Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 42, 1 by mellielong

mellielong wrote:
While I was at MOSI this morning I found seven Spicebush eggs and one cat on the camphor tree. I also had a Polydamas making its chrysalis so I took it inside the flight cage and let all the visitors watch. My favorite part was the mom who told her daughter (maybe 3-4 years old) that butterflies have fairy dust on them just like Tinkerbell and if she touches them and rubs it off they won't be able to fly. I told the mom I'd have to use that one in the future. Always good to relate things to stuff kids understand.

I went to the preserve after the museum and went hunting for Zebra Swallowtail cats. I haven't had any in a while and their numbers tend to increase toward the fall. Plus, with the hurricane coming I felt like I needed to "rescue" them. Sure enough, I found about a dozen of them; all but one are in the early instars. I also found two Spicebush eggs! Here's the super big Zebra ST cat I found.

Melanie