, so I had no clue that Milkweed looked that pretty. Had no clue it bloomed like that. So pretty! I personally thought it was just an ugly old weed. Thank you for sharing that with me.

Ashley said...

how lovely these photos are!
i always enjoy your pictures! :)

Wietrzyk said...

I like your photos :)

Prunella Pepperpot said...

Ooh, I missed your swallowtail release! Your butterflies are gorgeous and look exceptionally happy and healthy. Looking forward to see how the Monarch caterpillar gets on :)

Anvilcloud said...

Your milkweed looks very different than ours, perhaps due to using the same name in a different environment? Very nice, however.

21 Wits said...

Wow! Beautiful captures. Just yesterday I was out in the back with my pups and holy butterfly land, it was really something the amount flying about. I even thought to myself What would Debbie do and even What would Ellen do, I know grab their camera. Well I had my cell phone and also two pups that were causing them to flutter about. I shot a few we'll see how they came out!

Unknown said...

Debbie, this is just wonderful, and your photographs are truly beautiful.
Have a great weekend, my friend.
xo.

Jenn Jilks said...

What a lovely project!!!!

Conniecrafter said...

Wow that plant is so gorgeous and the butterfly matches it wonderfully! I love the pics with the bee on it too, beautiful!!

Unknown said...

Very nice, however.


pirates of the caribbean 5

Lowcarb team member said...

Amazing photographs Debbie, the colours of the flowers is just gorgeous no wonder all the bees and butterflies love them.

All the best Jan

Sue (this n that) said...

oh wow, gorgeous shots... especially the 4th one down, my favourite. Such vibrant colours - butterflies, bees and plant alike :D)

vaiybora said...

I very much like your pattern it's beautiful,thank for sharing good i dea !

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