BG, did you see the inset picture of the polygrammate hebraeicum/the Hebrew moth on page 339 of the Wagner book? That's the only one I can find it might be. Wagner says that comachara cadburyi is similar, but I couldn't find a picture anywhere of that cat. When the cat of the Hebrew reaches the blue stage, it's ready to excavate a chamber in rotten wood - the only other cat I know of that does this is the eight-spotted forester. Sherry

Thanks for the tip! I happen to have a pumpkin in my garden. I also decided to try giving them some zucchini, and at least one of them was eating it. I'm not certain that they are 5th instar, but they are pretty big and I think I saw one that was getting into its 'J' position. I figured either they're old enough or they aren't, and if they aren't then they probably won't make it anyway, and if they are, then hopefully I'll see some new butterflies soon! Another question: if the outside of the seed pods are all eaten by the caterpillars, does that mean that the seeds won't ripen properly and be viable? Thanks again!

that will probably draw in the dianas and some of the swallowtails that like to puddle. if you get no hits, try mixing in some smooshes strawberries. there's something about rotting fruit they cannot resist. we always have a cloud of dianas in summer when i put out smooshed berries- but always a few days after i first set them out. not as dainty as they look! :) ralph, i'll have to ck my rue, parsley carrots and fennel over well. this is very early. it seems the last few years i haven't seen a good batch til late june. i know they used to be earlier. we enjoy bringing them in & raising them, too. i'll be watching my a. currasavica for monarchs, too. thanks again, ralph for those!

Well wouldn't you know that if I uncovered the tomato plants and caged them up it would turn colder. The two weeks since I have done that have been the coldest since December and we had frost last night (2+ weeks after last frost date) . I didn't get the best row covered so we will se what happens....I didn't see actual frost on the plants but all over the ground and on the cars. Low was predicted to be 42 the weather service NEVER predicts our frosts. Even without that frost, I started to realize that these plants though now thigh high, and with several sets of flowers were not going to set fruit. So, even without the frost there is my problem , probably an annual problem...all of the early work will basically be worth nothing if there is no fruit set. None of the plants I have are known for setting fruit in cooler temps...next year I'll plant those types. This post was edited by rustico_2009 on Thu, Apr 3, 14 at 10:31