Monarchs come almost every day to the asclepias.

Cecelia, is Tropical Milkweed native to Argentina? When I Google it, I see that it says it is native to Central and South America but it doesn't really get specific. I was just curious. There's a big debate going on up here in the U.S. about whether or not we should plant Tropical Milkweed because it can encourage the Monarchs to breed year-round and potentially spread the OE spore, as well. I'm switching over to native milkweeds this year, but I was thinking that for you, Tropical Milkweed probably is native.

Also, even if it isn't native and any one of you reading this is growing it, there is no need to freak out. Just cut it down to a few inches during the winter and try to keep new leaves off of it so the butterflies won't lay eggs. We've done that at MOSI before, but we were doing it around this time of year and mostly to stimulate the plants to put out new growth again. But if you can go native, I recommend it.

I totally forgot to mention I released a Polydamas Swallowtail yesterday. No pictures because that thing flew right out of the container and headed for the sky. Out of my whole batch I only have 2 or 3 left in their chrysalis. This one picked a horrible day to emerge because it rained all day long. It wasn't a hard rain, though, and when I released it, it flew around for a minute before settling somewhere along where the pine tree meets the oak. Butterflies can and do fly in light rain, so don't worry too hard about them on rainy days.

I still don't know why my Swallowtails are emerging so early. I did read in the paper that Tampa has officially gone five years without a frost. Officially means down at the airport which is next to the bay, so it's always warmer down there than most areas in my county. I knew the last two years had been pretty mild, but I didn't realize it had been that long since we'd had a frost. Strawberry farmers say this has been a good year because it was cool enough to sweeten the berries, but it didn't get to freezing temps. When that happens they run the sprinklers to ice the berries because if they stay at 32 degrees, they're fine, but any colder and they die. But the farmers pumped a lot of water back in 2009 and 2010 and local residents blamed them for the sinkholes that opened up shortly thereafter. Sometimes I wonder if we're ever going to figure out how to get along with the environment we live in.

And if you haven't heard the big news (it's been all over my Facebook feed and in the paper) the U.S. government is giving money to help the Monarchs. Here's a link to a National Geographic article: http://news.nationalgeographic...

Melanie, I'm not sure if the asclepia curassavica is native to Argentina. But if it is not , it has naturalized here. I have never planted it but the wind has brought the seeds and it began to grow in my garden.
I must say that I am very happy to have it in the garden. It blooms for a long period and attracts the monarchs.

Asclepias curassavica (or so i've read) is native to Mexico but i think it has been naturalized throughout Central and South America. Glad to hear you are enjoying it @ceci. It is what i call a "power" plant because it not only hosts the Monarchs but is super nectar rich and so popular with all the nectar lovers; all different kinds of butterflies, hummingbirds, bees. Congrats on your Monarchs...are they laying eggs?

We use Asclepias curassavica here as well, although it is not a Texas native, but it is very easy to grow in the garden.
Our native milkweeds are very difficult to cultivate, so we rely on Mexican milkweed as it is known around here.

Yes Beverly ! The monarchs are laying eggs. Hopefully I'll find caterpillars soon.

ceci said:Yes Beverly ! The monarchs are laying eggs. Hopefully I'll find caterpillars soon.

I have one Monarch caterpillar left but it seems like it has stopped growing. I suspect it is parasatized but I can't bring myself to kill it without being sure.

I had a couple of visitors out front this afternoon. One of my faithful Duskywings was enjoying the Spanish Needles.



And some other little Skipper was also on the Spanish Needles. You can see why I'm in a constant struggle with these things. They're such a great nectar plant (and they host the Dainty Sulphur) but they will spread everywhere you have full sun if you let them! It's a little ironic seeing as how people here are always looking for flowers that will grow in full Florida sun. But I guess when something gets labeled a "weed", people can't see past that. As a kid, I always liked these flowers but I just called them daisies because I didn't know what they were. The seeds are rather bothersome, though. They come by their common name honest - those things stick to you and poke you like little needles!

Okay, I'm uploading my skipper pictures to BAMONA because you guys know I'm trying to learn them better. So I looked at that first picture and just now realized there's also a bee on the Spanish Needles. I guess I had my butterfly goggles on too tight!

Ceci...is this the first time you have hosted Monarchs and their caterpillars?

I went out early to get some Starbucks and that Monarch caterpillar was still on the same leaf. He was doing that thing caterpillars do where they just attach their prolegs and not their whole body so it looks like their upper half isn't hanging on and they're kind of bent in half. Some species do this more than others. Some it's natural, some it's a bad sign. Monarchs are kind of a mixed bag. I touched him and he slowly brought his upper body up to the leaf so I think that's just how he was resting. It's cold out too, so that's probably not helping. I still think he's parasatized because he just isn't growing. The only other time I've seen that happen was with that Spicebush I had last summer and that had to be genetic because I collected it as an egg.

