Summer 2012

I've had a busy summer working on indoor projects, so I'm behind on posting about my butterfly gardens this summer. In the Atlanta area we are just now starting to see the butterflies flourish. In May of 2011 , I already had about 100 Black Swallowtail caterpillars and I am just now getting them. The Black swallowtail & Eastern Yellow Tiger Swallowtail are just now starting to make a nice show late in the summer season. This was my first year to grow the host plant passion flower vine in hopes of attracting Gulf Fritillaries. Well, I have had them, but battling the ants who have a symbiotic relationship with the vine has been a chore. The ants protect the vine from any predator of the vine and a caterpillar certainly is just that. Not only will they eat the eggs, the eat the caterpillars. I saw one make it long enough to go into chrysalis. I thought it had made it! Finally, one caterpillar made it! Sadly, nope...the ants will eat that too. I have come to wonder how any Gulf Fritillaries ever make it to be a beautiful butterfly. Clearly they manage, but I will help when I can. I have taken to collecting the leaves with eggs and putting them on a separate vine which I keep away from ants. I just started doing this and I hope it will make a difference.

I am still waiting on the Monarchs, but the bed we built just for them has not done so well. The milkweed is looking pretty shabby. I always thought that if I wanted to grow a weed, it would be easy. This has not been the case with my milkweed. I am growing common and tropical. I'm hoping they will fill out some more before the Monarch get there to lay their eggs.