I hope you can successfully raise all your GFs, too, Susan! Sounds like your garden is doing good - mine is doing okay, not great, not bad.
All the asclepias curassavicas I've got growing in my garden are volunteers - they've gotten pretty big now. I'd love to see a picture of the flower on your 'Silky Deep Red'! If the leaves are bigger than the regular, I'll probably want to order some seeds myself - I think I prefer the red coloring in a. currasavica flowers over the yellow, so I know I'll like the flowers! Let us know if the butterflies nectar on "Silky Deep Red' as much as they do on the regular, which is a lot.
I can't think of any suggestions I have for anybody, unless they're in the market for a butterfly bush. I'd DEFINITELY recommend 'Ellen's Blue' - the flowers are a beautiful color, the bush is a nice medium size, and it flowers the most of any I've ever planted!
I saw on TV that there's some tropical weather in the southwest Gulf - everybody please keep your fingers crossed for me for the next couple of months!
MissSherry

If we would ever stop getting rain, I could actually go out and see my butterfly garden. The few days we've had of sunshine, I've seen lots of butterflies out. One that has really caught my eye is a long tailed skipper. I think my book said it was a white striped long tailed skipper, a rare stray to my area. I have sure enjoyed watching it, and got several good photos. I saw several of them actually.
I had a few questions for susan...how do I pinch my pipevines? And what uses penta as a host plant? I've got lots of them in my garden. I'm looking forward to some sunshine sometime in the future.

Susan, glad to hear you are getting so many butterflies. Wish you could send me some of your gulf frits! I only have my lonely four!

Susan,
Thanks for sharing about the milkweed and where you got the seed. Sounds like your yard is a butterfly haven.

Marilyn said that False Indigo (Baptista?)is a host plant for Silver spotted skippers. I have some growing, but haven't found any cats yet. I have the SSpSs all over the place but they don't seem to be interested in laying any eggs. Marilyn had a ssps cat on her FI and showed it to us at the BY tour.

Are you still getting BFs on your overripe bananas? My last one I set out didn't seem to get much attention. I know the RAs and QMs are around, as I still see them, but they don't seem to be so interested in the overripe fruit. When do Mourning Cloaks return?

I am having terrible luck with my monarch cats. I have had 5 die this past week. I haven't been able to find eggs, but find cats and bring them in. Then they seem to try to pupate too soon and die. Can anyone tell me what is happening? I've always had great luck with raising monarchs, so this is really depressing me.

Miss Sherry, where did you find your Ellen's Blue Buddleia? It sounds like a winner to me. I have lots of Buddleia and can always find room for more. One summer I had a lot of buddleia come up volunteer, and it got huge. The Tiger Swallowtails were all over it. It was sooooo cool.

One of the plants that has really attracted the painted ladies this year has been a scarlet scabiosa that I ordered from Park Seeds. I got 3 plants and I'm hoping to collect seeds as they are not perennials here. I may also try to take some cuttings in the fall.

I planted a lot of liatris because it always attracts lot of bfs including viceroys. I have a little cutting of willow that I am seeing new leaves on. This particular cutting had a viceroy chrysalis on it when I got it, so maybe that will be a good omen.

The Lobelia is just now blooming and attracting hummers like crazy. Earlier it had some kind of cats all over it, which ate the first blooms. I didn't take the cats in, so I'm not for sure what they were, just green cats. The dark leaved lobelia got eaten up by the same cats in less than two days, so it died. They literally ate all the blooms, leaves, AND took huge hunks out of the stem!

Susan, I rounded up some more tomentosa along the road by my neighborhood. This time I made sure I took roots and soil. The plants are surviving and putting on new leaves. Yea!! I'll keep looking for more runners as the year goes on, as they get cut down when the county guys mow. The established plants are so huge and go way, way up into the trees. You are right about pinching out the leaves on the plants. I am getting some good growth on the two plants I got earlier this summer.

