Chlosyne lacinia on our Helianthus annuus

We had Chlosyne lacinia on our Helianthus annuus.[*] Gathered in a tight cluster on a single leaf, the gregarious larvae were having a feast.

But the rains came, and the larvae huddled in their cluster under the leaf, moving slowly if at all. Day after day, it came down — veritable monsoons every afternoon. And at the end of each day, there were fewer C. lacinia larvae to be found, until one day they were gone — only the skeletal remains of the H. annuus leaves serving as evidence of what had been. The rains had got the better of them.

But then yesterday, I saw two butterflies swirling in tight spirals in the sun. And today, I saw one moving from blossom to blossom on the purple trailing lantana. Perhaps it is to soon to be them. And perhaps, given their larval preference for composites, the lure of the lantana was for some other species.

Still. I'd like to think it was them.

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[*] http://users.commspeed.net/stanlep/Chlosynelacinians.html

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