Dripping dark and grey here. Temp up to 50 degrees and windy and WET and did I say DARK. Inside the house is bursting with Amaryllis,2 Exotica,Madrid, 2 Ruby Meyer, 2 small Scarlet Baby?, Exotic Star, Trentino, 3 Pink Surprise, and a Chico just opening. Lots more coming on in the workroom including 3 Dancing Queen, 3 Rilona and 3 ELvas, and something labeled Royal Velvet that is scarlet orange so who knows! WIshing you all a houseful of beauty and many new bulbs to grow in the coming months!

Molanic, yes, I have grown many plants to attract the Painted Lady, but never had any eggs/caterpillars at all. Maybe they prefer prairie habitat? I am a city gal, but I still get lots of them and American Ladies, too. I have grown the following: Hollyhocks False Nettle (still have for Red Admirals and QMs) Sunflowers Malva (High Mallow) Wormwood/Artemisia ssp. Thistle (Carduus ssp.) Lambsquarters (Chenopodium) Plantain (both lance-leaved and Dooryard) Yarrow The Dallas County Lep Society lists the following larval host plants for them, by family, genus and species. You can see I grew/grow many of the plants mentioned: ASTERACEAE: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), Western Sagewort (Artemisia campestris), Mexican Sagebrush (Artemisia ludoviciana), Musk-Thistle (Carduus nutans), Basket-Flower (Centaurea spp.), Tall Thistle (Cirsium altissimum), Texas Thistle (Cirsium texanum), Wavy-Leaf Thistle (Cirsium undulatum), Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare), Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), Milk-Thistle (Silybum marianum). BORAGINACEAE: Borage (Borago officinalis), Blueweed (Echium vulgare). CHENOPODIACEAE: Beet (Beta vulgaris), Lamb's Quarters (Chenopodium album). FABACEAE: Soy Bean (Glycine max). MALVACEAE: Hollyhock (Alcea rosea), Common Mallow (Malva neglecta), Little Mallow (Malva parviflora), Running Mallow (Malva rotundifolia), High Mallow (Malva sylvestris), Globe-Mallow (Sphaeralcea spp.). PLANTAGINACEAE: English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), Dooryard Plantain (Plantago major). URTICACEAE: Nettle (Urtica spp.). I have found several other butterfly species on a few of these plants, like Red Admirals and QMs on False Nettle, Gorgone and Silvery Checkerspots on Sunflowers, Buckeyes on Plantain, and Sooty Duskywings on Lambsquarters. You would think that as common as the Painted Ladies are, and as larval plant generalists, we would have found them on something, huh? I would like to add Artemisia ludoviciana, Milk Thistle (Silybum), and Pearly Everlasting (I have tried this but not been successful at growing it yet). Maybe another thistle other than Silybum, altho it's potential invasiveness makes me a little nervous about growing it. Also, you'd think with the numbers of PLs I see in the garden, at least one might be a gravid female, right? But, no such luck so far....... Maybe we will get lucky this year. Susan

WOW! What imaginative displays. I love them. Happy New Year to you too! And everyone else out there. Cheers, Peggy

Thank You Buehl! Wishing everyone a healthy, happy new year and much success at our kitchen renovations for those of us contemplating or in the throes of it.