I ordered a wafer ash and another tulip tree. I am going to alternate the tulip tree with my other one so I have a place for the TSWTS to lay eggs. My cats are doing super and are really getting big. Having them inside in the sun room has protected them from predators, but doesn't allow for anymore eggs. I see the female around everyday, so I think she might lay some more eggs if I provide the tulip tree. I have read that some people keep their trees short so as to raise bfs, sort of BF Bonsai! LOL I may try this and see how it works.

I think that's enough!

Sandy

Susan,

Like khakitag, I'd like DETAILED instructions on exactly how and when to pinch my pipevines. I bought 6 A tomentosa about a month ago and they just began to have new groth about a week ago. I've read here that they are supposed to be prolific growers, so maybe your pinching suggestion would help. Do I pinch just the side leaves?

mike

Well, no, I haven't noticed as many nectaring on the banana lately. Either the QMs have moved north or they are aestivating (sleeping thru the heat until the weather cools off). Same for the Mourning Cloaks. I haven't noticed much Hackberry Emperor activity lately either.

Re: Monarch cats. What food are the eating? Are you washing off the foliage before feeding it to them? I just rinse off the foliage, using my fingers to clean off the sticky stuff that collects from the aphids, and then dry on paper towels (blot it a bit). You can do a whole bunch of leaves at one time and stick the rest in a plastic baggy in the fridge and they'll keep for the next feeding or two. Monarchs are kinda finicky about spotless conditions. Either that, or you've gotten a bunch that have been afflicted with OE somehow. I had no problems with it last year, but it was the first time I raised them, and I'm bound to run into it one day.

Pinching your pipevines means just pinching out the very top leaves of your vine. If you do that, your pipevine will grow new stems from the base and produce more leaves from the side of the stem you pinched and the top, so you'll get a fuller plant quicker.

Sandy, in Judy Burris's book, she suggests pruning the tulip trees, which can otherwise get HUGE!, to keep them a manageable size. This way, she can locate the TST eggs and cats much easier. I would think if you cut the main leader of the tree, you would get basal and lateral growth, and just keep trimming it back so it doesn't get too tall for you to reach the cats.

Do you know I have yet to see a Viceroy or Red Spotted Purple. Now that I have some black willow and wild cherry, though, I am hoping eventually they will find their way to my garden.

Right now the butterflies are loving the Joe Pye Weed, the Orange Cosmos, verbena bonariensis, lantana (I have 3 different kinds, two hardy and one annual), the zinnias, lavendar, Mexican Flame Vine (which Linda says is ground hardy here), and probably soon, the tropical milkweed, too. My passion vine ceurulea is blooming like crazy, and the hummingbird just LOVES it. For the moths I have 4 o'clocks and datura.

The day before yesterday, I was out watering and deadheading (at the same time), and I kept disturbing this large flying insect. Everytime I'd water something it would fly up out of the plant and go elsewhere, and as I watered, it kept moving from plant to plant. Finally figured out it was a white-lined sphinx! Such a pretty thing!

I still have some honeysuckle blooming - it blooms heavily in spring, and then intermittently the rest of the summer. So, the hummers and moths are partaking of that, too.

You're lucky, Sandy, that you can get to the country and look for plants that are likely to be mowed down. Have you ever found any serpentaria?

MissSherry, I will definitely be thinking of you and the upcoming hurricane season. My sister said when the FEMA guy came to look at their house, he said it was every bit as much damage as he saw from Hurricane Katrina. They are living in a rent house now, but still cannot do anything to their house (other than they already gutted it, appliance, cabinets, and all) in the way of renovations until they get clearance from FEMA that it's okay to go back in. Their dog is at their son's house and the kitties are back at the flood-damaged house because it was so traumatic for them to be away from home. So every night she has to go from work to her house, to her son's house, and then home to their rent house that is also being worked on, and she's exhausted. She just wants to get started on rebuilding her own home, and yet in another way, she said she'd rather build a new house elsewhere that is not so close to where the waters flooded that area so she doesn't have to worry about it happening again---ever! I know you can relate to all of this.

