Well, that is really too cool for school Sherry. I had no idea that there were spring and fall forms of the Buckeyes. Wow. Ya learn something new every day! Thanks for teaching me. It's so exciting to learn I think.
Angie

This afternoon I walked some debris in my wheel barrow down the road to the pick up area. Close to the area where some Agalinis grows, I saw a buckeye chrysalis. Buckeye chrsyalides have interesting markings, including what looks like perforation marks, to be used when emerging -

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I cut the piece of dog fennel it's on off before making the picture, and I brought it in - there are predators who eat chrysalides.

Sherry

I have never raised buckeyes and put snapdragon in and they never lay eggs on it why not? I see buckeyes every year.

My goodness they are beautiful, Sherry! Both the spring and the fall versions. How about monkey flower as a host plant? Does that work? Or is the agalinis reasonably attractive to put in the garden?

Yeahp, cool looking butterflies!

I've planted snapdragons, snapdragon vine, diascia, even wild petunias because they're supposed to use these occasionally, even though they're not in the snapdragon family like the others, but I've gotten NO takers. Oh, I've also planted plantain, because they use that elsewhere. Like I said, they ignored all those plants and stuck with the Agalinis fasciculata. This plant is hemiparasitic, lives partially off the roots of other plants, particularly grasses. This is why I leave the 'weeds' along my roadway/driveway - Agalinis needs it. It doesn't come up until relatively late in spring, so I don't get cats before then. Agalinis makes pretty, pink, snapdragon-looking flowers in the fall, and the cats will eat the flowers and the buds at that time.

Just keep trying host plants, particularly plantain - I do know that others have had success with that.

I released another one this morning, a fall type.

Sherry

Beautiful! I never knew they had different colors either. Of course I am still new to raising Monarchs. Thank you so much for sharing your pictures and for sharing your knowledge!

Beautiful pictures, Sherry! The buckeyes here use snapdragons. I don't know if they've ever used plantain, but we have plenty of it in our lawn. I don't have any planted in any garden though. I tried Verbena hastata for them for several years, but they ignored it so I took it out. The flowers aren't spectacular, and the plants get way too tall for my liking. I tried staking them up, but they'd fall over anyway. The buckeyes seem to be particular (here anyway) about the snapdragons that they lay their eggs on. I've had the short kind and the taller kind, and I've always found them on the short plants. I think that buckeyes are so pretty! I'm glad that you've had luck raising them on the agalinus.
Cathy

Nice! I haven't seen any Agalinis yet this year, but if we get some rain, it could still come up here! Come on, rain!