Sherry,

Welcome to the forum and your new obsession (at least that is what I have been accused of since I began gardening for the butterflies-LOL)

Yes the birds, as well as spiders, lizards, wasps, etc. will eat the black swallowtail cats. If you aren't able to bring them inside to rear, can you cover the plant with netting to keep the predators away?

I have not transplanted fennel once established, so don't know what to tell you on that one. I have found that it needs to be planted in bright shade, it is just too hot (at least here in Houston) for it, as well as rue, to be planted in full sun. Mine did not die back in the winter, but I do believe it will only live for 2 years, as it has given up the ghost now.

I thought the BSTs were done for the year, but then I found about 20 cats on my dying fennel. They will eat carrot tops, parsley, fennel, rue and supposedly Queen Anne's Lace, but the QAL has not been popular with the mommas laying eggs or the cats. They will eat it if there is nothing else available. Go figure, the books all say it is a favorite of theirs.

I have tons of monarchs right now and a few queens as well. I had monarchs almost year round last year, but we had a mild winter.

It did seem to be a slow start to butterfly season this year, but they are going like gangbusters now.

Has there been a lot of insecticide sprayed in your neighborhood? That does make a difference. I wish the county would quit spraying for mosquitoes so much. I can tell a difference in the butterfly population after they come through. Not to mention the impact the affected insects have as a food source to their predators. What does that chemical do to the frogs, birds, etc that eat the mosquitoes (or whatever) that didn't die, but got sick from the spray? Scary to think about.

Mechelle

Thank you Mechelle for all your answers. Actually, I had thought of covering my fennel with netting - I even had some around, but thought about it too late. If I see any more cats, I'll cover or even bring them in when I learn how to take care of them. I'm not experienced enough to recognize the eggs and have yet to see little bitty cats. The smallest I've seen is 1 inch. At the same time, my fennel was home to lady bugs and I've been told that if I look closely, I can probably see all the stages of the LadyBug life cycle at once.
I think I will try transplanting only part of my fennel and leaving the rest just in case and then add more new plants in the spring. Mine is growing in the hot sun all summer and except for needing to cut back some flower heads last week and yesterday, it has done well. Like I said, it was originally planted to attract bees away from the hummingbird feeders, but we didn't see but 2 honeybees this year as opposed to thousands last year. I didn't know that wasps would get the cats - there were a lot of wasps/yellow jackets on the fennel, too. And I thought they were just after the nectar.
I'm beginning to wonder about chemical sprays, though I'm not aware of any spraying the city has done. We do not put any insecticide at all on our property, yet the tomatoes themselves as well as the leaves look like they have at least experienced some sort of spraying. Come to think of it, North Texas was inundated with web worms in the pecan and mulberries last year and many people panicked. Perhaps more people sprayed their trees that I thought. We didn't and the web worms weren't nearly so bad.
I'm sure there are many monarchs around, but I live near Lake Grapevine where there is a lot of milkweed growing, so perhaps they are hanging out there. We have a big Butterfly Flutterby every fall when monarchs are released, so that had me confused.
I've seen Rue mentioned several times, so I'll plant some of that - whatever it is.
There's just so much to learn, but it sure is fun.
Thanks again - Sherry

Welcome, Sherry!

I can't believe it...another Sherry but this one from Texas. Same spelling, no less (must be the name or something, huh, Miss Sherry? tee-hee!)

Fennel is pretty easy to start from seed. I'd say leave what you have and start more. :) I've got seeds if you want some. email tdogmom

I've been busy revising my two blogs, so check 'em out when you get a chance.

Butterfly Guide

Monarch Butterflies & Milkweed

Sherry from California :)
aka tdogmom

This was my first year gardening at all and it started with putting in a butterfly garden.

I thought I'd just attract butterflies to see them nectar but having to be "complete" I put in some host plants.

Once I found a few Black Swallowtail caterpillars I just couldn't stand the thought of some predator getting them.

