All posts by KathyW

Web author, programmer and developer; photographer; designer; artist and bird breeder. Interested in all of the above plus underground homes, alternative energy systems, native plants and animals, alpacas, carnivorous plants, dyers plants and organic gardening.
Butterflies

Butterfly Attractors

Common Brown Butterflies drunk on sweet figs
Common Brown Butterflies drunk on sweet figs

It is standing room only on the over-ripe flowering figs!

We’ve already had two pickings of ripe fruit, made two batches of Fig Paste and Jam, and are not yet ready to deal with another, so we left the fruit on the trees.

Fig in flower
Fig in flower

These figs open into a startling red “flower”, which as it ages becomes highly attractive to butterflies, bees and flies of all sorts. The butterflies become so affected by the fig juices that by the end of the day they can be easily approached and photographed.

Today, as well as the clouds of the Common Brown butterfly, a number of different types of bees and flies, a Tailed Emperor butterfly took advantage of a free feed. The Tailed Emperors lay eggs on our Kurrajongs, growing into a large and striking caterpillar, before turning into these beautiful, large butterflies.

Tailed Emperor butterfly
Tailed Emperor butterfly

 

Butterflies

Beautiful Wanderer

Monarch or Wanderer Butterfly
Monarch or Wanderer Butterfly - 9th March, 2011

I was fortunate enough to capture on camera this weary and beautiful wanderer. A male Monarch or Wanderer Butterfly (Danaus plexippus). They are not all that common in this area, although I have seen them usually singly in both Wagga to the north and here in Albury.

He appeared to be strongly attracted to the Buddleia on which he was feeding. Buddleias are known for producing a lot of nectar and a strong scent. They are popular favorites with butterflies, bees, moths, flies and spiders lying in ambush for a quick insect meal.

This male is missing part of one hind wing, and is showing damage to the inside of all wings. He was very flighty and had a charming habit of repeatedly opening and closing his wings while feeding.

Monarch Butterfly on Buddleia Flower
Monarch Butterfly on Buddleia Flower - March 9, 2011
Monarch Butterfly on Buddleia Flower
Monarch Butterfly on Buddleia Flower - March 9, 2011
Monarch Butterfly on Buddleia Flower
Monarch Butterfly on Buddleia Flower - March 9, 2011
Monarch Butterfly on Buddleia Flower
Monarch Butterfly on Buddleia Flower - March 9, 2011
Weather

Climate Cycles

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the “worst floods in 100 years”, and the “coldest northern hemisphere winters in 100 years”. Not more than a few years ago it was the “worst drought in 100 years”, or the “highest temperatures in 100 years”. Now comes news that 2008 marked the longest solar minimum in 100 years. The solar minimum relates to a low period of sunspot activity. Sunspot minimums and maximums usually happen over an 11 year cycle.

Co-incidence? I think not. Without our sun we have no light, no warmth. Without our sun this planet would freeze. The sun creates our climate, it drives our climate from day to night, summer to winter.

On the “up” side, the solar minimum is over for this cycle, and of late there have been increasing numbers of sun spots and solar flares (a great place to visit for up to date info is spaceweather.com). So the recorded drop in temperatures (0.5C in Europe, and our summer was cooler too) might soon reverse, till the next cycle. Meanwhile we’ve had the wettest February for a *very* long time – over 235mm recorded at our weather station, with both December 2010 and January 2011 recording over 100mm in each month.

 

11th February 2011, it rains, again.
11th February 2011, it rains, again.

Climate changes, it’s a natural cycle. Get over it!