Khakitag - the tersa sphinx moth uses red pentas as a host plant. I sure hope to get some this year. I had them one year, and they can very quickly defoliate the plants. But, they're so darned cute. They have the false eyes like the tiger and spicebush swallowtail cats, but get much bigger.

Susan

Sandy, I ordered my 'Ellen's Blue' from ForestFarm in early spring. Now is the time of year when shipping to the East is exhorbitant at FF, so if you buy there, wait until cooler weather. There are other on-line nurseries that carry it, I just can't remember which.
MissSherry

I love this thread, hearing about all of your gardens! Things are just hitting their peak up here! I've had one Silver-Spotted Skipper up here (so cute!), and I have a few False Indigo plants. I'll keep my eyes open for babies.

Butterflies are going crazy over boneset, which volunteers all over the place in my yard, and I let it go. The Milbert's Tortoiseshell was on it again yesterday. I also got see an American Copper on it too for the first time. I could spend all day going around with my camera and then IDing the new butterflies I see. I have so many fritallaries around--they love the rudbeckia (and I have sooo many--really need to stop letting them grow all over the place) and coreopsis which is finishing. They also love monarda and milkweed. Mexican Sunflowers have started to bloom these past two weeks. Echineceas are also starting to bloom. I also have a couple of American Painted Ladies that are always out on the rudbeckia.

Hummers love the delphinium that is nearing the end of its bloom, and they also go to the last of the red hot pokers. I haven't seen them going to any of the agastache I've planted for them. Wild Delphinium is about to bloom.

No one seems interested in the one butterfly bush I have.

It's so fulfilling to walk around and see these creatures get full bellies!

My monarchs were eating from A.C. and I switched the two tiniest cats over to A.I., which I've always had good luck with. I lost 2 more cats last night. I took the container and used some bleach water on it, removed all the frass, etc, and changed out the plant. I'm hoping these two tiny cats will make it. I also hope whatever is causing the problem will go away with the heat of the summer. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with all the rains we've had, if a disease is killing them. I'm hoping it's not something carried by the plants.

Susan, I am fortunate to be able to find plants nearby. I have to be very careful, though, as this is poison ivy country! I find it everywhere, and I am extremely allergic. I have not seen any serpentaria, but I'm not for sure I'd recognize it if it waved a leaf in front of my face! Does it grow wild around Tulsa?

Thanks, MissSherry, for the info. I will be sure to order one in the fall. Even if I overwinter it in the garage, it will get a good early start next spring.

My A.C. is huge and has been blooming for weeks. I seeded it early in pots. When I got the seeds, I got all 3 kinds in one pack, the silky red, silky gold, and silky scarlet. I think the scarlet is the prettiest. I have some seed pods from it. MissSherry, I'll send you some this fall if you are interested. I should have lots of seed, as I have lots of plants.

Something exciting happened this a.m. I released my first RA!!!! I have one more chrysalis, and one more cat. I love the RAs, they are just so pretty. It helped to succeed at raising the RAs, as the monarch situation has really gotten me down.

Today was also a sad day, as all the wild habitat that was behind my house is gone now. The house is almost finished and the people will move in soon. They at least left the elm tree, and two other unidentified trees/shrubs. But, the wild blackberries, honeysuckle, honeylocusts, etc, are gone. The dead tree on which my little hummer always perched is gone. The stump where I put ripe bananas is gone. Now I have to replace the habitat in the corner of my yard. I also liked the fact that it was a wonderful barrier, and you couldn't see my yard. Boo Hoo!

Sandy

Of course all those lovely trees are gone - we live in Oklahoma, where they practically fell all the trees and all the wild perennials in order to build, build, build! Ooh, I get mad when I think about it.

