Lucky you. We have had many many freezes yet i still see a rare sulpher about. Not for long, though.

i have never seen a GF cat like that! I am only seeing a few butterflies - a Monarch here and there, a GF, and sometimes a Sulphur. I did see 2 or 3 Polydamas the other day but not since our cold day on Friday.

We do have some Skippers around nectaring - mostly LTS.

MissSherry,
I swear, it is weird around here...I collected 115 Monarch eggs yesterday and today I collected 35. (I got home late so I couldn't collect more but I'm certain there WERE more out there!)

You may be thinking, "I bet CalSherry has been releasing gazillions of butts and that's why she has so many eggs." Nope, not true! I did release a female a week or so ago but that was it. I saw three Monarchs yesterday but none today. Hubby has been seeing loads of them, he said, at the beach and that they've all been heading towards Huntington Beach (one of the overwintering sites). I'm now wondering if they're smelling 'Sherry's Shangri-La' and are stopping on their way to Huntington? Sheesh!

I gave away some eggs, several batches, actually...and may be giving away more this week, to Californians. It is amazing that there've been SO many eggs! I guess I'm making up for last year...

CalSherry, I can't imagine any other way you could be getting all those monarch eggs this late in the year, unless they're on they're way to Huntington Beach! I think it's great that western monarchs have found a place to overwinter other than Mexico - if a disaster strikes Mexico (Michoacan is it?) in winter, then it really would be a disaster!
Mary, all my fall/winter gulf frits develop the dark coloring - weird, huh?!
MissSherry

I am interested in how you raise the Monarch eggs? I've tried so many times with no luck. The leaf dies first or gets mold (if on a damp paper towel), so I've stopped collecting. I have some I'd like to bring in if I knew what to do. Finally got the Sulfur eggs to hatch. Wonder if the Sulfurs will stay around here over the winter?
Thanks for any help you can give.

I can't answer the monarch question, but the sulphurs will definitely stick around in winter - they fly around on sunny winter days here, and I'm further north than you.
MissSherry

I have 9 monarch chrysalises in my garage right now. I keep my garage door up. I probably have more that I have not found. I have GF cats on what's left of my Passion Vine. Can I root my vines now? Do I just stick some in wet dirt? I have never gardened until I got interested in butterflies. I've been at it for 2 years now. I have alot to learn.

If you have a way of keeping your cuttings warm, especially the dirt you stick them in, you might be able to root them now - I can almost guarantee that you won't be able to root them in cool/cold dirt. I've always had GREAT difficulty in rooting any type of passionvine - the usual way I've propagated my own is with seeds, and even there, the germination rate is low. The thing about most passionvines is that they spread from underground runners to such an extent that you don't need that many of them. And this summer I dug up an 'Incense' runner, potted it up, and it rooted! It's not always easy to get them to root in the container - the underground runners are just rootless "tubes" and the sprouts that arise from them need to be kept moist and in shade just like you would if you were trying to root a cutting so that they can develop roots.
So, it all depends, td4, but you can sure try!
My 'Incense' also made a fruit this summer, unusual for 'Incense' because it's a hybrid that doesn't make any pollen, and I found 7 seeds in it. I planted them, and one has come up! The pollen parent had to be the p. incarnata that grows down the fence from it - bees travel back and forth from the flowers.
MissSherry

It's December 1st and today Monarchs were mating in my yard! We still have tiny Monarch caterpillars outside, too. Gulf fritillaries are still numerous at every stage and you're right, Miss Sherry, the larger ones have those light colored stripes. Little Sulphurs, Long-tailed Skippers, and Buckeyes are still flying about. I don't see many adult American Painted Ladies around, but their caterpillars are starting to show up on the Cudweed. I was only outside for a few minutes today, so there may be other butterflies that I didn't see. Tomorrow I'll really go and see what I can find:-)

I had GF cats earlier this week but they ate all my passion vines. No Monarch cats but I had three monarch butterflies come out today and one earlier this week. I hope they head south quickly as cold weather is coming. It was 78 degrees here in Gulfport today,

It is cold and sunny in Oklahoma today. My garden is in very sad shape. No BFs. But, I am beginning to winter sow seeds. My Fimbriata seeds that I obtained from a GW member are up! That was fast! My sunny spa room is full of cuttings. The Tomentosa cuttings that I obtained this fall are taking off. I have containers on the patio with A Clematitis and Serpentaria on the patio and in the spa room. I'm experimenting to see how best to coax these seeds into sprouting. I've even frozen some seeds after soaking them to see if that might expedite germination.

In other words, I've been enjoying myself! I found a green house shelf at Lowe's for a very reasonable sum and I've got plants in it. And I have a laundry room full of seeds! Seeds everywhere!

So much to do before next spring. And so much to do in the next six weeks before I leave for Laos to visit my DD, SIL, and GS! I'll be there a month, enjoying warm temperatures and BFs. Can you tell I'm excited? Only drawback is making sure that someone cares for my plants while I'm gone. DH will be going with me for the first 2 weeks and returning. DS will be taking care of Miss Libby Rose, my beloved LC chihuahua and BF dog--it's the ears--they look just like BF wings! She's also good at finding the caterpillars when they crawl off in the house. Hopefully, he can follow directions and keep the plants going. Otherwise, I'll just have to start over when I return home.

And Christmas is coming! So much to do. . .

Sandy :)