Thanks, Sherry, I sure hope I have lots of photo ops, there haven't been many butterflies so far. Last year by this time, I was inundated with caterpillars galore, of several species. I only have a few black swallowtails right now. About a month ago, the monarchs were laying eggs like mad. But those cats have all emerged from their chrysalids and did not hang around to lay any more eggs. Hopefully, they will be back soon. Mechelle

There were some Hummingbird moths busying around in my garden two days ago. They were enjoying the pretty purple flowers on the Henbit. :) Cute little fuzzy fellers. Two of my young cats, Cheddar Jack and Little Brother Cat, followed them around, curious about these "new bees". They were just tiny kittens when I got them on Memorial Day weekend last year, so they are a novelty to them. They only followed them though. They learned about honeybees and wasps earlier this month. ~Annie

Actually, in our part of CT -- central to north central -- this was a banner year for milkweed!! Until now, that is... The patch in my meadow must have quadrupled this year, and it was in every bit of land along roads and even in shopping center parking lot strips. However, after Irene, I noticed my large stand in the meadow has shriveled and turned brown. Last year we had monarch caterpillars galore into early October. This year (though I have not yet waded into the remains of it) I can't see much green left, so there can't be much caterpillar activity. But YES! We can all plant milkweed, even if it's just in the back of a border or behind a barn. Massive quantities in the Midwest are gone because the farmers there now have corn that is Roundup resistant -- so they can spray their fields to get rid of the milkweed and not harm the corn. (Though why you want to feed anyone or anything corn that has been sprayed with Roundup is beyond me.) And they DO! NY Times had a great piece about it this summer ... Check out MonarchWatch.org and consider planting a few monarch-friendly plants, maybe even get your yard certified as a Monarch Waystation (there's no minimum size--and I can attest that milkweed will even grow in a pot on your patio, which makes watching those caterpillars work their magic so much easier!). It's a terrific project ... and the monarchs will thank you. I swear, they dip their wings as they head off in the fall ... pretty sure they're saying "thanks!!" Me, I just whisper "Godspeed" as I watch them bank to the southwest over my barn, beginning their amazing journey. Here is a link that might be useful: MonarchWatch.org

I wish I had swallotails! There are citrus trees around here, in fact, my next door neighbor has one, but no swallowtails yet. Maybe after I start my butterfly garden next year, they will come. I'm getting so many wonderful things finding my garden -- butterflies, ladybugs, lacewings, and finally honeybees. I think it's going to be awesome next year when I plant more flowers.