Sherry, I'm probably learning more than you're learning because you already know lots more than I do. :) Good grief, you have PVS that overwintered for 14 months?! I'd have probably thought that they croaked if I'd have had them. I never knew that any could go that long. I guess I'm just used to Monarchs and then think they're about all that way. I guess I was lucky that the Monarchs showed up here right away after I had some milkweed plants here. They ought to show up in droves this year because I have tons of it ready for them, especially Tropical Milkweed. ;-) I have buds on a few of mine that will open soon. Those plants grow faster than Butterfly Weed and Swamp Milkweed. That has been my experience here anyway. My Swamp Milkweeds in pots are finally deciding to start growing more; hopefully I'll be able to use those to feed the Monarch cats but if not there's always all of the Tropical Milkweed plants. Last year, my first year, I didn't start finding Monarch cats here until the beginning of August. I wonder if that's a usual year for my area? Wow, you collect more eggs in one day that I get in a whole season...165...wow! Do you know about how many you raise every year or don't you keep track of the numbers? It was very interesting reading of your butterfly experiences, and I bet you have lots of stories you could tell since you've raised so many and different kinds. What you said about the Aristolochia almost makes me wonder if I should keep it covered this year, as I just can't picture it growing enough to feed a bunch of PVS, probably not even one. I'd have to have eggs on it and then not be able to feed them. I guess I'd have to adopt them out somehow and hope that someone would take them. I wonder if most people cover their plants the first year. So you overfeed yours, huh? ;-) I have mallow growing in containers that I want to put outside soon. I just dug a flower bed for some of them today but didn't get them put out yet. I didn't get Painted Ladies last year on the hollyhocks that I have here (didn't see any butterflies) and was hoping that maybe the mallow would make them magically appear. :-D I have more host foods for butterflies this year than I did last year, and I suppose next year I will have more than I do this year because there are still a few things that I would like to get, mainly a few host plants for various types of butterflies, the Paw Paw tree being one of the plants. I hope some of the butterflies will hang around here. I don't care if some fly off because that might make some other person happy to see them at their place, but I wish I could have a few stay here. It kind of reminds me of Charlotte's Web at the end of the story where Charlotte dies but has an egg sack that hatches out lots of spiders. Wilbur watches in horror as they all start taking off for parts unknown, but to his delight, I think 3 stay behind with Wilbur.

No, Susan, actually, I love them! I thought the first one I saw was a bat, then I wondered why I'd be seeing a bat in the daytime, so I took a closer look and it turned out to be a huge moth! I must have brushed up against it accidentally or disturbed it in some way. I know (intellectually) that it was just a coincidence that they appeared on my property right before the hurricane, and none of the superstitions about them are true - anyway, I like them enough to take a chance! I found a picture of eggs on a Black Witch section of a butterfly/moth website, and they're brown. If BW eggs are brown when oviposited, then these are definitely not BWs, but if the eggs on the website were brown because they were about to hatch, then they still might be BWs. We all know that our butterfly eggs turn brown before hatching, so that is probably the case with moth eggs. MissSherry

I'm not too familiar with latin names of butterflies so I went through your message and looked them up. I've raised Sleepy Orange (Abaeis [Eurema] nicippe: http://www.carolinanature.com/butterflies/sleepyorange.html Here in VA, in my backyard, I have Senna marilandica (Maryland senna): http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=sema11 Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) also use the Senna marilandica (Maryland senna) http://www.nearctica.com/butter/plate4/Psennae.htm Pieridae http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=15&sci=Pieridae&com=Whites%20and%20Sulphurs Eurema boisduvaliana (Boisduval's Yellow) http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1448 Senna artemisioides v. filifolia Botanical Name: Cassia artemisioides v. filifolia Common Name: Green Feathery Senna http://www.tucson.watersavingplants.com/eplant.php?plantnum=1349&letter=a&return=g857 Mexican Yellow, Eurema mexicana http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1449&chosen_state=22*Louisiana Do you have permits from the USDA to bring butterflies across state lines? Just wondering. I attended one of the USDA stakeholders meetings. I keep only one permit now for Maryland because I end up helping a friend with her Monarch Fiesta in the fall. Can't take, mail, butterflies across state lines without a permit from the USDA/APHIS (see below): Here is a link that might be useful: Association for Butterflies has some good info on USDA/APHIS Permits

Yes we have been trying to hand pick off some of the predatory bugs; they seem to have a very efficient bush telegraph when it comes to news of a smorgasboard though. I am going to give it a try rearing some of the butterfly caterpillars indoors; have got nothing to lose as they are all going to get eaten if they stay outside. I just hope all these assassins are going to be as efficient when it comes to dealing with all the undesirable caterpillars that will start to put in an appearance later in the year... cheers... Rosalie.