Hey everyone, there are actually 2 very very simular looking caterpillars and they both feed on Hackberry..: the first one is the TAWNY EMPEROR caterpillar: it is mostly green and has 2 wide yellow stripes on its uppersides and straight yellow bands on its lower sides.The adult has a wingspan of about 2.5 inches. the second one is the HACKBERRY BUTTERFLY caterpillar:it looks very much like the first one mentioned,but this one has yellowish V-markings along the sides,the narrow bands on upper sides are more narrow.The knobs on the head are usually longer than the ones from the Tawny Emperor. This Butterfly is with his 2 inches wingspan a lil smaller than the T.E. and also the colors are a lil lighter. The Hackberry Butterfly is more common.. Butterfly-Greetings Susanne(SUE) Hackberry Butterfly: http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/cimg284.html Here is a link that might be useful: Tawny Emperor

I'm live in PA and agree with mostone about the tropical milkweed. It's the only kind I have here anymore. I don't have to worry about it spreading all over the place, the butterflies prefer it here to any other milkweed I've tried, and it blooms up until the frost. That takes care of the Monarchs. Now, it just depends what kind of butterflies you want to attract and you can go from there with what kind of plants to plant. Both Black Swallowtails and Giant Swallowtails lay their eggs on rue (make sure it's Ruta graveolens). False nettle is a host plant for Red Admirals, Question Marks, and Eastern Commas. Cassia hebecarpa is host for Clouded Sulphurs, Clouded Sulphurs, Little Yellows, and Sleepy Oranges. Lupinus perennis is host for various types of butterflies. Violets are a host for various types of fritillaries. The Variegated Fritillary cats will also eat passionvine (as does the Gulf Fritillary, but you probably don't get those there). Baptisia australis (wild indigo) hosts a bunch of different kinds of butterfly cats. If you want to attract Zebra Swallowtails, plant paw paw trees, and you'll have the bonus of getting fruit from them. I could name many more garden plants, bushes and trees for you that are butterfly host plants, but I really don't know what you're looking to attract. For nectar plants I highly recommend Verbena bonariensis, which is a prolific seeder, but the butterflies just love it. I get more butterflies and a greater variety of them on that plant than any other kind that I have in the garden. Today I had dozens of Common Buckeyes and skippers on mine. Cathy

In my opinion, the best field guide is Butterflies of North American by Brock & Kaufman - you'll find all our Gulf Coast/Deep South butterflies there, plus others. The best caterpillar/host plant book for our area, in my opinion, would be Florida Butterfly Gardening by Minno & Minno. Two other real good butterfly/caterpillar books for our area are Butterfly Gardening for the South by Ajilvsgi and The Life Cycles of Butterflies by Burris & Richards. If you get these four books, I don't think you'll need any other ones. Sherry

Well I didn't see anymore of those pesky boogers, but I decided to spray it with some organic spray from Home Depot made for Fruit and Vegetable plants. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. I also noticed that black ants (Sugar ants?) are crawling all over my mint, so I sprayed it too :P Gosh, did they disappear in a hurry like :P I've just really gotten back into gardening, so I guess I'm learning all about these pesky little insects. A friend of mine told me to sprinkle red pepper around the plants and that it would keep the ants away. :) I want to get a stevia plant, so I guess I'd better do that :P On the bright side, will tending my growing garden, I had the opportunity to watch a Great Horned Owl mosey about my backyard with a little bird pestering him nearby :P And a little hare, who didn't see me, made his way onto my deck. Only when I moved and made a noise did he hop away. :)