Although mentioned in the last installment of the Explore the Wild Journal, a picture of a Two-lined Spittlebug was not displayed. More spittlebugs have been showing up and I was able to get a nice shot of one (image at right).

There was a Locust Borer on the Goldenrod alongside the Wetlands (photo at left). Although I’ve seen Locust Borers on other flowers, Goldenrod is a good place to look for them. They blend in very well with the flowers and can be easily overlooked. They’re about 24 mm in length. As the name implies, the larvae bore into Locust Trees.

Butterflies seen this period were Monarch, Viceroy, Cloudless Sulphur, Sleepy Orange, American Lady, Common Buckeye, Hackberry Emperor, Eastern-tailed Blue, Pearl Crescent, various skippers, and a Gulf Fritillary.

Monarchs have been steadily trickling through from the north. I’ve seen them down low, flying by well above treetop level, and nectaring on both the Heath Aster and Groundsel Tree. Cloudless Sulphurs have also been seen moving through, although in much smaller numbers. Each Cloudless Sulphur and Monarch that I’ve seen was heading in a general N-S direction.

The Viceroy, not surprisingly, was seen in the Wetlands – where there are Willows, there are probably Viceroys. I saw one nectaring on the Groundsel Tree and another, or perhaps the same individual, visiting various leaves on the nearby Willows.

Always a thrill to see a Gulf Fritillary, the one I saw this period did not stay. I had hoped to see caterpillars of this long-winged, bright orange butterfly of the deep south (south Georgia and Florida deep south, that is) on the Passion Flower which grows around the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop, but no such luck this year.