insects

  • A Bugs Feast

    I stumbled upon some bugs (moths, beetles, butterflies and i think a wasp) binging on a buffet of some gnarly rotten fruit during a stroll along the delaware river in south philly. it was all things gross and beautiful. wish i had a macro lens but honestly didn’t want to get too much closer. it smelled much worse than it looked.
    bugs_001 Bugs feasting on rotten food along the Delware River in South Philadelphia Bugs feasting on rotten food along the Delware River in South Philadelphia Bugs feasting on rotten food along the Delware River in South Philadelphia Bugs feasting on rotten food along the Delware River in South Philadelphia Bugs feasting on rotten food along the Delware River in South Philadelphia Bugs feasting on rotten food along the Delware River in South Philadelphia Bugs feasting on rotten food along the Delware River in South Philadelphia Bugs feasting on rotten food along the Delware River in South Philadelphia Bugs feasting on rotten food along the Delware River in South Philadelphia

  • Life Cycle of A Black Swallowtail Butterfly

    I have an amazing backyard with an amazing garden which I love. I spend lots of time back there planting, pruning and perfecting. So when I noticed a horde of caterpillars decimating my dill and fennel plants I had to take action. A friend who was over pointed out that these fat little green goobers were black swallowtail butterflies. So I decided to keep them. I put together a fern leaf dill filled terrarium and transported them with the intention of building a bigger enclosure for them after I returned from being away over the weekend. However, when I got back they had already sealed themselves into their Chrysalis. I decided to leave them as is and waited for the transformation to finish. When I walked out to check on them this morning two fully formed beautiful black swallowtails had emerged and were waiting for release. Needless to say I was thrilled my little science experiment came to fruition.
    Black Swallowtail ButterfliesBlack Swallowtail Butterflies
    Black Swallowtail Butterflies

    Black Swallowtail Butterflies Black Swallowtail Butterflies Black Swallowtail Butterflies Black Swallowtail Butterflies Black Swallowtail Butterflies Black Swallowtail Butterflies Black Swallowtail Butterflies Black Swallowtail Butterflies Black Swallowtail Butterflies
    Chrysalis Shell after the first butterfly emerged
    Black Swallowtail Butterflies
    Three of the Chrysalis’s fell to the bottom so I used some chopsticks to prop them back up
    Black Swallowtail Butterflies

    Black Swallowtail Butterflies
    Found a horde of caterpillars eating all my dill so i made them a dill terrarium and watched them go into cocoon and eventutally transform into beautiful butterflies
    This poor lady’s ( i think it’s a female) wings didn’t develop properly. I did some research and there’s no way she’d survive outside. Luckily I have a variety of terrariums perfect for butterflies throughout my apartment. I added some banana and sugar water for food and branches for her to perch.
    Found a horde of caterpillars eating all my dill so i made them a dill terrarium and watched them go into cocoon and eventutally transform into beautiful butterflies
    Found a horde of caterpillars eating all my dill so i made them a dill terrarium and watched them go into cocoon and eventutally transform into beautiful butterflies
    Found a horde of caterpillars eating all my dill so i made them a dill terrarium and watched them go into cocoon and eventutally transform into beautiful butterflies Found a horde of caterpillars eating all my dill so i made them a dill terrarium and watched them go into cocoon and eventutally transform into beautiful butterflies