We are expecting freezes tonight and tomorrow night, so I guess that will be it for the butterflies this year. I'm glad they stayed around as long as they did. Today I saw only a couple of Gulf Fritillaries, Sulphurs and Skippers. Thank you for the compliments, and I'm glad you liked the pictures. I certainly am not a professional photographer, but I do love my camera, a Sony DSC-F828. It's a few years old and I don't think it's made any more, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have over 12,000 shots on it. I should have identified the butterflies. I was tired, I guess. They are: 1. Monarch 2. Monarchs on Orange Cosmos 3. Pipevine Swallowtail 4. Pipevine Swallowtail 5. Common Checker 6. Fiery Skipper (I think!) 7. Buckeye 8. Variegated Fritillary 9. Gulf Fritillary 10 Sleepy Orange Sulphur Red Banded Hairstreak Sulphur in the Jungle (Orange Cosmos, Red Cypress Vine, Pink Morning Glory) Long Tailed Skipper (I don't recognize the cat) Cloudless Sulphur Painted Lady Eastern Black Swallowtail It turned out to be a very good year for butterflies here. Here's the entire collection: Alabama Butterflies 2007

So, I checked out some pics of pokeweed, and think that was definitely it.. So I pulled it, and the other (Tithonia) is still growing.. After a weekend away, looks like so many new things blooming! Can't wait to have time this evening and go down to check it out closer :)

They will use other native Chelone. I've been using Chelone obliqua L. (red turtlehead) for egg laying and web making the first year. C. glabra has a very bad habit of getting mildew. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CHELO There are 4 native species of Chelone: cuthbertii glabra lyonii obliqua In New England, they are laying on English Plantain and Chelone. Here is a link that might be useful: NY State Search for Chelone

Beautiful Butterfly. 100% Zebra swallowtail. The only host plant they use is a Pawpaw tree so their range is restricted to that of the tree which is most of the Eastern half of the U.S. except for the far northern and southern areas for the most part. Congrats on the sighting, has to be my favorite butterfly of all.