Within the last week, I found out that 2012 was officially a boom year for RAs. Bust follows boom so that explains why I had zero in 2013. The population is still working its way back.

Well I'm looking forward to the next boom, then!

I found another spicebush swallowtail caterpillar, a little one. I try to get them before the parasitic wasps do!

Sherry

Beverly, I'm in southeast Mississippi in Zone 8. I'm just getting used to this new forum, and I haven't taken time to look at the Insect Forum. There used to be one, so I guess there is now, also.

I cut off the part of the leaf with the eggs (or whatever) on it and checked the rest of the leaves - no more bad critters.

If you want to use the photo on an insect forum, please do so. I'm wondering if they could be sawfly eggs? There are sawfly larvae all over my Carpinus caroliniana/ironwood - I can't recall ever finding sawfly larvae before.

I live in the woods, so there's no end to the insects!

Sherry

Okay Sherry...the photo of the mystery eggs has been posted to a site with good insect ID so i'll let you know what i find out.

If you can find an insect ID forum here, will you let me know where? I went through all the forum titles from a to z and sure didn't find one.

I am new here as well, Beverly

Beverly, actually, I've been posting on the ancestor of this forum since @2001, a forum owned by a man named Spike. Spike sold it to the previous group, now Houzz has it. Houzz does things differently.

Those 'eggs' are so cool. They look like little anemones, something from under the sea. I hope you find out what they are Sherry, I'm dying to know. Did you try Bugguide?

http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740

Not yet, msmorningsong, but I'm thinking it's a forum I should join, since there are so many bugs around here. I'm always wondering what various ones are. I recently found a cluster of eggs on a sweetgum tree while I was gathering leaves for my luna caterpillars. They look a little like luna eggs, but smoother. I keep watching them to see what hatches! :)

Hi Sherry...here is the response about your mystery eggs:
These are eggs of a stink bug (family Pentatomidae) - see https://www.flickr.com/photos/jean_hort/2287730022/ for another example.

Thanks, Beverly! Who'd have thought stink bugs would have such interesting looking eggs?

You are welcome. I've had my share of stink bugs in the garden, but never have seen the eggs. So now we know...one down and a few hundred million to go :-D

Hello msmorningsong...thank you for your "thank yous" and "likes" and positive comments. The butterfly forum seems to be healthy here, but overall i don't think this site is for me so i have moved on to another site, please know that i have appreciated your positive input :-D. Beverly

The first red admiral has emerged!

Unfortunately, this is the best picture I could get of it, since it flew out of the cage so quickly. There's a chrysalis in the picture, also -

Sherry

I love seeing brand new butterflies. They are so cheerfully colored and bright.

The picture is still great Ms. Sherry :-)

I have had a giant swallowtail in my garden for the last two days. She loves the pentas

and I'm hoping she'll use the white sapote for the orange dogs.

Found my first RAs of the year yesterday. Brought in 3 eggs and 3 cats.

It's good you brought in those eggs, KC, because they get taken so quickly by the little parasitic moths that make the little white cocoons. I've raised most of these from eggs, it's been more trouble, but definitely worth it!

Thanks Msmorningsong! I love the color of newly emerged butterflies, too, especially red admirals - that red is to die for! Congrats on the giant swallowtail! The pentas I planted this year are the prettiest I've ever had. The bloom clusters are real big and rounded. I'm going to see if they keep a history of my purchases at Almost Eden, so I can remember the name of the variety to order again next year - pentas never survive the winter here. I'll have to look up sapote, too. 'Must be in the citrus/rutaceae family.

Sherry

Congratulations KC. I have never seen the Red Admirals here.

MsSherry, yes, White sapote is in the citrus family. Most people have never tasted the fruit, as it bruises quite easily in transport, but is to die for. So it's a plus-plus. Some for the butterflies, and some for me :-) (A subtropical tree with beautiful foliage and custard-like fruit)

Mmmmmmm..........sounds wonderful!

Sherry

Insect Forum is here:
http://nature.gardenweb.com/forums/insect

Or use the link at the top of this forum.

I think we are in for another RA boom year! Last week when the privet was in full bloom, they were everywhere on it. I could not count them. They are on the banana feeder, too! They all looked like they were newly emerged.

Susan

That's great, Susan!

All mine but one have emerged and been released, including a big beauty today. So I'll be contributing to the boom!

Sherry

Continues to be a good RA year. No parasitoids yet. I'm able to bring in more cats every time I go out to get more food. Had a mama RA allow me to place my face right by her while she was laying eggs. Got a great view. Wish I had had my camera for video.

No parasitoids? Woohoo!!!! When I was bringing in my eggs/cats, I found one little white cocoon, but only one. I found a few more cats, which I'm raising - the others have all been released. But you're REALLY having a great RA year, KC!! Red admirals are near the top of my favorite butterfly list - their coloring is so beautiful!

Sherry

My "no parasitoids" streak ended. Was checking my containers yesterday and found a little guy next to the dreaded small white cocoon. With the great RA year I'm having, I'm sure the parasitoids will be out in force next year.

After all these years, I finally took the time to ID what comes out of the little white cocoons. It is a wasp in the Braconidae family. I believe it is in the genus Apanteles but not sure about species. I found some wasps in the genus Costesia that look like it but they are not known to use Leps.

I looked up Apanteles and came upon a list of what looked like about a thousand species! Still, whatever it is, it's common enough that what I have down here is undoubtedly the same as what you have up there. I'll guess it's a tiny wasp that depends wholly on red admirals for its existence - I've never seen a braconid wasp like it. You usually see big braconid wasp cocoons on the backs of big sphinx moth cats - these little things get enough to eat off the tiny little hatchlings and/or early instar caterpillars.

I released my first red admiral (a big one, probably a female) from the last batch, which was small. 'Hope I get more, but they don't always lay eggs in summer, even though there's always a 'road admiral' on my gravel road in the late evening - strange.

Sherry

From left to right: wasp cocoon, dead RA cat, dead wasp.

Both of my wasp expert buddies are out of country right now. Maybe in the fall I can get one of them to give me a species ID.