Here’s what’s happened over the past two weeks…
Well, my monarch caterpillars are gone. The predators must have gotten them before they had a chance to grow larger. I’m not sure how many of them will make it now with all the milkweed bugs, aphids and that praying mantis hanging around. I really miss seeing those monarch cats crawling up and down the milkweed.
Luckily, this past Friday a Giant Swallowtail egg hatched on the rue. I’m hoping this little guy grows large enough to disguise himself as “bird poop” and he makes it through to become a butterfly.
About two weeks ago, I picked up a popcorn cassia at the garden center which the Cloudless Sulphur just loves to visit. There are always Sulphurs fluttering about the courtyard, but they kept bypassing my garden. I specifically got the cassia for them and sure enough, they are lingering in my garden now.
Finally, this past weekend I was treated to a Giant Swallowtail which came into the patio garden to nectar on the verbena bonariensis. This plant is a butterfly magnet! I bought a lot of it this year and the butterflies have been enjoying it all summer. I also picked up some of the big, open giant flower head zinnias. I’m not sure what the correct name for them is. All I know is the butterflies flock to them. They like these much better then the kind with the double blooms because the flower makes a nice big landing pad and they can easily access the nectar. The Gulf Fritillaries seem to really enjoy the zinnias.
Lastly, besides the above mentioned butterflies, I can always count on my garden to be full of different skippers and also a few duskywings. These little guys are there all the time flitting from flower to flower. I can always count on them to be there even when some of the larger butterflies are absent.
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