Evelyn,
So you are having a garden tea party.
Your guests are dress so lovely. Very nice photos.
Thanks for sharing.
Felix

Beautiful photos, Evelyn! I love gulf frit butterflies! So happy and bright! You must have some passionvine, eh?
Thanks for sharing! Lovely to look at!

Marcia

There are SO many butterflies this year. As I was weeding and checking my cassia, I found hundreds of tiny (less than 1/8th inch) cats.. The big sulphurs LOVE that bush. They eat ONLY the buds.. boo hoo!

Nice pictures, Evelyn. The butterflies are so beautiful this year.

Maureen

beautiful, Evelyn! finally getting some butterflies here; it's been a slow start this year, for some reason. Today we had swallowtail, skippers, gulf frit, monarch, white peacock, a BIG orangish-yellow one that wouldn't stop for me to photograph - that's really the only way I can identify.. also lots of some tiny lil blue ones...sooo sweet..on the plumbago, but don't know what they are called. Still can't seem to lure the zebra longwings...and, what's wrong with my jatropha?? It's always had blooms, but no butterflies seem to really like it! ???? Please send me some ladybugs, too. Thanks! :)

Evelyn, great pictures as always. I am finally getting some butterflies now too. They were very slow for me this year also. I think the lack of rain is a factor, so many of my plants are not blooming like the should. :o(

Lovely pictures!

I've had a VERY low butterfly count here this year, too. I agree that the very long dry season is probably a factor. For one thing, my butterfly weed just withered away to practically nothing, and my passionvine didn't sprout this year. So there go my monarchs, gulf frits and zebras! *sniff*

I'm hoping cooler weather brings a resurgance. Glad to hear some of you are seeing quite a few now.

Marcia

I haven't posted here in such a long time and was just about to ask about this guy. It looks the same as the tobacco hornworm you posted. It is? Is it a good guy? I have three of them on whats left of my duranta. Should I leave them be?
TIA

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepaintedcottage/1242048799/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepaintedcottage/1242048811/

Angie

The tobacco hornworm will eat your plant to the ground. Since I have only two cats, I let them be. They will end up as Carolina Sphinx Moths.
Since I have the passion vine, butterfly weed and oleander eaten up by cats, might as well say good bye to the Blue Sky Flower plant.

Marcia, you say your passionvine did not sprout, does that mean the passionvine dies to the ground and has to come up every year? I thought it just keeps growing and growing??

Evelyn

Evelyn, I have had passionvine last for years, but sometimes it dies back in the winter, and mine did last year. It didn't come back this time. *sniff* Normally, if we don't have a hard freeze, it will hang in there, though. Also, I usually have small ones that pop up here and there near the big one, but none of those showed up this year, either. I don't know what happened, really.

I plan to go out to Biosphere soon and pick up a Lady Margaret, as it is a red one that is safe for butterflies. (Some aren't.) I like the deeper shade of red in it, too.

Marcia

Thanks Marcia, this is good to know. I gave away all seedlings that popped up this summer LOL maybe i will have to buy a new plant next spring for myself again. I saw the Lady Margaret, it has really pretty blooms. Should mine not come back, I will get one too. (I have the 'Amethyst' right now.)

Evelyn

Well, they've eaten everything there is to eat and are no where to be seen. Guess there off somewhere waiting to turn into moths. I hope I get to see them.

Angie