Okay, one more time, :)...actually I love talking about wasps. I know most of you will be horrified, but I am becoming enamored of them for different reasons. To start with, I used to think there was just the paper wasp and the yellow jacket. Since starting to study parasitoids, I have learned that there are thousands (probaby millions) of different wasps. Most of these have highly specific lifecycles. Some are really beautiful, like the blue winged wasp. It uses the green junebug larva as a host. The green junebug larva does major damage to your lawn and these wasps help control it. However, Chalcid is short for the superfamily Chalcidoidea. It is a group of wasps, not one specific species of wasp. Chalcidoidea is one of if not the largest group of parasitoid wasps, with estimations of around 400,000 species in the world. These wasps are not only parasitoids, but depending on the species, may eat seeds, utilize flowers, or are gall formers in plants. Parasitoid Chalcids may use eggs, larva, or pupas. These wasps are generally small, and metallic colored. However, there is a lot of variety. So, one Chalcid is not parasitizing all the butterflies, a variety are. Parasitoid is different from parasitic. Parasitoid means that the host is eventually killed by the parasitoid. As opposed to a parasite that depends on the hosts survival. Wikipedia lists 12 different parasitoid superfamilies. This is probably changing day to day. Again, depending on the species, they will use different immature stages of the insect. Many different insect species are used as hosts. Including many agricultural and garden pests, such as aphids, beetles, and grasshoppers. This is a major part of nature's pest control. In the butterfly house we cannot control all butterfly predators, just some, and the caterpillars still strip bushes and trees bare. I imagine a world without parasitoids as a world devoid of green. This does not include a description of the Aculeata(?) the infraorder that includes paper wasps, yellow jackets, and the like. These are the wasps that eat caterpillars and feed them to their young. They do not use them as hosts. So, that being said, bringing the butterfly eggs into the house as soon as you see them laid, is the best strategy. Which is why so many of us are considered goofy, as we follow mom around the yard trying to talk her into laying eggs! That is no guarantee as I have found parasitoid wasps on my window sill and wonder "hmmm, where did that come from?" However, it will help a bunch. Otherwise, you have to use fine screening mesh to exclude them. Once you have the problem in your yard, it may be difficult to eradicate it. I know someone who brought chrysalis home and transferred the chalcid problem to her yard. Whew, Elisabeth

Your pic of AJ with RL can just about take your breath away......stunning together! I'm not a spider fan, but I'm very tempted to add ALFS to the garden as it has a lot of visual interest. First time I've seen ATTAM......my kind of daylily.....just love that one. I'm going to see the "Cats" musical on Wednesday......will be my third time to see it, and Cowgirl looks good enough to play a lead in that production.....very cute. Linda

Stephanie, you got a good thread going. And let me put in my 20 cents. Having been a pet owner for all of my life, and now having lived in the city for the last 20 yrs I have seen how careless people can be with pets. Sometimes to train an animal one has to use measures that might seem extreme to others. The soft BB's worked and it was his pet that he was training. I doubt he is that bad of a shot that he would miss a rump. And, it worked with little harm to the dog. And the neighbors garden is the winner. I have put rags soaked in a vinegar solution in areas that I want to protect from the countless stray cats that wander thru my yard/garden. We have indoor cats and two of them spend time outdoors on a leash. They are happy to lounge in the sun and watch me work. Or they explore in my jungle of plants/rocks/and garden junk. My illiterate neighbors (they are such, believe me, and from the number of 'guests' either they are very popular or do some kind of selling business. To keep their younguns happy they got them a kitten for Christmas a year and a half ago. Once the kitten got old enough to fight back against the mauling, it was soon let outdoors for longer and longer periods. Now, it is a pest. But they probably don't care. Last year I was friendly towards it and felt sorry for it and even set out food for it (and still do). But it has become an unwelcome guest and will even come up and fight with my leashed neutered cats. So, now I keep a spray bottle with a 10% vinegar solution. The first time I got it wet and even a bit the second time. Now, all I have to do is hold the bottle and it turns tail. Same thing happened with training one of my indoor cats from bad behavior. All I do now is make a 'swish' sound holding my hand out and it knows to stop doing something. There are rules that they must follow. Now in the garden where I don't want that neighbors cat at night (and to all the other countless feral cats around) I place a small piece of rag soaked in that vinegar solution from the bottle. I have noticed that they avoid this area. I can't stop this cat or the others from 'cruising' my yard but I seem to have been able to prevent them from lingering in the front or in newly planted areas. The back I don't care about. And in the alley is where I put some food occassionally. (My elderly neighbor has been doing this for years, especially in the winter). I have noticed a lack of birds this year. And my favorite cat got out a torn screen once and spent 3 days 'lost'. He came back the third morning while I was out (late eve's and early a.m.) searching the neighborhood. I never knew there were that many B&W cats (Tuxedos I guess) around this area. My guess is that many started from the playful kitten that soon got let out or outright abandoned. They bred and there is enough abandoned sheds, garages,etc for them to breed more litters. Probably keeps the mice and rat population in check but they also kill birds and other mammals. Such is city life for them and me. Flinging the liter over the fence makes about as much sense as me flinging the occassional beer can back over. It don't work so now I add them to the recycle bin but I still fling the bottle back. The worst offenders moved a year ago so this hasn't been much of a problem since. And, I found that giving tomatoes to the top dog (The big Mamma) kinda keeps the peace. She's ok but her kids are rather feral themselves. BTW, the ones that moved left their beloved pet kitten (then a cat), behind to fend for itself. It disappeared a few weeks after they abandoned it. I don't know why, perhaps it lost a fight? Animal control don't patrol for feral cats. There are too many. What progess have you made? If you are still flinging the poop over the fence, I would add that if you would add it to some clay cat litter and place it (perhaps in the dead of night) in one location near your property line, the cat might start to believe that this is where it is supposed to go. Then just keep dropping the poop there, no need for more litter. It might just get the hint that probably escapes the humans.

Nine years I've had my hissy girl. She started out being angry for me petting her, but skidding into the kitchen for food. She now knows I'll feed her regularly, so no more running at full pace and sliding. She turned the corner a few years ago, showing her belly to me. She turned the corner for being held two years ago (she'll even let me carry her around). She turned the corner to relax and trust me 100%, this week. She may even be at the point my last cat was. I'd put him in the sink and bathe him without him trying to run away, just sat there and took it. She still has to be held somewhat, but purrs at the end of it all, glad to be clean. Years....I just kept pushing her past her comfort zone. It's taken a really long time. I'm in it for the longhaul, so I'll keep on going.