Winged Guests

Since the summer flowers have come into bloom, butterflies and bees are everywhere.

Any time I go out front, I see at least three or four of these Border Patch Butterflies enjoying my lantana.

Here's the same species with its wings closed. This is by far the most common butterfly in my yard. I photographed this one on my climbing rose bush in the backyard.

I've only see the Hummingbird Moth visit my garden once so far. But they're so willing to let you watch and photograph them up close that the time you get to spend observing them leaves you feeling very satisfied.

By contrast, I never get to watch the huge Swallowtail Butterflies for more than a few seconds, and, as soon as I turn toward the house to grab my camera, they're gone.

However, I did get a good look at the Black Swallowtail Caterpillars enjoying my parsley. I let the parsely flower because I was hoping to attract these guests. Today was the first day I noticed them.

It seems like you can see his litte face in this picture. These caterpillars were so photogenic. I have a few more shots in my flickr Bugs set.

Finally, near dusk I saw this fuzzy caterpillar chomping on my nandia. I saw another one on my front porch a few nights ago. I know they will turn into moths, but I am not sure which kind. Giant Leopard Moths maybe?