Every year my property has less grass -- I am seriously on the verge, Tom. :) How great to hear about all the activity where you are.

I can tell by the number and types of eggs on my various plants that someone's visiting (black swallowtails, giant swallowtails and monarchs), but rarely do I catch them in the act. (That said, I've been spying a monarch that's been hanging around for the past 1/2 hour.)

It's an active yard with cardinals, blue jays, mockingbirds, bumblebees, honey bees, dragonflies, wasps (grrr!), and anole lizards (double grrrr!) -- just hoping the butterflies aren't shunning all the predators.

One small, dark brown moth has been flitting about, but I don't know what it is.

Iris, I have seen maybe two zebra swallowtails on my property in some twenty years. I do see them when I walk in a nearby park, though. Hopefully things will pick up for you soon.

Happy to see that you have such an active yard, Javiwa. There are so many other living things to enjoy in our gardens. Glad to see that you enjoy the honey bees. Many people are frightened of them. I think I've only been stung once or twice by them or the large bumble bees--and then only when I stepped on them or hit them accidentally.

Wasps are another story.

I am currently reading a book (Bees, an identification and native plant forage guide) that tells me to take an inventory of the bees I have to plan my planting. Not going to happen in this lifetime. It’s so hard! Very interesting though.

Send some of your butterflies up here. I saw my first Great Spangled Fritillary yesterday. I usually just saw the Variegated. Just not a good year up here. It's been windy and rainy and everything is late. My butterfly bushes just started to bloom. I've got Fennel and Dill. Someone visited me, and left some caterpillars.

Finally... :) I think this is the first Monarch on my white buddleia, which has been patiently waiting and blooming for months.

Wow, these are really great pictures!

Tom, This is going to be a banner year for me as well. I have monarchs and frits year round. But, I'm seeing polydamus, sulphurs, Eastern Black swallowtails, Giants, peacocks (love them), Buckeyes, the large white one, lots of skippers and duskywings, many very tiny ones in the weeds in my yard and finally today, my first zebra longwing.

Iris, I love that little guy! Great pic!

Javi, that monarch and the pics are gorgeous! The white buddelia is beautiful. Knock on wood, for the first time in Florida I am having success with a pretty light purple one that I planted in a 30 gallon pot that is getting huge and blooming like crazy. Hope it doesn't get hit by the nematodes.

These pics aren't as outstanding as yours but I love monarchs who are so accommadating for me and my camera :)

Here's a male on an almost spent Phyllis' Fancy salvia (cape daisy in the background). This is one of the butterflies favorite nectar plants.

And on purple porterweed

Rhonda

Today was among the better days, with that monarch AND a giant in and out of the yard all day. Both loved the new duranta tree I bought this year, so that's definitely a keeper. I've got zinnias and pentas all over the yards, but the butterflies don't seem interested at all. And I'm so disappointed in my tithonia seeds, which I scattered into my bed over a month ago, and maybe only two are sprouting. At this rate, who knows if butterflies will still be around when these start to bloom.

The Zinnias are the favorite nectar plant in my yard right now. If you don’t count the big leaf mountain mint since there are mostly bees, wasps and flies on there. Mexican sunflowers are just starting to get buds. The Zinnias are also attracting some weird ones.

Nice, Iris -- I'm so jealous! :) Do the giants hang out at the zinnias pretty much throughout the day, or are there optimal feeding times? I wonder if I'm just not looking out the window at the right time. As it is, I'm darting back and forth between front and back yard windows, as I've got zinnias and pentas planted in both locations: good thing no one's watching.

ETA: No hummingbirds, either! :(

Iris, what a beautiful tiger!! I love zinnias but have no luck growing them. Mexican sunflowers are another story. I never have to start seeds as they self-sow all the time. Monarchs do love them so.

The frits really like the pentas. Like Tom, I like the taller lanceolatas. I'd have to say that in my garden that the pentas, purple porterweed, Phyllis'Fancy and Amistad salvias and Hamelias are the most popular after the Mexican sunflower. Bottlebrush was always a popular plant in my Williston, Florida home, especially with the Giants, but I can't get it to grow well here.

This year I have seen more Tiger Swallowtails on my property
than ever before. I ascribe this to two major factors.

First, we had a very wet May here in Central Florida, not
sure, but we may have received more than 20 inches total. For some reason more Tigers appear when we
have a wet spring and this was a very wet spring.

The second factor is that this year I have more blooming Tithonias
(Mexican Sunflowers). I believe that I have something like fifteen plants in
full bloom in one place on my property which is where I see most Tigers—and really
where I see most butterflies.

I have now concluded that the tithonia is the best nectar
plant for butterflies. Period. They get
visits from many other pollinators also. They are easy to grow from seeds and
not expensive—something like $7 for 100 seeds from Amazon. I am now getting
ready to start my second batch of the year. The ones that are blooming now will
begin to die off in another month or so. I will put the seeds in one-gallon
pots and put them in the ground when they are well rooted.

