I have had a couple of Tiger swallowtails and a couple of little skipper types in the garden, but with only tulips, pansies and daffs blooming, not much food. The herbs are up however, but they are flying to the flowers. Gotta get some annuals.
kay

There must be some perennials that bloom at this time of year in your areas, no? I don't think you would see the butterflies around if there weren't.

Might be a good idea to go hunting for some cuttings in areas around your house that are mostly wild. Any parks nearby? Maybe some wild azaleas?

My Carolina Jessamine had lots of blooms until recently and there were quite a few butterflies all over it! I love that plant! Now there's very few blooms left (it's an early spring bloomer here, then stops), but it is a great early nectar plant for both the butterflies and hummingbirds. BTW, I found my first cat today on Arizona Ash. It should be a Two-tailed Tiger Swallowtail...those showed up early, so their other host plants weren't ready for them.

hey there birdnut! Glad that you are seeing butterflies now! I am finally starting to see some too. Just had my first overwintering Black Swallowtail to eclose yesterday, and then spotted a large Tiger flying through the back yard later on! The only things in bloom here are Dandelions, Phlox, and of course the Cherry, Pear, and Plum trees.~Angie

I've seen a male tiger swallowtail, a female palamedes swallowtail, a (probable) question mark, lots of sleepy oranges, little yellows and cloudless sulphurs, a lot of duskywings, and a spring azure.
I found my first butterfly eggs today, little white "dashes" on my Christmas cassia that are probably either little yellows or sleepy oranges - they're too small to be cloudless sulphurs.
The passionvines and pipevines are coming up good, the tropical milkweed is emerging from the soil, the wild azaleas are blooming, plus too many things to list. Spring is here for sure!
Sherry

I had an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail in my back yard the other day and I snapped a shot of him. So since you cant attach a picture with out sending someone to a website I will post it in the photo area. Sorry about that.

Here is a link

Here is a link that might be useful: flickr