I "crossed the line" from watching the garden to getting pop up mesh laundry hamper and putting fennel plants inside to raise them...LOL. The eggs were laid on a few plants while still in little starter pots I'd bought them in! I kept mine outside on deck close to house just sheltering them from direct sunlight and rain when needed. Clean out enclosure twice a day and make sure they're fed. It was facinating watching them grow and glorious releasing them.

It's probably not for everyone but I wouldn't have missed seeing the process and the joy of releasing those four beauties. Once you get a little comfortable with taking care of them it doesn't seem so implausible.

I have my first Monarch caterpillar to raise now. The milkweed plants are covered in these large daddy long legs with orange bodies that just give me the chills when I think of them eating the poor little caterpillars. Since finding this one by chance when cleaning in the garden I've seen another one his size and 2 tiny caterpillars. This first for me Monarch cat was a little finicky and panicky (hopefully not sickly) when I brought him in and put him in a container so I was hesitant to bring in the others. He's settled in and is getting fatter and longer by the day. The thought of having these guys inside the house was a little disconcerting at first but I've gotten used to it after a few days. Since I think Monarchs are endangered I want to give them a better shot at surviving to procreate.

I'm a sap like this for my yard birds so it's not really as much of a stretch to raise a few cats at a time as I thought it would be at first. Don't think I'll progress to having more than a few at a time though...LOL.

While my BSTs were in chrysalis I had visions of one of my nosy, ever watchful but highly entertaining Catbirds swooping in and plucking one of the new butterflies right out of the air as they're very capable of doing as I released the butterfly! Luckily, the gorgeous Black Swallowtails fluttered out of my view so I was content to believe they were on their way to a good life. Thankfully, not everyone is as compulsive a worrier about wildlife they "adopt" as I am!

Even if someone doesn't rear the caterpillars it's a tremendous thing in itself to provide them a place to multiply and nectar particularly with the loss of so much of their natural habitats.

Watch and enjoy the beauty!

I won't add anything more to the advice the others have given, but I want to welcome you to the forum, SHERRY! I can't believe all the Sherrys around here - I'll have to call you TexSherry, huh CalSherry?!
Sherry

Thank you so much everyone for the warm welcome and all the advice. DH humors me, and he is helping me put in all the perennial beds, but he doesn't react with as much excitement as I would like when I show him the cats as I find them.
So far I've added turks cap, fennel, milkweed to the abelia, and other yellow shrubs (don't recall the name) that are so attractive to the gulf frits. I'm going to post some of my pics from last year. For now, I'll be searching the forum archives for other plants to put in. We are waiting until fall to plant trees and more shrubs for the birds and butterflies and the majority of the perennials. It has gotten much too hot here in Texas to do much now.
Thanks again,
Sherry

Sherry,

When you get ready to purchase more plants, be sure to take a look at Burgess Seed and Plant (www.eBurgess.com). They have great prices, okay shipping charges (9.49 for 1 or 100 plants) and a wonderful guarantee policy. Just make sure to hold on to your shipping label, if you do order from them. If your plant doesn't make it within 1 year of purchase, they will replace it at no charge, but you do have to send in the shipping label. I made my first purchase online and they now send me a catalog twice a year.

My DH also humors me when I discover new babies in the yard, he doesn't get as excited about the cats. But he does get into the butterflies, especially when they all come for a visit at the same time (or so it seems they all show up at one time). Enjoy your new hobby/obsession, it is truly rewarding and a miracle to behold.

