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Mysterious Caterpillar

May 18th, 2013 by Lila Steinhoff
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What Kind of Caterpillar?

This morning, my neighbor and gardening partner, Jacqie, was inspecting the garden. He came across a caterpillar I had never seen before. It was chewing through our patch of parsley.

IMG 0921 450x600 Mysterious CaterpillarBlack Swallowtail Caterpillar

IMG 0927 c 450x404 Mysterious CaterpillarBlack Swallowtail Caterpillar

 It was about an inch and a half long and beautiful to look at, and we thought it was  Monarch caterpillar.

Caterpillars Can Flat Out Eat!

This evening, I went out to see if the caterpillar was still there. Not only was it still there, it invited company for supper.

IMG 0922 2c 450x337 Mysterious CaterpillarBlack Swallowtail Caterpillars

They had chewed several bunches of parsley down to the stems.

IMG 0924 2 450x337 Mysterious CaterpillarParsley Stems

It’s a Black Swallowtail

By the end of the day, we had been corrected on the type of caterpillar. A friend who works at the Palm Beach Zoo let us know that the caterpillar in our parsley patch is a Black Swallowtail caterpillar. Not only does this type of caterpillar like parsley, but a few of our other plants are on his list of favorites… carrots, dill and fennel.

Monarch Caterpillar

After finding out the actual type of caterpillar we had, I looked up a picture of a Monarch caterpillar. I understand the confusion on the type, now.

monarch caterpillar 450x226 Mysterious CaterpillarMonarch Caterpillar

The colors are nearly the same, but the design of the stripes is different. In addition, Monarchs eat only milkweed.

After looking at both, I think the Black Swallowtail is the prettier of the two. Of course, nothing can match the tomato hornworm for color… or for size. I found one last year that was four inches long and as big around as my finger.

I’ve decided that these Black Swallowtail caterpillars can have all the parsley they want. I just don’t want to see anything in the worm category on my tomatoes.

 

 

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Night Blooming Cereus Update

May 13th, 2013 by Lila Steinhoff
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Short-lived Flowers

It’s been four days since the first blooms opened on the night blooming cereus in my yard.

IMG 0547 450x600 Night Blooming Cereus UpdateFlowers on Night Blooming Cereus

Dying Flowers

When doing the previous post on the night blooming cereus, I pointed out that, contrary to many sources, the flowers on my cactus did not die after opening.  Instead, they closed and opened again the next night, along with newly opened buds.

However, today is the fourth day since the flowers first opened, and I noticed that the flower pods are wilting, turning black and dropping off.

IMG 0839 450x337 Night Blooming Cereus UpdateFallen Flower Pods

Even the flower pods that have not fallen, are turning black on the cactus.

IMG 0857 450x600 Night Blooming Cereus UpdateBlack Flower Pods on Night Blooming Cereus

There are a few flower pods that will continue to open, because not all opened on the first night. I’m guessing that all the flower pods will be gone soon, and the branches will be covered with green fruit buds.

IMG 0863 450x600 Night Blooming Cereus UpdateGreen Fruit Buds

I am not sure how long it will be before the fruit mature, turn bright red and are ready to eat. It’s something to look forward to.

 

 

 

 

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Night Blooming Cereus

May 10th, 2013 by Lila Steinhoff
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Gift from a Stranger

Many years ago, Ken came home from a bike ride with a hunk of cactus strapped to his bike.

IMG 7349 450x600 Night Blooming CereusMother Plant

Ken rides at night in the summer, because it is cooler. During one of his night rides, he noticed a huge cactus covered with 6-inch wide, fragrant, white flowers. Another time, he rode during the day, saw the Lake Worth, FL, woman who owned it and stopped to compliment her on the flowers he had seen. She grabbed a saw and cut off a piece of her cactus and gave it to him with instructions to stick it in the ground and it watch it grow.

It Grew!!

It did, indeed, grow. In less than two years, it was a single 10-foot tall cactus. It stayed that way until pieces of it snapped off in one of the hurricanes of 2004.  We took the pieces and stuck them in the ground in the farthest corner of the front yard.

IMG 0567 450x600 Night Blooming Cereus10-foot Tall Night Blooming  Cereus

In a couple of years, there were several 10-foot tall cactuses that began to flower and produce fruit.

Night Blooming Cereus

Night blooming cereus is a term used for many types of night blooming cactuses. The flowers of all varieties of night-blooming cactuses are white. The white color reflects the moonlight and attracts the pollinators. Some flowers have a fragrance. Most sources say the flowers last only one night and die when the sun rises.

That is not the case with cactuses in our yard. The flowers open each night by about 10 PM, close up before the sun rises and open again the next night.

Nocturnal Flowers

Two nights ago, I returned home around 10 PM to find that the buds I had seen earlier on the cactus had opened, and there were huge white flowers covering the branches.

IMG 0532 cc 370x600 Night Blooming CereusFlowers on Night-Blooming Cereus

IMG 0554 450x337 Night Blooming CereusFlower on Night-Blooming Cereus

IMG 0547 450x600 Night Blooming CereusFlowers on Night-Blooming Cereus

IMG 0546 450x600 Night Blooming CereusFlowers on Night-Blooming Cereus

In the Daylight

The following morning, I checked the cactus for blooms. The blooms were gone, but the original buds were still there. The flowers had closed up overnight.

IMG 0572 450x600 Night Blooming CereusBuds on Night-Blooming Cereus

A difference was noticed in the buds of flowers that had closed overnight and those that had not yet bloomed.

IMG 0573 450x600 Night Blooming CereusBuds on Night-Blooming Cereus

White petals could be seen inside the partially opened buds of the ones that opened the night before. The ones that were yet to bloom were tightly closed.

Second Night

Last night, the cactus was full of white flowers, again. I took more pictures, and upon comparison, the pictures show flowers in the same place as the previous night, as well as, new buds that had opened.

IMG 0524 c 337x600 Night Blooming CereusFlowers on Night-Blooming Cereus

IMG 0605 450x337 Night Blooming CereusFlower on Night-Blooming Cereus

IMG 0615 450x337 Night Blooming CereusFlowers on Night-Blooming Cereus

Add to that, there were no dead flowers on the ground anywhere. No doubt, that the same flowers are opening and closing. Pictures are the proof.

A Bit of Cactus Trivia

Because the flowers are only open at night, sphinx moths* and nectar-feeding bats rather than bees are the pollinators.

(* a side note:  It is ironic that sphinx moths are necessary for pollination. Sphinx moths are the adult form of hornworm caterpillars…  like the ones found on my tomatoes last season.)

After Pollination

Once the flower is pollinated, it wilts and dies and the green fruit bud sets.

IMG 0682 450x337 Night Blooming CereusWilted Flower with Fruit Bud

There are a lot of pictures with this post. I just couldn’t help myself. Flowers that bloom only at night are fascinating, and they are beautiful!

Click on any picture to make it larger. Use the arrows on the left and right to move through the pictures in the post.

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