What is a pteleas?

Ptelea trifoliata is the scientific name of a bush/small tree of the citrus family, although it certainly doesn't look like one. It has compound leaves in three parts (trifoliata), and the fruit/seeds look like hops, hence the common name hop tree - another common name is wafer ash. I hesitate to say I've got wafer ashes or hop trees, because some people get confused as to what they are.
Despite not looking 'citrusy', giant swallowtails prefer laying their eggs on them to any other host plant, at least of the ones I've got. And the caterpillars grow more quickly on them than they do on my orange tree and rue plants. They're deciduous and most of the leaves are off now.
Sherry

I saw the giant swallowtail down in the hollow when I took the dogs for a walk a little while ago - he/she fluttered around in front of me, then settled back in a bush. I noticed that, in addition to a few Carolina jessamine flowers and a lot of dandelions, the wild blueberries are in bloom. I've seen hummers nectaring on them in the past, so they must have a good bit of nectar, but I don't know if butterflies could access it from those downward hanging bells.
When the wild blueberries/vaccinum elliottii bloom in January, they frequently get zapped by a freeze in February, and there aren't any wild blueberries that year.
Sherry

Miss Sherry are you referring to huckleberries? If so it sure is early for them to be blooming. Our's don't bloom until about March but with you being closer to the Gulf I guess yours might be earlier. I too have seen alot of butters. Mostly small ones and a few gulf frits but nothing large like a swallowtail. I wonder if this is global warming or if we are all just more aware of our surroundings?? Butterflutter

Butterflutter, no, I'm talking about actual wild blueberries/vaccinum elliotii. Huckleberries/v. arboreum also grow on my property, but they never bloom this early - v. elliotii frequently does, always when we have cold weather early, followed by a long warm spell, like we've been having lately. Last year the weather pattern was different, the wild blueberries didn't bloom until February, and there were plenty of ripe blueberries in May for the birds and people, if you have the patience to pick the little things! Different people have different common names for the same plant, but I think we're both talking about v. arborea when we talk about huckleberries.
I don't see swallowtails in January naturally - the only ones I see are the few that emerge out of season each year in my unheated bedroom, usually a black swallowtail. I don't think we're having global warming, this is just a typical warm spell in January - the temps were way below normal only a few weeks ago.
Sherry

Wild blueberries in bloom! Our blueberry shrubs are buried in heaps of snow. At least, the lucky ones are. We have some shrubs on the south side of the house, where there is less snow, and the bunnies have been busy nibbling away at the buds. Oh well, bunnies have to eat, too, and there isn't much available this time of year. Thanks for posting your observations of plants & butterflies, its nice to hear about what is happening in warmer climes.

We had rain with a cold front yesterday, Eric, today the sun has come out - finally! - and now it's a nice, cool 62 degrees.
It's so nice out there I took a walk and made a picture of some of the blueberry blooms and a single Carolina jessamine flower - makes it look like spring is on its way, but we'll undoubtedly have some more cold weather before that happens -
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Sherry

I just bet if I look around in the edge of the woods I too have the wild blueberry. The blooms look just like the domesticated type so I shouldn't have any trouble spotting it. I'm not much on scientific names so thanks for including the common names on all these plants.

I can remember alot of January's that things warmed up enough to make the plum trees bloom only to be killed when February came along. As for global warming, I have mixed emotions about it. However, they do say that extremes in temp are all part of it. Thus the reason for us having two snow spells in one year. Well I guess time will tell and only the good Lord knows what is really going on.

Sherry, I don't know about GST, but I've seen a few butterflies nectaring on wild blueberries. If I remember correctly, they were duskywings of some kind. We don't have too many species flying here that early, when the blueberries are in bloom.

Maryann

That's good to hear, MaryAnn, although GSTs may be too big to hang upside down. The dandelions are still blooming, and the flowers on my neighbor's narcissus are still there. I've been hearing on TV and radio that we're about to have the coldest weather of this winter, with it getting down into the upper teens where I am, Friday night, I think. The blooms will undoubtedly get zapped when that happens.
I'm worried about my orange tree, one of their host plants. I've heard that if you water it good - all over, leaves included - it'll hold up better in a hard freeze. 'Sure hope so!
Sherry

We were a 2 degrees above zero this morning, its up to 12 degrees now, sunny and clear. Actually, a nice day, with two or three inches of fresh snow. Here in Wisconsin, we expect this kind of weather, all the trees and shrubs are dormant. From the tv weather map, it looks like our cold air is headed due south, all the way to the gulf of Mexico. Sorry about that...

The Arctic weather got here yesterday. It got down to 24 degrees last night, and it's still only 33 degrees at 9:46 in the morning! One more night of this, and then we're supposed to return to more normal January weather, still cold at night, but not this cold! I hope my orange tree is okay - I haven't checked it yet.
Sherry

It "only" got down to 26 degrees last night, and my 'Louisiana Sweet' orange tree looks fine - even the blueberry flowers are still intact! It's warmer and cloudy today, so I got through the big chill fine.
Sherry

Glad to hear that you and your plants/shrubs/trees made it through the deep-freeze OK. Definitely warmer here in Madison, about 30 degrees F higher than yesterday. I'm sure we'll see lots of snow in January, February, and March, but it would be nice if we are done with the sub-zero temps!