We’ve had temperatures in the mid 70s last week. My little plum tree is flowering. Lots of different bees and flies around. I am worried about this, next Saturday the temperature is going to be 34. Probably a bit colder at my place since it’s so open. What do the butterflies and other insects do when this happens? I also sa a lady and a sleepy orange.

Oh you guys are living nice and warm. I have three months before any butterflies will show up. I am thrilled for this season, i am going to have a lot of new plants.

Seeing more and more every day here in Central Florida where I'm trying to recover from severe frost damage. The most numerous are Monarchs now, but I've seen Tigers, Giants, Frits, Admirals and some others.

I don't have nearly enough flowers for them now, but I'm working at it.

Good to hear from all three of you! I saw a tiger swallowtail yesterday and two pipevine swallowtails today. The pipevines are beginning to make new growth, as are the wild black cherry trees, so they should both have host plants available.

Iris, it probably doesn't hurt butterflies and bees, they probably find a warm crack in a tree or something, but I can't say that for sure. It's not supposed to get anywhere near that cold here, and it's in the 70's again today and windy, feels like late March. After all the LONG, COLD weather we had in the winter, it's warmer than normal now!

Jacob, when were having that very cold weather (for here) I kept thinking I knew for sure I didn't ever want to live up north - it's worse than I thought!

I'm not surprised you had frost damage, Tom. My daughter in north Tampa said it got abnormally cold there, too.

Sherry

'Saw a pearl crescent this afternoon while I was working outside - YAY!

After a couple of rainy days, I finally was able to go work outside. The only butterfly I saw was a cabbage white. There are so many different kinds of bees and flies around the flowering trees! Wish I would know more about them. As seen in my post trying to find out what one is. I did get a book for Christmas, but it’s making my head spin. At least I managed to identify the ants that invaded one of my bathrooms.

I have a lot of trouble IDing the different bees here, also, Iris. The ones in my insect book aren't the same as those we have here, at least most aren't.

Before I post this picture on another forum, I'll post it here, in case some of you know what it is. It's a plant that was growing in a mixed planter and blooming in August or September in Charleston, SC when I visited my sister there. It's pretty, but, whatever it is, it's not offered for sale in nurseries here -

Sherry

Sherry, did you figure out what kind of plant it is? I tried looking, since it reminded me a bit of cockscomb, but didn’t find it. Maybe related to this?

Spring isn't springing nearly fast enough for me up here! We had a little spate of warm weather in late February but March has been just gruesome so far - cold and drippy and dark clouds and then northeaster storms one after another dropping soggy snow everywhere. Not as bad here as in the coastal cities, but still they've been making a mess. Today it wasn't actually raining or snowing or freezing but still chilly and windy.

I keep reminding myself that while the weather has its ups and downs, there's still more daylight every day and the sun is gradually getting higher in the sky, to the point where the sunlight is juussst starting to reach my garden....

The Parsley, I know how you feel. No snow here, but plenty of really cold rain. No butterflies to be seen. Last Saturday was kind of sunny and I saw blueberry bees. Only males I think. I did some reading up on them, Fascinating creatures. Picture my daughter took. Identified as male because of the white face.

Iris, yes, the plant is a hot pink variety of cockscomb.

I hate to brag, but the butterfly situation is very good here, even though we've had an awful lot of rain. I've been seeing a goatweed leafwing in my garden on just about every sunny day. I've seen many tiger swallowtails, a few palamedes swallowtails, silver spotted skippers, and a female spicebush swallowtail has been laying eggs all over sassafras growing on my property. Also found a lot of sleepy orange eggs on the new growth on Christmas cassia. Saw a gorgeous, newly-emerged looking red admiral today, and there is plenty of false nettle available if it was a female. I even saw a monarch in the parking lot at Walmart!

I've bought a house in Hattiesburg. I'm making cuttings and ordering plants to try and make a good butterfly garden out of my new back yard. I'll be keeping this country property as long as it's feasible.

Sherry

Sherry, I am jealous. I had to look up the leafwing. I did see the first hummingbird today. Luckily I was ready. Not much around other than daffodils and some trees. And it might freeze again tomorrow night. I am so ready for Spring.

Congrats on the hummingbird, Iris. You had to be one of the first in your area to see one. I have seen two, a male and a female, who are migrants. I had a female hang around all winter.

I am seeing more butterflies every day, but I'm still very much in recovery mode from the extensive damage that the December freeze caused here.

I saw my first hummingbird, a male ruby-throat of course, on March 10th, a couple of days earlier than usual, so I put two feeders out for them. It got cold here last night, Iris, but no freeze. It had been SO warm the day before!

I saw the most beautiful red admiral yesterday, looked newly emerged!

I'm sorry about your freeze damage, Tom, but I'm not surprised. We had the longest cold spell in January I can remember in a long time, with freezes every night for several days, can't remember how many. Strangely, I had a lot less freeze damage than expected, but then I don't have many tropicals. Most of my tropical MW is coming back at the bottom of the plants, really surprising!

Sherry

I brought some Spring in today from the garden. It’s so windy! I am feeling sorry for the birds. No bee or butterfly to be seen.

