new to butterfly gardening

17 years ago

I've been gardening for several years but am new to butterfly gardening. Can anyone recomend a book and web sites to get information? Thanks, Pat

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Comments (5)

MissSherry
17 years ago
Welcome, Pat!
Many people say that this forum is the best place to get information! :)
The FAQ section should help you a lot also. I looked on your member page to try and find out where you are, but it only said United States. I assume that, since you're in Zone 6, you're probably in Pennsylvannia or Virginia or that general area - if so, then The Butterflies of West Virginia and their Caterpillars by Thomas J. Allen would be specific for you area. The Life Cycles of Butterflies by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards is an outstanding book for beginners! The pictures are some of the best I've ever seen, and the text is simple and easy to understand - I'd recommend this one highly! Also, Judy posts on this forum sometime. There are many websites including Judy's - maybe she'll see this thread and give you the URL for it.
MissSherry
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susanlynne48
17 years ago
Yes, I have Judy's book. I believe she's in Kentucky, no? Anyway, it provides photos of the most common butterflies, their eggs, caterpillars, nests, chrysalids, and host plants. It's a beautiful book.

Good websites are Monarch Watch (for Monarchs). Web address is www.monarchwatch.org.

Butterfly Website (www.butterflywebsite.com) is also a good one.

For identifying butterflies, moths, and caterpillars, Bug Guide and What's That Bug are the best (www.bugguide.com; www.whatsthatbug.com). Also, Bill Oehkle's website is great for moths (like the sphinx aka hummingbird and silk moths).

Also you can use the Butterflies and Moths website (www.butterfliesandmoths.org) is good for identifying moths in your specific area, with information on their host plants.

Welcome to the forum!

Susan
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Hello greenjewels, I too am from Jackson County. Pascagoula to be exact but I now live in Slidell, La. You will love this forum and the people are so nice. I have been butterflying for about 4 years now and it is just something I look forward to each year. My grandchildren love to help me release and are always looking for Cats in the yard. Today, I saw my first Monarch laying eggs on my milkweed. I have raised Black swallowtails, Giant Swallowtails, Gulf Frits and now Monarch's this year. I have Cleome in my yard garden because I think it is beautiful and the hummingbirds love it. It is a good old fashioned plant and adds vertical beauty to the garden. Again, welcome and have fun with the BF's! Mary
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I'm just new to this myself as of last year. I came on the forum desperately seeking answers on how to raise Monarch cats. I ended up raising 70 of them here. I was really delighted because I didn't expect to get that many. The people on this forum raise the cats to protect them from parasitic wasps and flies and predators that might want to take a bite out of them. I didn't get to one fast enough last year when I was making my daily rounds collecting cats. There was a robber fly on a milkweed plant with a half eaten Monarch cat in its clutches. I think it saw me and it flew off with the other half of it. I believe only a few out of one hundred end up making it to adulthood if left outside on their own to deal with their enemies. Your picture looks like a Black Swallowtail cat on Queen Anne's Lace, if I'm not mistaken. If I'm wrong, I guess someone can correct me. :) Tropical Milkweed is considered a perennial in places like where tdogmom lives (CA), but where you and I live it's an annual. I am growing some this year from seeds that Sherry (tdogmom aka Cal Sherry) sent me. They are doing great and will soon be blooming. I have some that are two feet tall and they are nice sturdy plants. Right now I have mostly all of my potted milkweed plants sitting outside so they get plenty of sun, but I'll probably bring almost all the potted ones inside when I start seeing Monarchs because I already have plenty planted outside in the garden for the females to lay eggs on. By regular milkweed, do you mean the Common Milkweed? I think that grows about everywhere. It's not my preference, though because of the big tough leaves and the milky sticky sap that comes out of the plant when any leaves are removed. I grow Butterfly Weed, Swamp Milkweed, and Tropical Milkweed and they don't do that. I know that people here have mentioned on various occasions that the Tropical Milkweed is the one that the Monarchs prefer. Of course, if you want to have it every year, you would have to save seeds off of the plants since it's only an annual in Michigan. Butterfly Weed and Swamp Milkweed are perennnials. I like all three for their colors and for their butterfly attracting abilities. Cathy
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Where I live in the Denver metro area, butterflies are infrequent visitors (probably too much pesticide use) whereas moths are more plentiful. However, lately, I'm seeing occasional butterflies. They don't stay long enough for me to identify the particular species. I think I'll visit BONAP and see what I might expect in this area. So far, I have various annuals and an increasing number of perennials growing -- agastaches, gauras, penstemons, salvias, showy milkweed, etc. I'll try to post a better list later. The milkweed is the only one I'm aware of as being a host plant, so we're mostly talking nectar plants so far. I just want to attract and feed more butterflies. I noticed one the other day basking briefly in my rock garden (full sun). I plan to add a puddle I can maintain (it's been damp this spring and summer, but usually is very dry here). Thanks so much for your note K.
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Hi Tom, Congrats on seeing your first Giant Swallowtail of the spring. They are so graceful in flight and one I love to watch in the garden. I've seen no butterflies here yet but with the warmer days and nights of our early spring, I suspect they'll be arriving soon. Most everything is budding. I think I can see the beginnings of a sprout of spider milkweed beginning to poke through the soil (in ground). The biggest surprise of this mild winter and early spring is outside tropical milkweed that actually lived through the winter. Well, the roots anyway! I have a big pot planted with Rue sitting on the deck and when the Monarch cats had eaten cuttings of tropical mw down to bare stalks, I'd stick the stalks around the rim of this pot to root. The tops died with the first frost last fall. But surprise, the roots didn't die and they're now pushing up new growth. This is a first for me, to have roots of this mw survive a winter. Sure hope the Monarchs still in their winter home in Mexico come through the late storm OK. Mary
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emmayct
17 years ago
Pat, this forum has been the single best source for me. Sometimes, someone posts about a plant I know nothing about, so I google the plant name and it gives me a lot of sources.

You'll also want a good field guide for butterflies of your area.

Welcome, Maryann
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
17 years ago
And I'll add that your gardening experience will be enjoyed and appreciated all the more if you learn to identify some of the other insects that will visit your garden. And let's not forget the 8-legged critters, too!

A great garden will be packed with all kinds of fascinating insects, and probably a few of the bad guys, too. It helps to know who's who!

A good first field guide is the Audubon Field Guide to Insects. Great photographs, as well as detailed information about life cycles.
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butterfly_pixie
17 years ago
Welcome Pat! Thank you Miss Sherry and Susan for suggesting my book! My website is:

www.ButterflyNature.com

I live in your zone Pat, what state are you in? I'm in Kentucky about 10 miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio. This forum is the best for answering any and all butterfly questions, so don't hesitate to ask!

Judy
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new to butterfly gardening

Comments (5)

MissSherry

susanlynne48

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emmayct

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

butterfly_pixie

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