In the meantime, I have a Monarch chrysalis on the back of the Giant Milkweed that has turned dark. I thought it might come out yesterday but it was still in there this morning. I hope it stays in there, but I just know he's coming out. Tonight it's supposed to go down near freezing and I know they can survive, but I still worry. I'm actually going to cover up some of my plants this afternoon. Most of them are fine since I try to grow native but I'm pushing the zone with my Giant Milkweed and my Butterfly Pea. And since they're host plants, I can't risk losing them. I did save seeds off the Butterfly Pea, just in case. Part of that was I thought the gals at MOSI might like some. They must not be too hard to germinate because I've gotten volunteers springing up nearby. Not too many, but enough to know they can germinate and grow. Oh, and I guess I'll have to cover those pentas I got on clearance at Lowe's! See, this is why I usually wait until after our frost date to buy them! Well, I don't know that it's going to frost. I missed the weather last night. If we get enough cloud cover or if the wind picks up, the chance of frost goes down. But what I've always found odd about Florida is that the coldest days are also the ones where there isn't a cloud in the sky. I used to hate that when I was a kid. I'd look out the window and it would seem like a perfect day until you opened the door.

By the way Beverly, I was just reading the thread Greene started over in the Site Talk forum about how many new members we have and I did not realize you were that new. Sometimes people take a while to wander over to specific threads or their gardening interests change and so I don't always assume a new person on the thread is new to the site. So a late welcome to you! And I am very happy to have more international users on the site. Show me those gorgeous butterflies! Heck, I get happy when we get more people west of the Mississippi! Too much east coast activity on here. I like to mix it up. I'm not much of a traveler, personally, so I like taking little virtual trips into everyone else's pictures. And I hope you guys like doing the same!

And if there are any lurkers or new members out there that haven't joined the conversation, feel free to stop in and just say hi. You don't have to have a picture of anything - it's February for crying out loud! Even I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel! There I am, disrespecting the Skippers again. And don't ever feel like you have a stupid question or like we'll get mad if people ask the same question again and again. I hear the same questions every Sunday at MOSI and I haven't yelled at anyone yet! Now, if they try to touch my butterflies, that's when the yelling starts. But know that we were all new to this at one time, too so at one point we were the ones asking the questions. And doing dumb things. And accidentally killing caterpillars. But if we can help you from making those mistakes, just chime in. And you don't have to raise butterflies to have questions. Lots of people just want them in their yard but don't go all out and bring them into their house. But hey, I'm allergic to anything with fur and while I like my fish, they're not quite as interesting as butterflies.

vitrsna said:Ceci...is this the first time you have hosted Monarchs and their caterpillars?

No Beverly ! I have had caterpillars many years, since I grow asclepias.
I still remember the first time my sons discovered them. They were small children and came exited to tell me that they had seen "striped worms ". It was a good moment to teach them what a caterpillar was. We observed them every day and then we began to find some chrysalis. We could also observe some butterfly emerging from them. It was a good lesson about nature.
I am worried because I have not seen caterpillars yet, and I have seen the monarchs laying their eggs since the beginning of the Summer. Is it possible that some insect could be eating the eggs? I have only seen some ants on the asclepias.

This small butterfly visited my garden today.
I had never seen one like this. It was dark grey in the upper side of the wings, but it is not seen on the photo. I could only see that when she was flying. And the green color was brigther than the color you can see in the photo.

Very pretty little butterfly.

Cecelia, based on the head and antennae it looks like something in the Hairstreak family but I've never seen anything that color. Pretty awesome! You can always submit your sightings to the experts at www.butterfliesandmoths.org That goes for everyone!

So here's my Monarch that's not growing. He's still eating, and pooping, as you can see. Usually, those are all you need, but this one is making me worry. He's covered in old sheets right now because there's a freeze warning. Just got the notice on my smartphone. I just got a smartphone in November so I'm still learning it.



The Monarch in the chrysalis did decide to come out today. The glass block behind him is the master bathroom so you can see how close the milkweed is planted in front of the house. I placed him in the Jatropha where he would get full sun and hopefully warm up and find a safe place to bunk down for the night.



Of course, while I had the Monarch dangling from my fingers, I saw a Red Admiral! Except, I couldn't move the Monarch to my left hand fast enough to grab my camera and get a picture. But at least they're out there and hopefully laying eggs!

My Duskywing was back again today. I think this is Juvenal's Duskywing, but let's not quote me on that just yet.

I've been searching in internet for the green butterfly that I posted before. I looked for butterflies of the province of Buenos Aires ( that is where I live) and I could find its name: Cyanophrys remus. The common name in Spanish is "frotadora".

Wow, that little butterfly has had some major research done on it. A lot of it is beyond my scope and I'm sleepy to boot, but what I think they're studying is how the scales of each side of the wing is constructed so as to create the different colors on the butterfly. They're studying it in hopes of replicating it into materials we use. Here's a link to the article I found easiest (relatively speaking) to understand. http://www.nanowerk.com/spotli...

Oh, and that butterfly is in the same family as the Hairstreaks so at least I was on the right track!

Cecilia, that's odd about the egg laying but no cats. I believe ants eat butterfly eggs don't they Melanie?

Yeah, there are definitely things that will eat butterfly eggs and ants are one of them. I can't say I've had too much of a problem with them, though. There are a few strange instances where ants actually help raise the caterpillars of certain species, usually Blues, because they secrete sweet stuff the ants eat. Nature is pretty weird.

It's kind of strange that you would have egg laying for that long but no caterpillars. If it was just one butterfly, I'd say they could have been laying duds (eggs that wouldn't hatch). Or perhaps there was some genetic problem. But that wouldn't explain no caterpillars for such a long period. Makes me curious what's going on.