It's been mighty hot here in the sunny south. And DRY!
It's not fun to be outside during the day so my gardens are weedy and brown.
These photos were taken within the last few weeks.
A Painted Lady.
I've seen a lot of these baby Five-lined Skinks. This one is particularly cute. He spends much of his time on my front stoop, wiggling his tail and driving Miss Daisy Crazy!! Actually Mr Ole too but Miss Daisy sounded much better! 
These are Datana Moth caterpillars eating my blueberry bushes. They only ate a little.
My beautiful Dogwood.
And a little Skipper. I wish I was an expert on Skippers but this one looks so much like so many others...I just can't say for sure which one it is!
I've seen a lot of these baby Five-lined Skinks. This one is particularly cute. He spends much of his time on my front stoop, wiggling his tail and driving Miss Daisy Crazy!! Actually Mr Ole too but Miss Daisy sounded much better! 
These are Datana Moth caterpillars eating my blueberry bushes. They only ate a little.
My beautiful Dogwood.
And a little Skipper. I wish I was an expert on Skippers but this one looks so much like so many others...I just can't say for sure which one it is!
When you take the time to stop and smell the skippers, you really realize just how cute they are! OK maybe not smell them, but you know what I mean!
14 comments:
Great shots! I haven't had much luck getting a Painted Lady this year. I've only seen a couple. Those skippers are so confusing that I've given up trying to identify them. It is too bad that the Kaufman book covers the whole US...there are more butterflies in it that I never see than ones that I do. Love that little skink :-) Your wildlife is so much like mine considering we are a state or two apart. Those caterpillars are a great shot but they creep me out. I'd better warn Mike to watch his new Blueberries!
Thanks Mary! I know what you mean about having too many butterflies to look through. Sadly, because I'm such a geek, I put a circle under the map of each butterfly that I could possibly see here at my home. If I see it I check it off. It helps alot, but still...there are a lot in my area!
The fellow from Butterflies and Moths of North America said he's never heard of the Datana eating blueberry bushes before so maybe it was just my bad luck!! I did get LOTS of blueberries this year so that was really fun!
That photo of the caterpillars actually looks a bit like a flower to me! Lovely photos of little things so often overlooked.
Nice pics Eve. Those caterpillars look...interesting but if they ate my blueberries that would not be cool! It's kind of strange that they all get in a cluster. I better go check my blueberries!
I haven't seen a single Painted Lady this year that I could identify as such. :(
I love the little skink. There were bunches of them at the museum where I used to work (Burritt). I really enjoyed their antics. One once crawled into my basket and was brought home, unbeknownst to me, until I saw a dark flash zipping down the hall. I couldn't figure out how it got there, then decided it had crawled into the basket as it sat on the porch of one of the houses at the museum. I took it back the next day so it could be happy.
We are bone dry up here too. The Ipswich river is down to a trickle. You have done with with the critters that you have at hand.
Funny, the caterpillars look like an exotic flower, but they're kind of creepy too! The skink is cute. What beautiful colors he has. I hope you get some tolerable weather soon!
Oooooo Evis I have to take a picture and zip it to you. Those caterpillars, I found a place on one of our hickory trees where I think they began their life and they are eating our hickory tree. CH is going to spray today. I love the little Skippers. I can tell we are getting close to September because our flower beds and yard are filled with butterflies :)
I do know what you mean! (-:
Love that Skink and the caterpillars almost look like a flower on a stem. Quite cute really! By the way Evie, thanks for those updates today! Much appreciated!!!
That's a good idea about marking the book. Maybe if I do that, I can save myself some time trying to find the right ones. So many of them are only in the south or west and don't quite make it to where we live.
The pic of the skink looks better than the one I took a few days ago. I like his blue highlights on the tail. I wonder if my raspberries have been eaten yet. They just finished blooming when we left. I think the birds will get them before we get back :(
Hi Eve. Last year we had 000's of immigrant Painted Ladies but this year it's a different story. Not sure I've never got my nose close to a Skipper..lol, but I agree they can be tricky to ID even though I only have 3 species locally. FAB.
You have 5 lined skinks on your porch!?! I am so envious. I love all the nature you have just in your yard.
The datana moth caterpillars are beautiful. With all the heat and lack of rain, did you get any blueberries this year?
BTW, I checked out your cousin's wonderful blog about the chickens after you left me that comment. What a delightful read! Thanks so much for sending me her way.
A great set of images Evie. I love the last shot especially.
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