They have already started appearing here (I squished about 6 of them this morning while deadheading) which is a little early, I think. I don't think we will have too many this year - I've done such a poor job taking care of my roses the past few years that there hasn't been much for them to eat. I hope they just went away in search of greener pastures LOL. I also hope they are gone by the middle of August when I hope to try to enter something in a show for the first time ever. Many years ago when I was actively working with my roses (before life got in the way for a while) we tried the traps. They caught a lot of them, but I think they just attracted all the JBs from my whole neighborhood and we ended up with more than we had before. Anyway, this is my first year back at serious gardening in about 4 years, and I am working so hard to bring the poor sickly roses back to life, it just kills me to see a JB munching on the one bloom of a plant. I wish the darned squirrels would eat them. At least then they would be good for something. My neighbor puts out raw peanuts for the squirrels, and I am forever pulling peanut plants out of my gardens and pots. Grrr!

My first thought was Black Widow, but I seem to remember there is a BW look-alike, though I cannot seem to find info on it. I've looked for about 20 minutes and to tell you the truth, I am getting waaay too creeped out to continue. I'm in bed, and if I keep looking I will be imagining them crawling on me and I will NEVER be able to fall asleep. (I've got insomnia as it is...). Anyhow, I found this link where you could upload your pic and they will help you identify it. I'm sure it would be helpful to give geographical information. Here is a link that might be useful: Ask What's That But at whatsthatbug.com

jmcat - Pretty simple really once you begin to understand taxonomic nomenclature, genetics and natural evolution. Papilio polyxenes polyxenes is the nominate form... and Papilio polyxenes asterius is one of it's named subspecies. So some confusion is common when listings lump any bug into a generalized species name like this by not including the next subordinate level of classification if they are assigned - subspecies. Subspecies are named usually because they differ from the nominate form for any of several possible reasons (environment/habitat, isolation, distribution, etc) to where they have evolved into a slightly different bug than the nominate form. In this case the range of the nominate form is Cuba, and except for possible strays it probably doesn't intergrade naturally with the subspecies of it found in their own ranges outside of Cuba, while the subspecies who do have over-lapping ranges probably do intergrade naturally. Hmmm, maybe in better laymanÂs terms, the P. p. polyxenes nominate form is mostly isolated in Cuba. So the named subspecies of it are probably the result of strays of the nominate species that established new colonies outside Cuba or a result of ancestral land mass separations that isolated them from each other. Kind of a reverse isolation I guess in that those colonies not continually strengthened by the nominate form gene pool have evolved into subspecies that differ from the nominate species. Probably as clear as mud, but hopefully at least starts to answer your question. L.

Laura, that's a great photo. You know, I've never seen a dragonfly take down a butterfly before. I'm amazed. They are usually eating mosquitoes (in fact, we used to call them mosquito hawks) and other small insects. It never even occured to me they might go for a butterfly. I swear, I learn more stuff here! Thanks for sharing! Marcia