That's why I bought my house close to downtown OKC in the older, historic district. I have TREES! While I sometimes get upset because the neighbors who own the trees don't take care of them (they're all planted way too close together), I am still glad I have them surrounding my back yard. Hackberries, Elm, huge old viburnum (about 30' tall), redbud, cottonwoods, you name it. Actually, I'm finding more and more that the trees are to be found in the direct urban areas and less and less the further you go out from there.

Your poor little hummer won't know what to do. I hope he or she sticks around. My little hummer is back again now, and when I noticed him the other day, I had not put any sugar water in the feeder. He looked at the feeder, and then turned and looked at me sitting on the porch, like he was saying, "What's up?" I have lots of plants in the garden, and with the rotting banana drawing fruit flies, the hummer LOVES those. I went ahead and mixed up a batch of sugar water for him, and he was back this morning at the feeder looking VERRRRY satisfied.

Bernergirl - delphiniums! I'm so envious because these are northern plants - they HATE Oklahoma, and even tho they sell them at the nurseries, I don't buy them cuz they just melt in our heat. There are lots of plants you can grow up there that we can't because it's too hot here.

Once again, the Mexican sunflowers did not come up. Oh, well. The Mexican Flame vine is blooming and it's so pretty. The firebush (hamelia patens) is just about to burst into bloom - I bet the hummer will love that, too.

I planted out my 4 o'clock 'Broken Colors' for the moths - hope it gets huge and comes back next year. Also planted my solidago 'Wichita Mountains' (a shorter version) bred by Steve at his nursery in Clinton, Oklahoma (Sunshine?).

So far, knock on wood, my echinacea pallidas are finally starting to put on some growth. I'll be anxious to see how they do as a nectar plant.

A big, beautiful Black Swallowtail came to visit this morning (I rarely see them, altho they do leave eggs frequently), and was all over the pink zinnias. They really like pink, don't they?

I finally figured out why I have so many Silver-Spotted Skippers - my neighbor has a humongous wisteria, and that is a host plant for them. I need to go check his vine, but I can only check so much of it - too big!

The skippers were just going mad this morning. They roll, dive, twirl, and dance thru the air.

My walnut sphinx is pupating - had to quick get some dirt in the bottom of the container. As soon as I did - he buried himself.

I have Gulf Frits out the gazoo! So many of them, I'll have GFs now thru fall.

Pinching out the aristolochia - just like I pinch out other plants - at the tip. It works well with tomentosa and clematitis. Clematitis especially responds well to pinching, branching at the tips and sending up new basal growth. But, the tomentosa does, too, and the serpentaria.

Oh, Sandy, A. serpentaria likes shady areas, so you might find it walking thru wooded areas, close to streams, rivers, etc. That is it's habitat, and it is native to Oklahoma.

Susan

I love this thread too. It's a chance to talk about garden highlights with people who care. My mexican sunflowers have responded to 3 days of rain and are going through a growth spurt-no blooms yet, but some of the plants are over 5 feet tall in four of the seven beds,

My cup plants in all 4 beds are doing very well and several plants are blooming. It's such an interesting plant with the cups holding moisture all day long.

The Tiger Swallowtails and Pipevine Swallowtails are swarming on my butterfly bushes. Often 10 or more are on several of the butterfly bushes.

The Pipevine Swallowtails finally found my VA snakeroot. I put wire fences around it to protect it last year and kept them up this year. I though it discouraged the PVS from laying eggs even though the fences were open at the top, but I found my biggest plant with most of the leaves eaten and a huge PVS cat munching on another VA snakeroot.

I planted 2 beds of yellow 4o'clock seeds and the plants are already 2-3 feet tall. Can't wait 'til they flower.

