Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Daily Pictures #94, 2 by mellielong

mellielong wrote:
I was looking at host plants trying to see if I could jack some caterpillars (naughty Melanie) when a Zebra Longwing flew by me. I always feel like I have to have proof of what I see so I finally got a bad picture of one. I must have stood for about 5 minutes waiting for this guy to land. He went for the milkweed nectar this time. I also had a Spicebush nearby so I snapped him, as well.

Speaking of Spicebushes...there's one vendor I don't like much because he sells overpriced hybridized passiflora and looks at you like you're crazy if you ask about the native varieties. But I wandered through his booth anyway just to see what else he had. And he had a Sassafras tree! I'd been looking for a Red Bay tree for my Spicebushies, but I know Sassafras works just as well. Dad taught me what sassafras looks like when we were in WV (I'm on the very southern border of its growth range in FL so I don't see it in the wild) and I went crazy looking for caterpillars. Found some, too! Hooray for Spicebushies!