Hybridizers: It can be fun to breed your own zinnias - Part 6, 1 by Zen_Man

Zen_Man wrote:
[quote=\"brendak654\"]...Are you getting lots and lots of butterflies on your zinnia and of course a few goldfinch?[/quote]
Hi Brenda,

I am not getting nearly as many butterflies as usual. I have yet to see a Monarch this year. And no Viceroy mimic either. I don\'t know why there are so few butterflies. The bee count is also way down. At least we have a good hummingbird population. And there are plenty of goldfinches. So far I haven\'t seen any bird attacks on my zinnia seedheads.

Am attaching a picture of a breeder zinnia with picotee coloration. Color concentration at the petal ends and sides. It also has an almost metallic sheen. Very unusual.

I didn\'t notice that tiny insect until I was processing the picture. I would like to learn more about the micro insects of Kansas.. More later.

ZM