That definitely looks like a Question Mark caterpillar. From Dr. James Scott's CD-ROM, "The Butterflies of North America, "A Natural History and Field Guide." I recommend this for easy access to information on butterflies. Elm is listed at end of the list of host plants. __________________________________________ "Vanessa cardui Painted Lady Hostplants herb (rarely shrub or tree) Compositae: Cirsium arvense, texanum, discolor, vulgare, occidentale, muticum, altissimum, undulatum, breweri, neomexicanum, centaureae, solstitialis, hydrophilum, scopulorum, hesperium, Cynara scolymus, Onopordum acanthium, Silybum marianum, Carduus nutans, acanthoides, crispus, Arctium lappa, minus, Lappa officinalis, Cnicus benedictus, Artemisia frigida, stelleriana, vulgaris, ludoviciana var. gnaphalodes, Calendula officinalis, Centaurea solstitialis, nigra, Achillea millefolium, Anaphalis margaritacea, Helianthus annuus, argophyllus, Helianthella, Filago arvensis (Europe), Helichrysum, Lactuca sativa, Chrysanthemum, Parthenium argentatum, Senecio maritima (?), cineraria (?), Serratula (?), Wyethia glabra, Tanacetum, Xanthium pennsylvanicum var. canadense; Boraginaceae: Amsinckia douglasiana, Borago officinalis, Cryptantha angustifolia, Echium vulgare, Nonea, Anchusa officinalis, Symphytum officinale, Lycopsis; Malvaceae: Althaea rosea, officinalis, Malva parviflora, sylvestris, neglecta, nicaeensis, moschata, Sida hederacea, Sphaeralcea ambigua, Gossypium; Chenopodiaceae: Beta vulgaris, Chenopodium album (?); Hydrophyllaceae: Eriodictyon californicum, Phacelia campanularia; Leguminosae: Glycine max, Lupinus bicolor, albifrons, formosus, perennis, arboreus, argenteus, succulentus, arcticus var. subalpinus, Medicago sativa, Phaseolus vulgaris, Pisum sativum, Trifolium; Urticaceae: Soleirolia (Helxine), Parietaria, Urtica urens, dioica ssp. gracilis (?); Labiatae: Mentha, Salvia, Stachys sieboldii; Verbenaceae: Lantana; Solanaceae: Nicotiana glauca, Petunia, Solanum tuberosum; Rosaceae: Fragaria, Prunus (a tree); Convolvulaceae: Ipomoea batatas; Plantaginaceae: Plantago lanceolata; Cruciferae: Raphanus sativus; Polygonaceae: Rumex; Umbelliferae: Eryngium; vine Cucurbitaceae: Cucumis melo; shrub Rhamnaceae: Rhamnus; tree Ulmaceae: Ulmus americana; tree Rutaceae: Citrus sinensis; the grass Zea mays (in Europe). Obviously prefers Compositae, esp. Cirsium. Sometimes a pest on Iowa soybeans (Glycine). One larva eats about 234 square cm of soybean leaves in its lifetime, all but 7 square cm in the last two larval stages (F. Poston)."

I just love how this plant is developing. Those blossoms are staying erect even during the hottest times of the day...Love the ruffly skirts and the curled tendrils. I would love to cross this with Angels Exotic because she too has very beautiful ruffles and curls also and she is a double...with Sam as the daddy in my new cross, I think we may see something really pretty from a cross like this...The best thing about this baby is the color...I just love it!!

Nell ~ Thank you for checking up on me. We are so glad Fay did not turn into a hurricane, and hope she doesn't by the time she hits your area. We had rain off and on since Sunday, but this morning around 1:15 is when the winds really started and we later found out that a tornado touched down west of us. We had quite a few bouts of wind and heavy rain throughout the day as the bands from this storm passed over. Some areas around us didn't get any rain or wind at all. We had enough, as it was a reminder of Frances, Jeanne and Wilma, only on a smaller scale. They were actual hurricanes, bad ones. It's not fun the older we get, thinking about the possibility of hurricanes from the beginning of June until the end of Nov. We've lived here since the late 50's (DH), early 60's (me), and didn't really think about them unless one happened. These days, with all the doppler radar, satellite pics, etc., and the hype of the media and all the could be, might be, scenarios, they make sure you hear it or see it and it gets to you. Anyway, we have pine needles, leaves and other small debris blown around the property. Nothing is down. We didn't lose our power like with the three hurricanes, (13 days with Wilma.) We still have a bit of wind and the occasional bout of rain, but not like we were having. Winds might have gusted to 60 mph. It was scary when the winds and rain were blowing, but here we are. Thankful that it wasn't any worse. Frogs have been happily croaking since yesterday. What water we had standing has been absorbed into the ground. Everything should do well after this good soaking, 5-7 inches of rain. I didn't take in any plants and didn't take down any wind chimes either, all are still where they are supposed to be. We keep checking the hurricane center and accu-weather for updates. We are not watching TV, haven't done so in months and don't care to get back into that. Hope you just get some nice rain from this and no damaging winds. I even saw a little bit of sunshine this afternoon and a tad of blue sky. Tomorrow is another day. This thing could come back around and bite us in the behind, we'll just have to wait and see. It has happened before. A tree trimming service that is hired by FPL, pulled up into our driveway and asked if they could go back into our property to cut down limbs that are up in the power lines, so we had to let them in. They are cutting high, long limbs of a tropical hibiscus tree that reaches 40 ft. from our neighbor's property. It is right close to my potting area and I don't know if they are going to haul the limbs off or what. We may have to go out and deal with all this tomorrow, but I hope not. It isn't our trees, but cut and landing in the back or our property. I was out watching until the skeeters drove me back in. The saga goes on. Hope things go well for you Nell. FlowerLady

I have a painted lady hibiscus, but it only grows new leaves. The blooms start but fall-off before they mature and/or open. What gives.