So how many instars does bird poop go through BG? LOL N. antiopa is so common in the west it rivals P. rapae for being found everywhere. At just about any riparian area with willows you'll find their ova or larva from spring to fall. 20 odd years ago my son reared maybe 300 of them for a school project. Since they would emerge while we were away on a butterfly trip to southern Utah, we took the pupa with us in our RV. They started to eclose while we were camped at a place called Pine Lake about 15 miles north of Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park. The other campers and camp ground hosts were so taken with the releases every day and all the BF's flying around that somebody drove into town and told the local paper about it. A reporter showed up with a photog in tow to get the story. Made the front page of the paper with several pictures, but better yet allowed us to make the public aware of butterfly conservation.

Lobelia would be a good nectar plant. Also False Nettles would love soggy soil and they host the Red Admiral butterfly. Ironweed (vernonia) is a great nectar plant, too, and likes moist soil. If you have room to plant another tree or shrub, try something in the prunus family (cherry). They host a myriad of butterflies and moths. The native aristolochia (pipevine) serpentaria (ground cover) or A. macrophylla (vine) is host to the pipevine swallowtails, and it looks like they are present in your area. They can take pretty moist soil, too, and some shade as well. Monkey flowers (mimulus) may host the Buckeyes and they will take a lot of moisture and part shade as well. You can also grow parsley there for the Black Swallowtail caterpillars. I've been to see the "rock" in Plymouth! It's gorgeous there. Susan

Thanks everyone. I had fun chasing these little guys around my garden! OK, so knowing the name lets me do some research. Here's what I learned: The larva of Strymon melinus (aka Gray Hairstreak) is also known as the cotton-square borer because it will become pesty in bean and cotton crops. In the garden the larvae can often be found on cultivated Hibiscus, though it appears the larvae are not picky in their food habits: The larva of Phoebis sennae (aka Cloudless Sulphur) appears to feed almost exclusively on the Showy Partridge Pea, which likes our hard red clay soil here in TN. The butterflies may migrate to the deeper South late in the season. You can tell male from female - males are often solid yellow, with the two circular marks on the lower wing (both sexes have that) while the female is yellow to white and has a brown to black darker edge, and a mark on the upper wing (though I saw a few pics labeled "male" that had the mark on the upper wing.) Based on this description, I'm tempted to say the one I photographed is female... turtledon, what do you think? See pics of Cloudless Sulphur larva, adult, and cocoon here.

Spiders have egg sacks, do you have any oak trees near your mail box? My old place used to have one and these giant polyphemus moths would come and lay eggs that looked alot like that on our boat (which was parked under the tree)