I'm a dancin', dancin'!!! No eggs, yet. I worked today, and it rained. But, there will be more coming. Seems like I had mating, and eggs within a week last year. Then I was scurrying around trying to find MORE MILKWEED!! Well, Mike, if SW Va. was a tad bit closer to Texas, you would have Monarchs earlier, also. If you look at the map, it is a no brainer. For years, I worried about not having nectar. Now, I worry about having milkweed and nectar. I rather enjoy doing the Monarch Waltz- 1,2,3...1,2,3..... :) Susan, Senna is very slow to come up. It likes warm temps. Give it time. Please let me know when you see growth on your False nettle. I sure hope that mine comes back. Hey, Lisa. How are you? How are your lil wintersown babies coming. I didn't get around to getting much planted. If, you saw orange, it was probably a Goatweed leafwing. Susan and I have been seeing quite a few lately. The Monarchs in the spring look NOTHING like they do in the fall. They are drab, and pretty faded yellow in the spring. A Pearl Crescent? I just love the Pearl crescents!!! Wonder if you're lil guy overwintered on some of your asters? That is their host plant. Do you have asters? I hope to see some soon. I don't know if the lady from the Daily Okla. is going to do a story on wintersowing in April, or not? I have not heard from her. Get your BF book back, Lisa, and keep us posted on what you're seeing in your yard. Or, just take some of your wonderful pics, and post for us. We want some pics of your gorgeous spring garden when things begin to bloom. Ok? Let me know what your schedule is, so that we can have a Garden Party- plant swap at Susan's sometime before it gets too hot. Keep an eye out for the Monarchs, and let us know. Tdog, I'm still a dancin', dancin'. I'm a dance, dance, dancin' kind of a gal!!! Have a great, safe trip, and take lots of pics. Hubby babysitting the baby? Woo! Hoo! Look at Okla. now!!! We Rock!!! Here is a link that might be useful: Monarchs migrating north

Martha, I honestly don't know if it's normal or not. I started my butterfly garden in the late summer of 2005 with not very many plants. I did make sure to plant three milkweed plants that I found at a local nursery. I wish I had kept a file on when the butterflies all showed up here but I didn't, so I don't know if this time would be normal or not. I know that I marked it down now this year, so I will be able to refer back to my notes in the future, and I will continue to make note of when various types of butterflies show up here. I raised 70 Monarch cats last year. I was unsure of what to do at first and that's what got me started coming here and now I'm hooked! :) Not only do I want Monarchs, but I'm also hoping for lots of other kinds and have planted (or will plant next year) nectar and host plants for them. My garden is three times bigger this year than it was last year. I'm still planting it, but I hope to be done within the next two weeks. I consider myself very lucky to have gotten Monarchs here my first year of trying. I have planted tons of milkweeds this year and they are planted in the ground outside, sitting in pots outside, sitting on our back porch in pots, and in flats still waiting on Mrs. Too-Many-Projects to plant them. I have both Tropical Milkweed and Swamp Milkweed and hope that I get more than just one or two Monarchs going through here or I'll be left with a lot of unchewed plants. Right now I have a tiny Monarch here on the computer stand on a potted (just in a 16 oz cup) plant and I like to watch it every now and then. It's two days old now and 1/4" long. I'm writing down its progress. This plant, which is not quite 10" high and has 18 leaves on it that are mostly all 2" long, will be able to feed the cat for at least the next few days yet (I want to watch and see exactly how many), but once it gets into its last stages it will be eating a plant this size every day. I can't wait until the next Monarch comes along (or the same one that was here on Sunday) and lays more eggs. I don't see how I could possibly run out of milkweed. I wanted to be prepared this year. I wasn't really unprepared last year but wanted to save on my small butterfly weed plants that were in the garden, so I bought six swamp milkweed plants at the nursery for the cats and between those and the ones that I had growing from the year before, I had enough to get the Monarchs to adulthood and also has nice Butterfly Weed plants. Funny thing is, half of them died during the winter. Arg! Cathy

Thanks for the advice. I'm trying to get better at spotting the eggs. but I have tons of wild milkweed, all growing in a tumbled confusion on a little fence I put there for that purpose.It's in my butterfly garden right next to the butterfly bush, butterfly weed and purple conefloers. I've gotten much better at finding the swallowtail eggs, since they came along first, but the monarch eggs are tougher to spot so far. The cats I have so far were actally in the front yard that my husband refuses to mow so that the monarchs can breed there also! I haven't seen any monarchs in front at all, but apparently they go there, cause I keep finding cats!

How adorable - the gnome house and the caterpillar! And congrats on your first monarch caterpillar! Sherry