Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: A Pipevine Swallowtail at Last !!!, 1 by TexasPuddyPrint

TexasPuddyPrint wrote:
It's nice to see ya'll so excited about Pipevines. Must admit I don't give them a second look most days. They are so abundant out here.

Still can't figure out how the little bitty aristolochia erecta sustains so many caterpillars but there must be lots of it growing wild out in the back fields. I just can never seem locate it...or when I do it's already close to eaten to the ground by the caterpillars - and only then after spotting those bright orange buggers is when I notice it. Finally learned to stake out the plants with flags because I know there is a huge tuber underground and it will eventually sprout new leaves.

I keep trying to find a female ovipositing so I can share eggs with ya'll but since I only drive out there on the weekends it's not easy. Most days out here are in the 100+ temps so I don't stay out in the back fields vey long either.

Now if anyone has Polydamas eggs they want to part with do let me know :o) I've got some lonely aristolochia elegans and aristolochia fimbriatas. We don't get to see those out here very often.

Will remind ya'll that I did get excited when I had the Pipevines roosting in a tree behind the house at the ranch though - sure wish I could see that happen again!!! :o)

~ Cat

This message was edited Jun 26, 2009 9:20 PM