I'm excited about the success of the tiny plugs of ornamental grasses that I planted this year. I planted 2 plugs each of 6 different grasses and Zebra, Red Barron, Flame, Strawberries and Cream, and Diamond are all thriving.

mike

Are you planting your grasses for the butterflies, Mike? I like them for two reasons. One, the fiery skippers LOVE panic grass (panicums) for host plant; and two, I had one planted next to fennel, and the caterpillers loved to use it as a place for pupation.

My butterfly bush bit the dust this summer - too much rain and soggy soil for it. But, it wasn't the best nectar plant for the butterflies anyway, and I need to replace it with a 'White Profusion' or 'Pink Delight' - maybe both, ha!

I got out today and ripped all of my clematis tangutica that was climbing on the double trellis with the passion vine. It never bloomed well and only had ratty looking foliage. Plus, it was detracting light from my new Salvia 'Black and Blue' which is now bursting into bloom. Oh, that is a plant I just luuuuuuuvvvvvvvv! The blooms are absolutely gorgeous and the hummingbird loves it, too.

My Texas Salvias are blooming (the annual pink and white that reseeds nicely), and the Sulphurs just love it. I had a big ole Cloudless Sulphur nectaring on the Senna hebecarpa (Wild Senna) today - it was HUMOUNGOUS! I need to check for eggs as it was all over that big old bush. I am getting seeds this year (didn't last year, it's first year), so if anyone would like to try it, you are welcome. It is hardy I think to like zone 5.

I pulled out some of the Bidens - the Dainty Sulphurs won't need all of it, and it, too, was shading the B&B Salvia. Gotta make some sun for these nectar plants, too!

Got out the chicken manure and went crazy adding more of it to the garden plants. I still have plants to get in the ground, but it's just gonna happen in bits and pieces.

I hope the Cloudless Sulphurs will be happy - my new Hibiscus cocinnus is about to boil over with blooms. There are bloom pods all over it, and you know how they like RED!

Found another RA cat rolled up in a leaf in the FN patch this morning, so in the tank it went with the others.

I just don't understand why my Tithonia seeds do not germinate!!

Cup plants, Mike? Is that nierembergia?

Susan

Wow this is a great thread! Let's see-all my sunflowers are just ready to bloom and i planted some really neat ones this year-deep reds, dark browns, little ones and then I have three huge 8 foot ones that are just about ready to bloom(can you tell I like Sunflowers?)

I planted the Mexican Sunflowers a bit late but, they are getting up there and looking very healthy.
Last year on E-Bay I order a lot of butterfly seed, just various plants to attract butterflies well I got a lot of that to come up and some of the plants, I do not know what they are-some are so beautiful, I've never seen plants like this before..I have to post a picture, maybe someone here can tell me what they are.
I have three Butterfly Bushes and the Pink Delight is just blooming now and are they big! I am really surprised by the size of the flowers...
What else...my Zinnas are doing great but, I have not seen much action on them really..I thought butterflies loved them? And the Coneflowers too, no butterflies at all on them, strange huh?
I bought a new Passionvine last week- P Suberosa-it looks pretty good so far, not to big but it will be next year.I also bought Dutchman Pipe seeds this week for next year. All the Milkweed I bought and planted myself from seed is doing great. I have no complains about any of them. I have the Common, Weed with orange flowers, red and yellow flowers, and Ice ballet I believe it's called? All look really healthy.

All my Dill and Fennel seem to be at there peak right now, I really wish a BST would find them and leave some presents. It would be nice!

Aggie

Oooh, I have a White Profusion AND a Pink Delight Buddleia. :) I went a bit overboard with the Buddleias this year...DH had to help me with the transplanting and he said, "Sherry, a couple of your Buddleias need to be transplanted, AGAIN!" They have been growing like crazy. Interestingly, I read somewhere that butterflies aren't very fond of the yellow globe-flowering Buddleia Globosa. Ha! You should see them all hanging around it.

