Name: Dave Dayton, TN (Zone 7a) Blessed beyond all merit.
The pipe vine I planted 4 years ago has really taken off this spring. I went out to see if I saw any little pipes and lo and behold I found the plant covered with these caterpillars. From what I was able to determine from the internet these are pipe vine butterfly caterpillars. Is this correct? BTW I did find a few pipes on the vines as well.
Name: Dave Dayton, TN (Zone 7a) Blessed beyond all merit.
@wildflowers This one has been for me. I planted one that is native to Tennessee(Aristolochia tomentosa) but it has taken a while for it to get any substantial size. Will post a photo later.
I also grow A. tomentosa and I have some on their third and some of their fourth year. It grew pretty slow the first two years, but then gets going. Florida has a longer growing season so that may help. I think it's best to plant natives. Especially pipevines because the tropical ones can be toxic to Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars.
Yee Haw! Good for you Dave, what luck! They're really nervous, fast moving little guys. My tomentosa just finally put our flowers which I'm posting photos for today. Now just cross my fingers and wait, and wait, and wait in Yankee land.
"My work is loving the world. Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird — equal seekers of sweetness. Here the clam deep in the speckled sand. Are my boots old? Is my coat torn? Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished." — Mary Oliver, from Messenger
