This guy was eating my dill last year. Does anyone know what kind of cat he is? Or should I put him on spider and insect thread? He looks so pretty I thought he must turn into something beautiful.
I looked on bug files and found him! He will be an Eastern Black SwallowTail
This message was edited Jun 10, 2009 11:05 PM
Yes, aren't they beautiful butterflies! I think the cats are adorable...love them!!!!!
Looks like you need to plant more dill :o) I try to keep several large containers filled with rue, dill, fennel and parsley so the Black Swallowtails will use them as larval hosts. Of course, most of my back yard is filled with larval hosts plants to keep a variety of butterflies and silkmoths happy.
~ Cat
yes I read up on this during the winter time. I have tried to add flowers and herbs that will attrract these little guys! I have dill and fennel. I have necter flowers I think....Coneflowers, blackeyed susan, joe pye weed, butterfly weed, guara, butterfly bushes, Bee balm....I think I need more host plants though.......
I started out just loving flowers (Always admired butterflies, humming birds, birds, wild life in general)
but it is amazing when you see it in your own back yard it becomes more personal. Then you become a sponge for any info that you can get to help these guys. Our area is so built up anymore and they have taken so much of their environment to build shopping centers (that 1/2 of the stores are empty) it just drives me crazy. Thankfully I have some great neighbors that feel the same way and we are doing our best to help in our own yards.
Any info on plants to help, please........
Kastrol...
The sticky thread (first posting) on the home page of this forum has lots of good links related to raising butterflies, larval host plants, nectar plants, cages, etc.
~ Cat
