Beth's Patch ~ Question Mark Butterflies

Question Mark butterflies have been hanging around the yard and laying eggs on the hackberry for the past several days.  This is always an exciting time of year in my yard with all of the butterflies laying eggs on their host plants and having the caterpillars hatch.  Question Mark butterflies are one of the butterflies that nectar more on rotten fruit than on flowers.  American Snout butterflies, that also lay eggs on hackberry, is another butterfly that nectars on rotten fruit.

Question Mark butterfly laying eggs

Nectaring on rotten fruit.

My Yard ~Lifecycle of a Question Mark Butterfly

Question Mark Butterfly ovipositing on hackberry tree

I was taught that if you plant a Hackberry Tree, the butterflies that use it will find your yard and reproduce there.  So last year I planted the Hackberry Tree.  It grew wonderfully last year and again in the early part of the summer.  Winds came 3 times and broke some of the larger branches off so after discussion with Jenny, we decided to cut it down at 3 foot and take the roots out in the fall.  Fast forward 6 weeks and there was lots of growth of small branches and leaves off the main trunk.  The the American snout and Question Mark began to seek it out, ovipositing eggs.  The American Snout only laid about 20 eggs, none of which developed into a caterpillar that I have seen.  But almost every day I see up to 3 Question Mark Butterflies ovipositing.  The Question Mark Butterfly will laid very small green eggs that are usually in batches or in stacks of eggs.  Several days later, the eggs hatch and the caterpillars emerge.  For me it's been exciting to go out every day and see new eggs the size of a small pinhead, many tiny caterpillars the size of 1 millimeter of thread and also the growing caterpillars.  Finally, today, I spotted a chrysalis.  Oh, the things that make me happy.  Finding a chrysalis to a species I haven't seen before is one of them.  Now if all goes well in about probably about 10 days there will be a Question Mark butterfly eclose.  It will overwinter as an adult coming out to nectar and also to sit in the sun.

A stack of QM eggs

A grouping of QM eggs

Same grouping ready to come out of the eggs

And here the same group has eaten through and gone to the back of the leaf.

Size comparison to a dime

Several days later the QM caterpillars are growing.  This is another group as they usually don't all stay together.

Still growing...

And growing...

Will the caterpillar ever get to the size it need to be to go into a chrysalis?

Finally, The Question Mark caterpillar makes a chrysalis.
Now let's see when it will eclose and fly away. And 10 days later we had twins!

Butterflies increasing

It's been a long summer with very few butterflies in the yard.  This is probably because it's been cool with frequent rain.  We are slowly seeing more species of butterflies but the numbers still continue to be low in each group.  Recent butterflies include 2 new yard species - Common Sooty Wing Skipper (picture courtesy W. Kerling)  & Common Wood-Nymph.  Other returning butterflies include Varigated Fritillary, Question Mark and Red Admiral.  We also are seeing more Monarchs, Cabbage White, Black Eastern Swallowtails.

Common Wood Nymph

Varigated Fritillary

We are finally seeing some of the butterflies nectar on the rotten fruit we have been putting out all summer.

Red Admiral

Question Mark

Butterflfies galore - My backyard

This year I have started to put out rotten fruit on a plate in the front and back gardens to attract the butterflies.  At first we had just one, then about 5 at once and now a plateful with to many to count.  Most of the butterflies are Question Marks, with Red Admirals, Painted Ladies and a rare Comma Butterfly.  Now I plan to add a pan of sand moistened with Gatoraide for those butterflies that like to puddle for minerals.

Question Mark Butterfly

Many Question Mark Butterflies with a few Red Admirals nectaring on rotten fruit.