Hi Jeff, welcome back.

I have my own Baltimore restoration project started here in CT.
Although it's minor in comparison to your group's project down there in Maryland, I'm still excited to compare notes.

The Baltimores that I've seen here seem to feed on plantain. In fact, I didn't even see any turtlehead in the area last June when I started my project.

I have a great bunch of cats overwintering in my garage on a folded up maple leaf, stuck in with a plantain plant. I will soon create a post here with of their history. I've just been waiting for a little action on their part. I have another bunch overwintering outside, I covered the plantain patch with remay fabric for protection.

I want to learn all I can from you and your group, Jeff. I absolutely love the Baltos.

Maryann in ct

One of my babies from last year nectaing on a sugar solution-soaked cotton ball.

{{gwi:457708}}

Oh how gorgeous, Mary Ann!
Thank you to you and Jeff for the valuable work you're doing for these beautiful butterflies!
MissSherry

Hi Jeff, It sounds like you really enjoyed that talk about the BC's. I surely would have gone if I'd live closer. I live 50 miles north of Harrisburg. I don't know if anyone comes to our area to give talks about any types of butterflies. I just got into butterflying last year and so hadn't really been watching before that.

I think that's great that there's an active conservation program there. I'm kind of hoping that the BCs up here (if I can ever get them here) don't eat English Plantain for two reasons: 1. I didn't plant any, and 2. We get deer in our yard sometimes (there were just 5 here yesterday) and I'm afraid that that would eat the plantain caterpillars and all, which would defeat my purpose of planting it if I would ever do that. I would like to plant some Chelone glabra for the BCs though this year. Of course, I don't expect it to do much until next year though.

I hope that they can find more colonies of them down there. I wish you and them the best of luck. I think the Baltimore Checkerspot is really beautiful (from what I've seen in pictures).

Cathy

Good job, Jeff! I'd like to see more postings here in regard to the BC. Since we live in the upper south, they are not found except as a rare stray into the NE corner of Oklahoma, the BC being a more northeastern species.

I wish you guys all the luck in the world in helping to establish territory for this beautiful butterfly!

Susan

Hey, Cathy, are you anywhere near Cattawissa/Bloomsburg? That's where my dad is from and I spent many summer vacations in the area. I remember the huge herds of deer there in the corn fields. We never had them here and we'd take a family car trip in the evening to see how many we could count. Now, we have them in our backyards here in CT suburbia, too.

I'm thinking that you may have to worry about the deer eating your chelone though...If I'm not mistaken, the deer were demolishing the native turtlehead in Maryland, and eating the cats right along with it.

Plantain grows very vigorously here, and I think once you have it, you'll always have it. It can be a rather invasive lawn weed.

Yes, deer overpopulation is considered one of the reasons for the decline, since they love to munch the tops of the stalks ... which is where the cats nest. The lady giving the talk showed a slide of turtlehead planted inside 5' high deer fencing.

Mary Ann, What a small world! Yes, we live an hour away from Bloomsburg, and that's where our daughter goes to college! Yes, they probably do have a lot of deer in that area. Of course, there are lots of places in our state with deer, I think. I was happy to see those five a few days ago because we don't usually get to see that many and it's not like they're here a whole lot. Oh goodness, if plantain is that invasive, I'm not sure if I want it. Actually, there is some kind of plantain in our yard. Would that be the same one? The thing is, since it's in our yard, it gets mowed down when the lawn gets mowed. I guess the BCs wouldn't come to our yard right here on this side of the road because it's not a marshy environment. I'm not even sure if they would go down in the field where I plan on planting the chelone. It's a damp area, but I wouldn't exactly call it a marsh. Right now it would be real soggy and you'd be having the mud suck the shoes off your feet if you tried to walk in there, but about June it's probably dry enough to walk in. So I'm really not sure if I can attract them to this small field or not. I also want to plant Swamp Milkweed there for the Monarchs if it comes up for me.

That would be awful if the deer eat my chelone. I really want to get BCs here if it's a possibility. and have enough to feed them. The deer have so many other things that they can eat, like grass for one. Plenty of that around!

Jeff, I wish the deer would leave the plants alone and go eat something that the butterfly cats don't like. Yes, that would be a good idea to put it inside fencing. If I could, I would. Can you plant chelone on your own land or are you trying to establish it elsewhere? I think that's nice that you're doing that.

What a great project, Jeff. Do keep us posted.

Cathy, I think I stayed overnight on the outskirts of Bloomsburg. Is it right of a major interestate? I loved PA when I drove through there - just absolutely beautiful country. I drove through in late September, and everything was so lush and green. By that time in Oklahoma, everything is pretty much dried up and brown. I was amazed.

Susan

Yep, Susan! It's right off of interstate 80. I like it here, but then again, I've never known anything besides central PA to live in. I didn't know how southern states weather is compared to ours. I'm actually surprised that you said it's green here yet when things are brown down there. Does it get that hot that everything dries up and gets brown from all that heat? I always thought that he seemed like we didn't have nearly as long of a growing season as in the southern states. For instance, right now a friend in Texas has tomato plants in his garden. If I'd put them in our garden (I don't plant any though) now, they'd last only as long as this warm spell we've been having and then croak from the cold. We don't plant things up here until after April 15 and even then we could get a frost. Look on the bright side, your things might be brown in September when ours are green, but think of us freezing up here in March yet and you're probably outside in shorts. lol

I meant it was green when we drove through in late September that year. That time of year, our grass and plants are usually pretty brown!

It was such beautiful country, though, rolling hills and mountains - Geez! Lots of semis on that highway, though, when all I wanted to do was slow down and enjoy the scenery.

Susan

Yeah, I knew what you meant, Susan. :) That's why I'm not so thrilled about driving out on the interstates, soooo many 18-wheelers. Even on the roads around here, though, there are pretty many of them too. I guess I forget that not everyone has all of these hills and mountains. They're nice except for trying to drive on them in the winter. When we had our big Valentine's Day storm people were stranded on at least one of the interstates for an entire day! PennDot got a lot of guff for that!!

Just to clarify: the project is not mine; I just went to the talk and am interested in tromping through swamps in Montgomery Co. this summer.

Pictures will *of course* be posted if I can actually go.

I did try to plant turtlehead in my garden, but the seeds didn't sprout. Let me count the reasons why not ...

* Wetlands? BZZT
* Feed by slow-moving stream? BZZT
* Well-watered area? BZZT

My garden is halfway down a hill.

Haha -- guess I should pay closer attention to habitat next time.

Jeff