Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 75, 1 by mellielong

mellielong wrote:
As for Monarchs, we've had some at the museum, but not too many. At least, not outside in the gardens. In the flight cage they're captive so we've had lots and lots of babies. At my house, I hadn't seen the first one until last week. I think that Monarch Momma hit every single one of my plants. I checked yesterday and the cats are out there and they're just about big enough for me to bring them inside. I like to wait until they're about third instar. Just easier to handle.

I've also been dive-bombed by Gulf Frits who insist on laying only on my "Lavender Lady" passiflora. I set that one in front of Mom's window so she could have some entertainment. I'm going to have to move some of the cats over to the Blue Passion Vine so they don't eat the other one to the ground. I've also got passiflora lutea but the Zebra Longwings seem to like that one - not that I've seen a Zebra Longwing yet. Dad saw one while delivering mail a couple of weeks ago.

As for other firsts, I saw my first hairstreak. I was re-reading one of my books and it mentioned that they overwinter in the egg stage. That explains why I never see them early in the season. This is a White M Hairstreak and it was appropriately hanging on one of my oak trees.