Wendy - butterfly bush is very easy to grow via WS. I WS seeds from Token my first year and they all bloomed this year. Very high seed germination rate with WS. Yes, you can send SASBE for seeds. Cashclan - didn't see anything on your trade list I'm interested in. Do you want the seeds for postage/address label?

Sounds like a Forester Moth (Alypia sp) from the short description you offered, although I don't know if they have ever been recorded in your state. Records are few, very spotty and widespread for A. octomaculata in the NE for example (and yes, they can have or only appear to have 3 white spots). Best I can do from your description. L.

Ok Now I am not sure again. I was thinking that I saw a Banded Hairstreak because on the butterfly atlas webpage I was looking at, the picture looked a bit darker than the other choices, but after reading up on it, it seems the Edward's Hairstreak and the Striped Hairstreak are more common in my area. The spots near the tail are perfect for what I saw, but none look dark enough. I didn't notice a striped or spotted pattern on the wings, just the color spots. Can butterflies vary that much in their shading or should I just chalk it up to not seeing something well. Thanks again! Lisa Here is a link that might be useful: Massachusetts Butterfly Access

I remember when I saw my first Golden Silk spider (the large beauty pictured above)! Having moved recently from the North, I'd never had the 'pleasure' of meeting up with these lovely ladies, before! I was ready to pack my bags and leave the beautiful South, I tell you what! She is Nephila clavipes, often called the banana spider because of her coloration. She wears what I call fur bracelets on each of her 8 legs, a little adornment that I find pretty darned creepy/ By the way, all of the big spiders that we find hanging around in webs are female. This is true with all species. Males are very small, puny, and not good for much other than making more spiders (if they get a chance, lol).