Mechelle

I, too, am a newbie to this forum & am enoying the warm fellowship here.Want to add my Amen to the 'miracle to behold'; I Thank God above each time I release one of His beautiful creations, saying a prayer for its' safety on its' new life & journey, where ever it leads to. Am 63 yo happily married, retired RN, who has been a homebody since retiring due to health problems in '82, probably before most of you were born, so I feel like an 'ol timer. I feel as though I am going through my second childhood, which has turned out to be more fun, (what I remember of it), than the first. Got started in butterflies quite by accident on a trip out of town for a 'get-away' long w/e & visited a favorite plant buying spot, a State Farmers' Market. While browsing about looking for unusual plants to bring home, I heard one of the vendor's saying "They are Monarch butterfly eggs & caterpillars", which immediatly got my atttention. I went to his space & saw some plants, had no idea what they were, he said it was Milkweed, I bought one, it had a large cat on it & I knew nothing about cats, but figured with the web, I could research & find out what to do. This was 10 + years ago; the mw turned out to be bronze fennel, & the cats turned out to be a BSTs, which I gazed at for hours on end, watching the eggs & seeing my first one eating his first meal was like a 'Spiritual experience', as well as the first emerging BST, I had tears in my eyes. (Did the same thing first time I saw childbirth in nursing school!) Am a Christian, so it was like seeing the Master's hand at work, closeup & personal, if you know what I mean!
The trip home was so funny, with that plant behind my hubby's head, in a clear heavy plastic plant sleeve; he was driving, & the fennel stuck up about 6 " above his head. I kept an eye on a large cat that was eating,just inches from his head, kept hearing a 'ping' every now & then, (sounded like something was hitting the plastic plant sleeve). Had no idea what it was, (hubby heard them too), he would say "What's that?" I replied "Dunno!", but found out when I got it home & saw more 'pings' which later I found out was frass! I had large long plant sleeves in my trunk, always prepared for plants, so as not to get a frown on hubby's face with the possibility of getting my car dirty. The cat kept my attention, & I kept looking back, saying 'Dear Lord, please, please, don't let him crawl on hubby's head". We arrived home after the 2 1/2 hr trip with no incidents, during which hubby kept asking me what I was looking at, to which I would mattter-of-factly reply, "My plant in the back." After unpacking the car; first thing was locating the 'mw' in my solarium, placing it in a cachepot & adding a small hand-made butterfly house that I had, making it quite attractive. After all was unpacked, I showed hubby "what I was looking at" on the trip home. The 3rd-4th instar BST was quite large, & he remarked "That was behind my head all the way home!" After having the 2 additions to our home, the solarium & a master suite, with decking running the length of the house with a large area in the center, I started collecting inside & outside birdhouses & an occasional butterfly house. That first year everybody in the family gve me b'fly & birdhouses for Christmas, & the collecting kinda got out of hand, they are everywhere!
So began my passion for these lovely creatures. It took me several years to locate mw seeds, which are not native to our area & now my 'garden' or 'forest' has grown to more than 1,000 mw of many varities, fennel, parsley, Dutchman's Pipevine (first year, so I don't expect flowers, from what I have read about it)Moonflowers Angel's trumpets, many varities of nectar plants & a Catawba Worm Tree. (In our area, local word has it that the Catawba Worm Tree is supposed to be the host plant for the Luna Moth.) All of my plants are container-grown on my large deck out back of our home. Each season there tears of joy & sorrow, as some don't make it, & days when I have more than a dozen to release when hubby is in the backyard with our dog, his baby, it is a glorious time for me.
I remember last year one Monarch was very hesitant to leave the pavilion, staying at the bottom while the others had lined up almost in a spiral 'take off' pattern, & I reached down & got her, checked to make sure she was okay, & held her on my finger in the sunlight, saying "Look at how beautiful the colors are! They look like somebody put glitter on her!" My poor hubby, who was hot & tired, was saying "Yeah, yeah, let it go, it will fly away". This beautiful lady flew to his cheek, & lit there just a bit! He was so surprised. I told him he just got his first 'Butterfly kiss!" He meekly smiled, called the dog, chuckling, picked her, & went in the house. You ladies know how our men are, you gottta love them, with all of their patience, putting up with our 'whims in life', for the most part supporting us in everything we do. Didn't mean to write a 'journal' here, but wanted to share how I got into this passionate hobby that has become a very important part of my life. Having several painful health problems, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, 3 failed back surgeries, being among them, it has been the greatest therapy, & God has richly blessed my life with the joy of butterflies, in fact locally I am frequently called "Butterfly Joy"..May God continue to bless all of you & thanks for having me as part of this great group.. Joy, from Coastal NC (Saw my first Monarch of this season 8-8, a male; he nectared on mw like he was starving, & gracefully flew away; y'day it was over-cast & t-storms in our area, so didn't see any more. Forecast is favorable for this week, so will be on the lookout for more). God Bless

