Butterflutter, no, I'm talking about actual wild blueberries/vaccinum elliotii. Huckleberries/v. arboreum also grow on my property, but they never bloom this early - v. elliotii frequently does, always when we have cold weather early, followed by a long warm spell, like we've been having lately. Last year the weather pattern was different, the wild blueberries didn't bloom until February, and there were plenty of ripe blueberries in May for the birds and people, if you have the patience to pick the little things! Different people have different common names for the same plant, but I think we're both talking about v. arborea when we talk about huckleberries. I don't see swallowtails in January naturally - the only ones I see are the few that emerge out of season each year in my unheated bedroom, usually a black swallowtail. I don't think we're having global warming, this is just a typical warm spell in January - the temps were way below normal only a few weeks ago. Sherry

Randy, beautiful picture and congrats. It's so good to see that butterflies are appearing for some of you. It'll be awhile yet up here in CT since its always cold and windy. But for some reason I thought that your little beauty was a female, not a male. Our male BSTs here have a lot more yellow on the wings. Anyone? Maaryann in Ct

I was reading through this page and then read "Hey KC!" I had to re-read everything since I was sure I had not posted. Thought maybe it was an old thread but no, April 2010. I was confused. Finally scrolled down far enough to read the correction. I had two red admirals enjoying the flowers on my crabapple yesterday (first RA sighting of the year). My stinging nettles are growing like crazy so I'm hoping I'll be in RA business soon. I heard that lunas are already flying around Dayton. KC

That's great! I had so many Black Swallowtails last year, that I left them on their own last year. They stripped all of my Fennel, Zizia, and Rue twice. But, of course, that's what I grow it for. Tiger Swallowtails are known to use Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana), and Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) in Oklahoma. Re: Parsley plants. Just make sure there have been no chemicals sprayed or systemics used on them, or, if you're not sure, you can segregate for at least 30 days before allowing the egg-laying mamas access to the plants. It is unlikely that an herb plant would be sprayed, by I always err on the side of caution. Otherwise, the caterpillars will likely die from ingesting the toxins. That happened to Lisa last year, and it is so devastating. My fennel and Rue are ready for eggs, as is the False Nettle for the Red Admirals, milkweed for the Monarchs, Elm and Hops vine for the Question Marks, Hackberry for the Hackberry and Tawny Emperors, Baptisia australis 'minor' for the Wild Indigo Duskywings, a bit of pipevine for the Pipevine Swallowtails, Honeysuckle for the Snowberry Clearwing moths, Plaintain for the Buckeyes, Rue for the Giant Swallowails, as well as the Black. I hope I get some butterflies now. I rescued 4 baby Hackberry Emperor caterpillars and put them in a container to raise, and they are doing fine. These guys overwinter as caterpillars by making little nests in the foliage in the fall, the leaves drop to the base of the trees, and in spring, the little guys climb up to the newly emerging foliage to continue eating. Fascinating. Good luck with your chrysalises! Susan