The butterfly population is most definitely picking up here. I have 4 monarch cats in the big planter of milkweed and lots of milkweed in the ground for them too. Saw a Giant swallowtail, several long-tailed skippers, a queen, white peacock, orange-barred sulphurs and lots of Gulf frits and monarchs (I have both of these year-round) Monday. The last 2 days have been a little chilly and very windy, so not as much activity.

The little butterfly host plants in my yard (aka weeds) are blooming like crazy now. I've got corky-stemmed passion vine growing wild in the shrubs and magnolias...I'll leave it until it starts looking too bad. I told Joe not to smoosh any caterpillars on the grapefruit tree without checking with me first as they would most likely be Giants. Our neighbor has lemon trees, so lots of leaves for them to eat.

My garden has recovered very nicely after being cut back after Irma and the rare hard freeze we got about a month ago. I have been neglectful in starting the Mexican sunflower seeds but they are popping up all over in the garden as a result of self-seeding...some are almost a foot tall. If any of you needs seeds, please let me know.

Iris, Tom and Sherry...I am so jealous...still no hummingbird :( If I see them, it should be soon as I saw the first one the last week of March last year. They didn't stay more than a few days, just migrating through.

Glad to hear everyone is still here, it was getting a little too quiet on this site. :)

Rhonda

Maybe it's quiet because many of us are having a late spring! My garden has disappeared again under 5-6 inches of snow after yesterday's storm. And even without the FOUR northeaster storms we've had this March, it's also been running about ten degrees below average on all the NON-storm days.

Oh well, this latest snow dump is melting quickly, and in about a week's time it should finally start getting warm. At this point I'd be overjoyed to see the thermometer get above 45. But I'm starting tithonias under light in the basement, and operating on the faith that spring WILL come, darnit! It has to!

Feeling for you, Parsley.

Glad to see that you have hummers, Sherry. I have a few now, at least one male and one female, both coming to the feeders.

You have more butterflies than any of us, Rhonda. I know you want hummers, but the butterflies are always there and always a joy to see. I love to see my hummers, but they are there for a few seconds and then gone.

Meanwhile I keep tearing up dead plants and putting in others. Going to place another order with Almost Eden today, I think.

It is Celosia plant on photo.

Tom, I already placed an Almost Eden order, too. I should probably wait ordering more plants until I get an idea of what I have. It’s been so cold this winter. While I was weeding today I discovered at least a hundred Bronze Fennel seedlings though.

I never get seedlings. Do you need male and female plants? Are there male and female funnels?

I have never had seedlings before (but I just had the fennels for 4 years). From what I read it re seeds freely and might even be a problem in milder areas. Some of them are already 2 inches and robust looking, so I hope they will make it. I could use a few more and know some people to take some of my hands if needed.

Saw my first red-spotted purple today, a joy.

Rhonda, you've really got a lot of butterflies and caterpillars already! I should be getting some caterpillars soon, since some have laid eggs. I'm going to go and look for eggs on low growth on little wild black cherry trees - there was a female black form tiger swallowtail in the area, so maybe she laid some eggs, there are plenty of males around.

Sherry

I checked out the cherry leaves where I saw the female tiger, and look what I found -

If you look real close, you can see a hatchling tiger swallowtail caterpillar. I also found two tiger eggs -

Sherry

MissShery

Are you located in Florida? If so are you not in the Panhandle? I'm curious because I didn't know Tigers used Black cherry that much in peninsular Florida. Them using it would give me yet another reason to try to find one as a potted plant

@Tom

All fennels should produce seed, following the yellow flowers. Mine always do but they do not reseed like dill does. They are an invasive species in places like California which is closer to their native Mediterranean climate but I don't think they spread so much in FL.

I'm in southeast Mississippi, halfway between Hattiesburg and Gulfport. My Florida books say the southern tiger swallowtail that occurs south of Ocala only uses sweetbay/Magnolia virginiana. So if you're in Jacksonville, your tigers would use a variety of host plants, probably the same as mine - wild black cherry/Prunus serotina, sweetbay/Magnolia virginiana, tulip tree/Liriodendron tulipifera, and wafer ash/Ptelea trifoliata. I have found caterpillars on the four host plants I listed. The book also lists some ashes as host for them, but I don't have any ash trees here, wafer ash being in the citrus family, believe it or not, and it's the favorite of giant swallowtails here. I don't know if wild black cherry is their favorite or second favorite host plant - I see them flying high in the tulip trees, where they undoubtedly lay eggs, but the leaves are usually too high up for me to find caterpillars. I have found them once or twice on leaves that sprout lower on the trunks of the big tulip trees.

Sherry

Okay thanks c: Yeah even though I am technically north of Ocala since I'm so close to coast (+ East Coast is more subtropical than West Coast) I think mine only use Sweetbay magnolia in that case.

Tulip tree is very pretty, it's a pity my area (due to zone creep) is increasingly unsuited for it. I bet it is being used by some butterflies.

Anyway thank you.. I appreciate your pictures!! Butterflies still aren't back yet for me so pics are all I got.

bunch of blooming lantana and Salvia greggii and signet marigolds but no butterflies, it's a bit weird. Huge strands of uneaten milkweed, fennel, cudweeds (Painted lady), and florida pellitory (Red admiral) too.

