Thursday, June 9, 2011

Growing Like Topsy

What a difference a moult makes. Its fair to say that every time the Black Swallowtail cats shed a skin they double in size. Not for nothing do they look just beforehand like over stuffed and shiny sausages . And each shedding reveals a new colour combination.

Before...


...and after.

Less black and more orange and white with the latest transformation. The next should give us green too. At the rate they are eating now thats only going to be a couple of days at the most. They are starting to make a noticable impact on the fennel and dill now though they are still only about an inch long.

More and more flowers are opening now. The lavenders are all filling the yard with various shades of blue as well as a wonderful scent when we water. The Bee-balm is coming along nicely too and I found this little beast peeking out of a rolled leaf when I was taking flower pictures.

Its a crab spider I have yet to put an ID to. I'll add that at a later date once I've checked BugGuide and others. Apparently one of the most important identification points is the arrangement of the eyes, so I got this shot for ID purposes.

Oh you handsome devil!

Which reminds me
You Handsome Devil

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