'Sorry about your health problems, Joy - I love that name! - but you're not the only old timer on this forum! I'll be 60 in 2 months, and there are quite a few others here almost exactly my age. I'm in my second childhood, too, and I plan to stay there 'til I die! :)
Sherry

Joy, I love your story. I'm sorry I didn't reply when you first posted it, but school started and this weekend has been the first that I've had time to get back to the forum. I posted a panicky request this morning, then took advantage of the weather outside to come in and catch up on the forum. I absolutely can't wait until I can retire in about 5 years. For now, I'm tring to get my garden established while I have the money - just lacking the time.
I've been posting on the birdwatching forum for awhile, but butterflies are now becoming my passion. I'm worried though about the obvious decline in their numbers this year over last.
I walk to Lake Grapevine every day and believe there are at least 2 varieties of milkweed there that I hope to introduce to my yard. Is there a best way to do this? The butterfly weed in my garden is making seed pods, but I haven't noticed any on the Lake varieties.
Well, I better check on the weather and the cats. More later.
Sherry

Sherry,

Re your question about "was this a slow year for butterflies" I attempted to get a series of counts over time and region of the country. The purpose was to check our perceptions against actual counts and to check our memories vs. actual figures. If you're interested in a good discussion and some counts see "a somewhat controlled count of butterflies in your garden." It's currently on page 3.

WELCOME to the friendliest and most helpful forum I'm aware of.

mike

I've enjoyed reading this thread! I'm a newbie raising Monarchs this year and it has been an amazing experience. There is a lovely female drying her wings in the aquarium this morning! It's a little rainy today, so she has to hang tight for now.

As for growing Asclepias, I would watch the Lake species closely for the mature seed pods. The ideal point to collect the pods is when they are fully dry and just about to split open. If they are split that's okay too, but the seeds and fluff can get messy.

Asclepias is very easy to start from seed. Some seeds need cold stratification, but if you live in a warm zone, that is probably not so much of a concern for your local species. Winter-sowing works great, I got fantastic germination on 5 out of 6 species, the exception being Asclepias variegata which only had 1 sprout (at least that one is doing well).

The Monarchs seem to prefer the young plants. I had lots of cats on 1st year Asclepias tuberosa and curassavica, and small 2nd year Asclepias incarnata.

Thanks, Mike. I'll look for your butterfly count information.
Thanks Terene for your info on milkweed. I have so much to learn that my head is swimming.

As for this being the friendliest forum - I agree!! Everyone is so helpful.
Sherry

I'm another "newbie" that has gotten frustrated on trying to attract martins(after 6 years trying) to my very heavily treed yard & have been on a mission since July to add a bunch of swallowtail host plants as well as more varieties of milkweed. I have 9 crysalises of monarchs(lost 1 that hung straight instead of "J") that I raised since about the 2nd instar that will be eclosing in about a week or so. I currently have at least 20 BST cats on the dill, fennel, rue & parsley I planted & now have 2 varieties of pipevine (fimbriata & tormentosa). Still waiting to see PST eggs & cats.
I have been mostly lurking on this forum trying to learn as much as possible & have saved Sherry's blog as one of my favorites!!! ;o)
Thanks to all of you...I will be a "Butterfly Mama" soon!!!LOL
I have just cleaned out my butterfly flower bed & removed mealy blue & white salvia & a ton of blue Katie ruella to make room for the milkweed seeds I ordered from www.easywildflowers.com . I am wondering if there are any more great nectar, low growing plants that I can add to the bed? What do your recommend??? I'm in North Texas.