Thank you Susan and Mike for giving more reasons to add ornamental grass to my beds. I am starting to love them; I ordered a sampler from High Country Gardens, and in a couple of years they'll be big and beautiful (I hope); good to know about panicum since I have one. Because I'm new with grasses, I need to figure out how to use them. I get so overwhelmed with planting things in June that I kind of just start putting things in whereever there's a space instead of planning. Oh well, I can always move them, I rationalize. Part of the fun.

We have one section of our yard that we let go to the natural grasses and plants around here. I think that culd be a reason why I have so many different kinds of skippers is because of all of the native grasses. The area was pretty wet and regular grass wouldn't grow, so we stopped mowing. I love the look of it. I put in a garden with plants that love wet areas, but now the grasses are getting so mature I think they're sucking up too much of the moisture! Swamp milkweed is small this year, and one plant didn't come back up. We also have a drier section that is next to the woods, and we just stopped mowing that too. All kinds of neat stuff comes up on it own--Pearly everrlasting, goldenrods, bonesets, and even a closed gentian, which I know doesn't do anything for butterflies, but it's still beautiful. In the woods, in the spring, we get painted trilliums and pink lady slippers, both native to our area.

I have got to get some pipevine, passionflower, and senna for next year. Also, some false nettle and/or regular nettle. I can't believe I don't have any! I let a plant grow that I thought was nettle, but it turned out to be wild basil. Bummer.

I was at a trail the other day, and I saw what appeared to be a.macrophylla (big, heart-shaped leaves) and I think either nettle or thistle plants. I plan on going to get cuttings, or actually dig up the thistle/nettle plants since they're pretty small.

I agree, Mike, it's nice to share with people who care, and I learn so much from everyone here.

I plan on adding even more beds for next year. I just had an idea of taking my rudbeckia bed and making it into a large circle, and putting some host plants into a bed in an inner circle, along with stones for basking and areas for rooting fruit. It'll be a little refuge. Maybe I'll make enough room for a place to sit myself!

About the rudbeckias, I had 4 pearly crescents out there at one time, along with gagillion skippers, and two american painted ladies and several frits. I could spend all day watching things. Neighbors must think I'm a little bonkers, but most of them enjoy the gardens.

Have a great day everyone!

Susan et al.,

The cup plants are Silphium perfoliatums. They have deep taproots, grow at least 6 feet tall, and have many yellow flowers. We first noticed them at a botanical garden in NO. VA when the butterflies were swarming to them.

BTW, I forgot to mention my Harlequin Glory Bower trees coming into bloom. The largest is about 18 feet tall with literally HUNDREDS of buds ready to burst open. Last year, this tree was as good a butterfly magnet as my best butterfly bushes or mexican sunflower.

This thread is SO INTERESTING AND EDUCATIONAL. I cut the tips of my pipevines yesterday and love reading about the other tips and the things you're trying in your gardens.

mike

I think it was Cathy, Bernergirl, who mentioned last year that she had no activity on her coneflowers, or was it Rudbeckia? Maybe she'll post and let you know. Coneflowers AND sunflowers are host plants for the Silvery Checkerspots, that lay their eggs in clusters - lots of eggs in a cluster. I like sunflowers, too, because they're pretty, and the finches love to perch and eat the seeds, so it's anotherh double duty plant.

GUESS WHAT? I have MORE pipevine eggs. I went out this morning and was training a stem on the Aristolochia tomentosa, when what to my wondering eyes did appear? But, 13 pipevine eggs, 4 on the front of one leaf, and 9 on the back of another leaf. So, I brought the eggs in and put them on a damp paper towel and covered the little container with plastic wrap. This is what I did last time, and all the eggs hatched fine. One PVS didn't make it - just stopped eating and died about the 3rd instar. No particular reason, I guess, because the others went on to complete their growth cycle and pupate. I'm wondering now if it was a pipevine swallowtail I saw hanging around the yard now rather than a Black Swallowtail. They are so shy, I try to just look at them from a distance and not move too close to them.

