I have some Rue (Ruta graveolens) growing in pots on the front porch as I type Mary! I grew it from seed, and it seems to be coming along just fine. Thanks. We will see what happens. My little Hoptree is doing so great that it already has enough leaves to support some cat growth! I can't wait until the butterflies come rolling in. For me, it's usually August-November that I see the most. Angie

Cat, you are right - it is hectic raising them. #1 - there are so many of them; #2 - they eat more than you would think for such tiny cats; #3 - they drop off the leaf so it's difficult if you have to handle them just by using a cut off leaf. I finally caught on and held a shirt box bottom underneath the leaf as I gathered them. Heck - I'm still gathering them! But, I have both BPs and Silvery Checkerspots, too. The SCs appear mostly black in color, while the BPs have those golden reddish spots. Some of the Silvery Checkerspots are starting to pupate already. I guess it's time since it's been about 2 weeks since they were born. They are fun, but a lot more time consuming that the bigger caterpillars are. MissSherry - does their range not extend into your area of Louisiana? Susan

I put a wet paper towel around the base of the branch, and wrapped that with aluminum foil. I propped the branch up against the side of the cage. This morning, he is eating the leaves. I am going to leave him some fresh leaves this morning before I go to work. I know for a fact that I have been watching him on the tree for 15 days. How long do you think it will be before he pupates?

Hi KSOhio; I am in the Dayton, Ohio area. KC and I have had lots of conversations about butterflies. I also conduct a multitude of surveys down here. The literature states that swamp milkweed (A. incarnata) is the preference over three other native Asclepias species (Oviposition preference and larval performance of North American monarch butterflies on four Asclepias species Deborah T. Ladner & Sonia Altizer). In Florida A. curassavica is preferred over A. incarnata. (Malcolm SB & Brower LP (1986) Selective oviposition by monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus L.) in a mixed stand of Asclepias curassavica L. and A. incarnata). We find in practice that monarchs prefer A. incarnata to A. curassavica. It's just that currasavica is quick growing and can be managed easier at times because it is an annual. As to its preventing OE. Nope, we have fed it exclusively to Monarchs and gotten lots of OE. It might help the insect if a very low number of spores were consumed but I would not rely on it to prevent OE. Purchasing or importing Monarchs is a really bad idea. There are lots of reputable butterfly farms but some aren't. I volunteer at Cox Arboretum's butterfly house. We often get caterpillars from folks who have to go on vacation and "donate" their monarch caterpillar to us. The last batch was heavily infected with OE. Even so, your purchasing and raising Monarchs is not likely to help the population across the country or even in NW Ohio. The major issues for our monarchs in Ohio are as follows, 1) the condition and weather of the Mexican hibernation areas 2) the condition and weather of the first stopping over point along the gulf coast (the drought last year in Texas caused some of the lowest numbers yet) 3) the availability of nectar plants on migration (round-up ready crops have done a number on all butterflies as well as the suburbanization of farm lands). Be patient, get seed from local sources if possible and start plants this early spring and you will have all you need. In terms of the Giant Swallowtail. I would be interested in the citation for the white sapote. I have not found an article listing preferences for the GS. However, here is something to think about. You mentioned the hummingbird prefering local plants. This is very true of butterflies, with perhaps the exception of the Monarch (which makes sense since it migrates great distances). Sonia Altizer's study cites this; "Eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies (Papilio glaucus) sampled along a latitudinal gradient showed greater oviposition preference and larval performance on tree species that were relatively more abundant at their collection sites (Bossart & Scriber, 1995)." On this board we have noted that a butterfly growing in Miss Sherry's backyard may prefer something different to mine. So, I would definately think that GS's here would prefer local plants. Can you tell me why you think the GS is "dwindling"? If anything we have seen an increase. The GS is not a hardy overwintering butterfly. It can take cold temps but not well. So, with the change in our weather patterns, we are actually seeing more of them (see The Role of Environmental Factors In the Northeastern Range Expansion of Papilio cresephontes. Susan D. Finkbeiner, 2011). So, if you plant the right plants, I suspect you will attract them. Good luck, Elisabeth