Jim, one reason I like Rue is that it's a 2-for-1 plant! You get two kinds of caterpillars with one host plant. So for those who have to limit themselves - and I think all gardeners reach that point - it's a plant you can justify having. I still have most of the ones I planted last year, despite the fact that I neglected to keep up with weeding around them. Plus, the mild winter helped, I think. I'm going to spread my new ones around and see if I can get little host plant clusters.
Speaking of, that's a good strategy for milkweed, if you can do it. A lot of people like to have several, smaller milkweed patches than one big one to cut down on aphid infestations and disease. So keep that in mind when you plant!
I've got some plants I want to order but our last frost date is still ten days away.
Plus, I sort of feel like Mail Order Natives is going to have a sale. I should just email them and ask. Mom is donating $50 to purchasing plants this spring.
I want to add more Spicebushes and some more native nectar sources. I really should email them and ask them to update their website. I want to know if they're really out of stock on some of the plants, like a couple of native milkweeds.
Update on my mystery caterpillar. Well, BAMONA is still "pending". I got a little worried because my caterpillar wasn't eating or pooping and you know that's all they do. And then I had to remind myself that all caterpillars are different, and moths can be especially weird. See, a Monarch cat will molt, turn around and eat the skin, and be back eating milkweed in an hour or two. But moth caterpillars sometimes do things slower. I picked two kinds of oak leaves, willow, and black cherry for it. Last night, I woke up and I saw where he had eaten about half of one of the oak leaves and there was frass all over!
I picked him a couple of leaves from the exact same tree so hopefully he'll like those.
I still wonder how he ended up on the well. My guess is he might have purposely dropped to protect himself. I'm pretty sure those dark marks on him before he molted were wounds. But I still wonder about that shed skin below him because he was actually in the process of molting when I found him.
Because I moved him from his silk pad, I had to help him molt. Basically, I held his anal prolegs down while he did the hard work. I did pull the final bit because it looked like he was getting tired. I hope I get to see him turn into a cool moth. We should appreciate moths more. There are so many more of them than butterflies, they evolved way earlier, and some of them are very important pollinators for specific plants - like orchids!