Sherry,

Are you going to raise those Tigers or let nature raise them? Looks beautiful down there we finally had the first spring rain last night so we are still 2 months before the first butterflies.

Jacob

I'm raising them, Jacob, don't trust nature.

Tom, did the freezes (they were in Jan.) wreck your big dwarf firebush
completely? Wiped out all of mine.
All other plants not bad; escapes understanding.

Sherry, is your new house in urban area?
I am guessing that the butterfles that you report here
are at your big property.

Question to all : Have you ever known Beauty Berry to have
berries in March? One of mine did /does,
which is FAR off the normal mid- late summer occurrence.

My new house is in the Historic District of Hattiesburg, urban to me, but really just a small town. There are some real big oak trees in the back yard, but there's enough open, sunny area that I can plant some butterfly plants. I'm keeping my country place, so maybe I can introduce some butterflies from the country to what is really a suburban type area in Hattiesburg. I see and hear birds there, but haven't seen any butterflies so far.

Sherry

Four, I have many Hamelia Patens, some were the so-called "dwarfs" that really weren't' and others that were the regular, "native" red firebushes. All of them got seriously "burnt" by the freezes--especially the one where it got down to 27 degrees for something like seven hours and stayed freezing for longer. I have had to pay about five hundred dollars so far to have the tops of these plants removed. Many of them were over ten feet tall. I had an area of about sixty feet by fifteen or twenty feet where they had completely taken over. I had them in several other parts of my property also. I am still cutting off the tops...

Most of them are coming back at the root level. I am now restructuring major parts of my yard. It is very expensive and labor intensive. In some ways, though, it's exciting to put in other plants.

Sherry, you are involved in a labor of love. Putting in new plants is exciting and rewarding. I'm sure it will turn out well for you and the butterflies and hummingbirds. I hope you have someone who will provide basic maintenance on your property in the country.

Pretty bad picture, but Spring is starting to spring.

Tom, I'm afraid I'm the only one who'll do maintenance on the country house - maybe I can find somebody to help out. I'm so sorry to hear about the death of your tropicals. The freezes we had this past winter lasted the longest that I can remember in a LOOONG time!

I'm planning on planting a couple of pipevines in part sun/part shade close to the oaks. I'll plant the passionvines (P. incarnata) in a sunnier spot. I've brought two old planters from the country to town, since I have so much more success gardening that way. I'll also have a raised bed with a variety of the best nectar plants for hummers and butterflies - 'won't have as much space as I'm used to, so I'll only use the best, tried and true plants for nectar. I'm also going to plant some hops trees in part sun/part shade in the new back yard, hoping to get some giant swallowtails.

Sherry

Will you hang some hummer feeders, Sherry? I have had great success with the First Nature feeders attracting hummers and now Baltimore Orioles. They have been with me for the last two months or so and also three month last fall.

Another real hard hit for me were the large purple porterweeds. My biggest ones were almost completely killed off. I had some that were over ten feet high. They were, and will be again, the most productive nectar plants for both butterflies and hummers.

I hope you can find some help for your country house.

Yes, I have feeders for hummingbirds here, Tom, and will hang some for them in Hattiesburg.

I'm so sorry about your porterweed! Mine never make it to 10' because I either dig them up in early winter and keep them in a pot inside, or they die in the ground. I don't think they can take even a light freeze. My most productive plant for both hummers and butterflies is the butterfly bush 'Orange Septre' - hummers don't like the regular B. davidii types of butterfly bush, but they LOVE this one. I rooted one to plant in Hattiesburg.

Once I get moved in I'm going to have to have surgery on my retina - no peace or rest for the weary!

Sherry

Sherry, about your passionvines planting :
Gulf Fritillaries, for laying, strongly favor the plants that are
next to a wood fence, or next to house /shed.

I have a question regarding spicebush swallowtails. I read they use sweetbay magnolia. Is that true because I thought just Tiger Swallowtails used it as a host plant.

Nope, wrong family (proliferated throughout Web). Spicebushers do Lauraceae.

Oh okay! Thank you!

I'm extremely jealous of these pics. Its just been an awful Spring. Not much of a Spring. Ready for drier days.

Gardenfullofswallowtails, I know what you mean. My drawers have never been so organized. On the bright side, it has been easy on the plants to be divided and transplanted. My walkway is lined with pots. Sorted out this batch for my daughter’s friend to pick up tomorrow. This is the third time she is coming by for plants this Spring, so her butterfly patch should be well on its way.

That's so kind of you to do that, Iris. I've been casually surveying wherever I can: what does your potting media consist of?

ETA: With the heat officially 'on' as of a couple of weeks ago (mid- to upper 90s every day...just blistering!), I'm in the yard until ~ 10 a.m., then duck inside to the comfort of my A/C. Watching for a swallowtail egg to hatch and monitoring the yard for butterflies to swoop through: like waiting for water to boil! :)

> porterweeds.... ten feet high"

Tom, mine always bloom less when they have reached four feet (regardless of locations in yard). Perchance do you fertilize yours?