Lisa
Great Pics! I love butterflies, and am trying to accomodate them in my new "eco" garden. I've been making lots of puddles for them, and leaving fruity pieces of watermelon rind and what not in various places for them. Nothing gives me more joy than seeing lots of butterflies and pretty birds in my garden.

I hate the taste of fennel but it is pretty in a garden and it DOES keep the catapillers off your other stuff, like dill, etc.

Next year I will remember to get some fennel up and growing.

Thanks for the info! And happy butterflying!

Barbara

Lisa,

Great pics. Glad you're having so much fun 'butterflying'.

We're having a great butterfly year here (after a horrible one during last year's drought), but all ours raised themselves. (smile)

The zinnias are always such a big attraction for the butterflies and the zinnias are doing great this year and I always plant lots of other stuff for them, including dill. Then, of course, all the native plants in the pastures feed them too.

With all your flowers, your butterflies must be in hog heaven!

Dawn

My dill was devoured by a mob of black swallowtail caterpillars and I was very happy with how that worked out. The dill flowered and ripened seeds, I collected all the seeds I wanted, and the next week the plants were covered with caterpillars. So I was done with the plants and enjoyed having them host the cats. I was working on my computer a day or so after collecting the seeds and noticed a black swallowtail butterfly hovering and landing and dipping back over the dill time after time. I sat at the window for a while watching it. It must have been laying eggs, because the caterpillars showed up after that.

I didn't know they ate parsley too. Now that solves a mystery. Something devoured one parsley plant and I started looking real close and saw a caterpillar on another that looked exactly like a black swallowtail caterpillar. I left it alone to eat a second plant because the parsley seemed to be doing okay otherwise. But until now, I wasn't sure what sort of caterpillar it was. I'm glad I left it alone.

Lisa,
Excellent pictures! You make a great Butterfly mommy! Hope to see pics of the butterflies.
Joyce

I think that must have been what was all over my carrots. I saw them on my dill, too, but not in such large numbers as on the carrots.

We have has a garden full of swallowtails for about two weeks now, so the parsley and dill are about gone now. I do love having them and always plant the parsley and dill mostly for them, although I do harvest some of it for us too.

Those of you who have young children (or grandchildren)...if you've never raised cats in a butterfly house/tent/enclosure (I don't remember the proper name of it), the kids would love it. We did it with Chris when he was about 6 years old. Luckily it emerged fron its cocoon on a Saturday morning when he was home from school and could enjoy the moment.

Dawn

Those are gorgeous pictures, Lisa!

Thanks everyone! I'm actually having trouble with the swallowtails. Last year I had no problems at all, but this year I've lost so many of them, next year I think I might leave them outside. I'm not sure what is killing them. The Gulf Fritillaries are doing quite well though.

But then, yesterday I got to release a swallowtail and it was so cool....

Lisa

Lisa,
Sorry about the swallowtails. That must be discouraging. I am glad your Gulf Frits are doing well. That must be quite a feeling to release them after raising them! I had a very small butterfly baby (black with white spots?) on the patio this evening. It looked like it was trying to learn to fly but wasn't getting off the ground. I hope it will be okay.
I don't know that much about them.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Joyce