So, that makes 3 pipevines they have used in my yard, A. clematitis, A. serpentaria, and A. tomentosa. The tomentosas have really grown quickly, and are about 4-5' tall now. I just kept pushing food - chicken manure and Espoma garden fertilizer, alternating the two, and they finally took off. But 13? I don't know if I'll have enough for that many - maybe they won't all hatch, we'll see.

I went out early morning - about 6:15 a.m. - dawn was resplendent with subtle colors and all of a sudden, here comes my hummingbird, WITH A BUDDY! So, I now have 2! I'm so happy. I know this is not the hummingbird forum, but I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. They perch on my old tough stems left over from last year's senna alata, where I have the Passiflora ceurulea climbing. There are tiny little spiders on there and I think they're eating them, and they LOVE the passion flowers, too. My Japanese Honeysuckle is blooming again and they love that, and the old yellow honeysuckle tree as well. I think they are either black-chinned or female ruby-throats.

I've seen more dragonflies this summer than ever before - probably because of the moisture we've had - but they are gorgeous.

Bernergirl - I am going to have seeds of Senna hebecarpa (Wild Senna), Partridge Pea, and Senna bicapsularis if you want some seeds. My Senna hebecarpa is about 5' tall and as wide this year, and butterflies are nectaring all over it. I had tons of Sleepy Oranges eating it this year, too. S. bicapsularis won't be hardy in your area, but it did reseed for me. It produces lots and lots of seed.

Y'all have a good day, too!

Susan

I'm trying to keep this thread on page one because I love to read discussions about garden activities. Btw, for those who might have interest in Harlequin Glory Bower trees, I'll post a picture of our largest tree when more of the flowers bloom and the butterflies start swarming to the flowers.

mike

That's a grand idea, Mike. I love what other gardeners are saying about how their plants and butterflies are doing, too.

I will have to check into the Harlequin Bower, but I am limited to the amount of sun I can provide to trees, unless they will tolerate partial shade. My lot is a modified "V" shape, with the larger part being the backyard in partial shade. The smaller portion is the front with pretty much full sun, but even portions of it get about 4-6 hours of sun.

The Hibiscus coccinus bloom opened today - I was hoping the hummers and/or Cloudless Sulphurs would be by this morning to check it out - but no activity yet.

I wish that darned firebush would open its blooms - the bloom pods are there, but they're still closed.

I found an evil Japanese Beetle on my Passiflora ceurulea and he is now fertilizing the garden.

I also found, for the first time ever, milkweed beetles. They look very new born, or somewhat larval. They remind me of ladybugs, but blown up, paler in color, no spots, and very wet looking in appearance. Got a bucket of water and drowned the suckers!

Brought in 3 more GF babies on the P. ceurulea. I am going to take my big ole plastic flyswatter with me on my caterpillar safaris now so I can annihilate that big ole red wasp I keep seeing hovering around my host plants.

I also found a few eggs on the Wild Senna (hebecarpa) that I sincerely hope are Cloudless Sulphurs. They are blooming, along with the Partridge Pea and the bumble bees really love the blooms on these plants.

Found another baby walnut sphinx on the pecan seedling. So, he is safely ensconced in the cage with the one that is pupating. He was a 1st instar, so I hope I got him before any paratization occurred.

My lantanas are just blooming like crazy right now - 'Miss Huff', 'Ilene', and and unknown I picked up a plant swap. The blooms on it are bright orange and yellow. Supposedly hardy.

I transplanted a 4 o'clock 'Broken Colors' the other day. The roots had started growing into the ground, so I knew it was going to be somewhat stressed out. Half of the plant looks droopy, but the other half looks fine. These are tuberous plants, so I really hope it will be able to survive the stress. I really want to encourage this plant to grow and produce new plants next year because it is a host plant for the white-lined sphinx (I've seen one flying in the yard recently).

Guess that's all that's going on for now.

Susan