I spend about ten minutes a day dead-heading the spent
flowers. I think that helps the plants put out more flowers. Also, It is
necessary to stake the plants, as they will get over six feet tall and branches
will break off it they aren’t supported (some will break off regardless.)

One can get seeds from the spent flowers, but I have had
more success ordering them online. They have a better fertility rate for me.

I strongly recommend this flower. I have seen them in two
colors, orange and yellow. I like the orange better, but I’m not sure either
color is preferred by pollinators.

As a note, I am going to post this in the Florida Gardening forum also.

I'm inspired, Tom, and will try the tithonia again. I bought my seed packet from Walmart, thinking this would be a no-brainer...they just haven't sprouted (except for the several recently). Would you mind pointing me to a link, or am I fairly safe going with whichever vender? How 'bout a specific variety? TIA

Rhonda: I'd read butterflies prefer the taller lanceolata Pentas; but at the nursery, they all seem to be labelled lanceolata -- can't tell which ones are the newer hybrids and which ones are the taller, more desirable variety.

I ordered my seeds from Select Seeds last year. Ordered again, but gave them away since I had so many popping up from last year. I did have to move some of them and they took it really well. The butterflies are still not really showing up until lunchtime. This is the only Giant I have seen. How do you tell male or female with them?

According to one site, "The female has a smaller yellow area at the upside of hind wings."

The female's pictured beneath the male:

Another site says: "One can see the black spot in the third yellow oval from the wing tip. This is an identifying characteristic. Male's third yellow oval from the wingtip is solid yellow. Females also have thinnner yellow bands but unless a male is present to compare to, it is tough to tell. "

This is a female:

Dunno about you, but my Giants don't hold still long enough for me to examine. :)

Ooooo, I see the dot on yours, Iris, so I think that's a female.

This Giant was in my yard for quite a bit throughout the day -- looks like he's a he. :)

...which explains why, after all the hanging about my orange tree today, I didn't find any new eggs.

Thanks to all of you for your breathtaking photos. Absolutely gorgeous! I've read a couple articles recently by people bashing Buddleias saying they are ruining the ecosystem. I only grow 2 of them and they aren't invasive in my area, and basically the rest of the yard is filled with native nectar and host plants, so I don't think I'm doing any harm. If anything the butterfly bushes probably help draw the butterflies in so they can find the host plants that are waiting for them. Good works all.

Javiwa, here is the link. All I did is put the words "tithonia seeds" into the Bing search engine and looked for the Amazon link.

Jay, I've never seen that the Buddleias were invasive. I wish we could grow them here in Florida, but I've given up on them, because the nematodes destroy the roots. Rhonda is growing one in a big pot. I've done that before but eventually gave up as it was too much trouble watering, deadheading and then trying to protect the roots from growing out of the pots.

From what I've read the larval plants are more likely to draw in specific butterflies. However, I'm sure that the nectar plants also attract them and the Buddleias can certainly be big signs that say "dinner is on the table."

Jay: At the rate my buddleias have died over the years, I'm definitely not adding to the problem. I'm blaming my butterfly obsession on empty nest syndrome: the maternal instinct needs an outlet, and it's either this or my daughter's threatening to buy me a puppy. :)

Thank you, Javiwa. I am really terrible at telling them apart. No eggs for me either. Unless they are hidden in the Rue somewhere.

Look who finally showed up! Actually saw 3 of them.

What is that? (Zinnia, naturally...)

I did a bit of Googling and found common buckeye butterfly for the second one...maybe?

I think the last one is a Red-banded Hairstreak. Not sure what the first one is. Glad to see that you are having some pretty visitors, Iris.

What happened to Miss Sherry? I haven't seen her post in a long time. She would be able to identify the butterflies.

I knew hairstreak, just not what kind. Buckeyes are actually the only kind I have by the dozens right now.

Found my quick guide. This could be it, right? The wings didn’t look skipper to me, but what do I know?

wow! I counted seven of them. That's difficult to believe. Your cone flowers are gorgeous, Iris. Very, very impressive.

Iris, by "weird one", do you mean the stunning Delta beetle, Trigonopeltastes delta ?

Thank you so much, Rhizo! I didn’t get to identify this one yet. With my ever growing pile of things I am trying to figure out, the help is very much appreciated.

> Posted by Iris S
> Still miss having the Gulf Fritillary around. Where are they?!

They are all in my yard. Residents.

Tom (and others who have grown it), what do you think about the prospect
of tithonia permanently in a large container?

I wouldn't recommend it, normally, four. Remember, they need to be staked. Is your container large enough for a good-sized stake? Also, they only last for three or four months or so. You will need to keep replacing them--which is what I am try to do now. The ones that I planted in early spring are all starting to die off. I have another dozen or so that have begun to grow, but they will take a few weeks before I can put them in the ground. They should last into late October, hopefully.

I think the tithonias that are in partial shade last longer. Perhaps they also last longer further north?

Tom, on July 22 I posted a reply that then was here on the page,
immediately below your message that is
date/time stamped "July 22, 2018 at 2:40PM".
Gone now. WTF, Houzz?

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Iris, the skippers that I see most are dirty yellow like these: