Butterflies Galore Today: Zebra Longwing

Black Swallowtail, Papilio Polyxenes asterius

The September garden is always chocked full of butterfly activity.

Today was no exception.

Juvenal's Dusky Wings, Erynnis juvenalis

The morning started off with the rather drab Dusky Wings making its way around to the blue porterweed in the veggie garden. Drab brown or not they still fascinate me.

Long-tailed Skipper, Urbanus proteus
Flitting about with its quick movements the skipper landed on the confederate jasmine leaves momentarily.

Cloudless Sulphur, Phoebis sennae eubule
...Nectaring at the Firebush, Hamelia patens.

Cassius Blue, Leptotes cassius theonus
One of my very favorite butterflies.... wingspans range from 1.4 to 2.5 cm. Host plant in my garden is the plumbago. They are just so dainty, yet flitty, and erratic in flight. Their beautiful blue wings when open are brilliant.

A perspective of its size with its entire face buried in the small opening of one of the trumpet shaped lantana petals.

Plumbago, host plant, offers refuge for egg laying.

We have enjoyed a large population of Zebra Longwings, Heliconius charitonius tuckeri this summer.

I've convinced myself it is due to the passion-flower vine, passifloraceae which is its ONLY host plant. I planted it in the spring hoping to attract more of the Longwings to hang around.

Last-stage caterpillar. It seems the Gulf Fritillaries made the vine their home in the spring and now the Longwings are taking their turn.

A closer look and even I was surprised to see so much activity going on high up in the air on the tips of the vine.

Many generations are produced each year.

Elongated yellow eggs are laid in small groups on the young leaves of the food plant.

Today, I witnessed this process in action.

And now there are more eggs just seconds later.

Adults of the Zebra Longwing occur all months of the year in south and central Florida.

Zebra Longwing is unusual in several aspects of adult behavior. One such behavior is pollen feeding. Females visit flowers not only to sip nectar, but to gather a ball of pollen at the tip of the proboscis. Regurgitated enzymes digest some of the pollen into smaller components, especially proteins, that can be used for producing eggs.

The Firebush, Hamelia patens, a native plant is sited right next to the host plant. Regardless, that firebush gets visitors of all sorts. There was another hummingbird on it today as well. I hesitate to even say it. It was way too fast for me or my clicker. Out of nowhere it came and it went away the same route.

The Zebra Longwing became the official state butterfly of Florida by an April 1996 vote of the legislature.

Its flight is slow and fluttering and graceful unlike any other butterfly... at least in my garden. It is one of my favorites for that aspect alone.

It was a good day to be in the garden.