Macro Friday

It's Friday again! How did this happen?
It's a long weekend, too. I love a good, long weekend!

At Nana's suggestion, I put some bananas on the deck to attract butterflies. It worked like a charm! I also attracted wasps, yellow jackets, flies, hornets, and even mosquitoes. One interesting thing, that I was unable to photograph, was that the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were actually feeding on the rotten banana! I was completely unaware that they did that. The first photograph is my entry for macro friday; the rest are for entertainment purposes only.

As with all of my photographs, you can click on the image to get a closer look.

Here are a few of my uninvited, but still welcome guests. All the stinging bugs were very polite this week and didn't bother a soul.

There were at one point thirteen Red-Spotted Purples crowded on the banana. I'm not sure why I didn't get a picture of that. Even then, there were assorted other smaller butterflies like Hairstreaks and Commas or Question Marks.

Here is a lovely Red-Spotted Purple.

We have had a few Viceroy Butterflies. They seem a bit jumpier than the Red-spotted Purples. I love the spots on their bodies.

Initially, I thought the above butterfly was a Monarch. Well, I must sit corrected. Apparently, I have fallen for a very old trick. I have confused Monarchs and Viceroys. They are, of course, meant to be confusing since Monarch Butterflies, I am told, taste terrible, but Viceroys are tasty. The black line in the lower wing is one way to tell a Viceroy.

Here's another Viceroy. This one is on the roof of my antique bird feeder.

Unrelated to the banana, Nana found and I photographed (with her nicer camera) this Black Swallow-tail butterfly. He appeared to be fresh from his chrysalis. He was so bright and slow moving. I love the striking spots on their bodies, too.


Here's another view of the same Black Swallow-tail.

So, if any of you are hoping to attract butterflies to your yard, here are two tips. Place a partially peeled banana- ripe or overripe someplace where you can keep an eye on it. The other tip has worked in the past, but didn't work for me this particular week. Water a spot in your yard until a nice little mud puddle forms. They really seem to enjoy this as well.

Thanks to Laura from
blogging from bolivia
for for hosting such a cool blog hop!
Hop on over to link up to your own Macro Friday post.

Have a great weekend!
-Susan