My thanks to all for taking the time to post. Susan, I didn't know the Nessus sphinx moths used Virginia Creeper as a larval host plant. I'm not absolutely certain, but I think the next door neighbor has that vine on their back fence. I need to try and ID it this year. I see the Nessus sphinx moths here during the summer and assumed they had a larval host somewhere nearby (didn't realize it might be right next door!). The neighbor to the back of me has an American Beautyberry planted next to the fence between our properties and I read that it is a favorite nectar source for this moth so maybe I'm better covered for this little guy than I knew. Her beautyberry grows through the fence and arches over part of my back bed; so lovely in the fall when the berries and leaves turn. These little moths spend a lot of time feeding on the Butterfly bush blooms and Verbena bonariensis here. Maybe with the fruit feeder, my garden will be inundated with the little guys. :-) Tony and Sherry, I do have butterfly bush 'white profusion' and the smaller 'Nano Blue'. My garden is so small, that's all I can fit in of these larger bushes ... but do they ever attract the butterflies when in bloom, so would not want to be without them. Bananas are easy to find so will go with them as the main fruit for my net feeder. Mary

Elisabeth, I got mine from Woodlander's, a mail-order nursery in Aiken, South Carolina. I couldn't bring up your links, so I Googled 'viceroy and red-spotted purples mate' and found the site. Reading the article was interesting, but I didn't understand some of the scientific terms. I read one passage that said something along the lines of they really don't know about 'alleles' in a way that suggests a red-spotted purple might carry recessive genes/alleles for viceroys traits and coloring. From the map, it looks like most of the interbreeding the article described takes place between the 30th and 31st parallels - I live between those two parallels, I'm just west of the Georgia/Florida area they researched. I've found numerous RSP eggs on wild black cherry all over my property, and I'm raising quite a few of them in cages on my porch now. This is the first time this year any RSP has used the willows, but it happens off and on from time to time. I have the willows, because I know that viceroys use it exclusively here, although in other parts of the country they reportedly also use birches. I have one willow in a pot, and the other one is planted in the ground. I cut the ground willow back all the way to the ground late last year, because it was ragged and unhealthy looking. It's come back this year, but it's only about 2' tall. So I put a large, metal dog crate over it, and I'll later cover it with mesh to keep wasps and other predators out. In the meantime, I think I'll use mesh to make little sleeves for the eggs, hatchlings, and small cats. Then I'll move at least some of them to the caged willow. I'd like to use the willows in case a viceroy visited without me knowing it, and some of the eggs are viceroys. If I run out of leaves, there are plenty of willows locally that I can harvest leaves from - I'd finish raising them in a cage on the porch, if that happens. I'm also wondering if the RSP that I saw laying the eggs carries viceroy genes, which is why she'd use willows? I have a nephew with red hair, even though neither of his parents have it. However, his maternal grandmother had red hair, as do his maternal uncles. This is the type of inheritance I'm thinking about here. Anyway, I'd love to see some viceroys, regardless of how they got here. It sounded to me like the writer of the article acknowledges the lack of knowledge about this subject. Sherry

Thanks for all of this info. I am new to the site, so I just now got these replies. I know now to check the box to have the replies e-mailed to me. Well, there was only one egg (that I found) and my yard man or I managed to knock off the leaf today!!!!! (I'M PRETTY SURE IT WAS HIM AND NOT ME!!!!! LOL) So I guess I won't be watching this one grow. Maybe it will come back and do it again. No, I didn't watch it slide down, but you're right--the egg was just on the tip of the leaf. I will know to look for that if I'm lucky enough to witness this again. Good luck with your RSP cats! So...if I'm understanding you correctly....if I try to raise these cats (if I get the chance) I could feed them willow leaves instead of the quince leaves? I have a willow tree. In fact, I have been looking at it, and I see that up in the very top, there seem to be some leaves that have been chewed on. Do they usually lay eggs on the top of the tree? Thanks...Beth

two days after the post, a new male came to the feeders, I'm not sure, it may be the one earlier I though was a female, but later in the day He was perched on top of the post the holds the feeders, and he turn slightly showing red coming from the back of the left side of his neck an area about 1/8" wide by a 1/2" to 3/4", I'm assuming he a juvenile, but he has taken control, all the other males are still around but he runs them off just like he does the females, today he made friends with a female, it worries me, is it not a little late for mating. The bird feeders are all setup close to he end of the trailer, no bird is farther than 3 foot from the window, so far the birds have had no problem with the closeness, other than the newest hummer will get cranky every now and then, and tries to chase the cardinals that come to the feeders, he never succeeds but it doesn't stop him from trying. I changed the feeders around yesterday trying to get ants in tack, and I had a few surprises as the other birds would go to a hummer feeder then look puzzled, what was cute was my favorite of the bird, birds was a titmouse that landed on the hummer feeder and scooted all the way around the feeder looking for the food, then started picking the container that holds the sugar mixture, he found his food foot above his head. I did try an get some video but because of the speed and the lack of shutter speed, all i got was a lot of green and a blur of a bird here and there. It is so amazing how unbelievably our eyes are! I'm not sure an automated camera can keep up with the wide area of movement that the hummers cover even in close areas.