WHAT is going on with the cats!

This past year I planted some butterfly weed and a passion vine. Now I have cats like crazy!! I don't know much about the butterfly cycle or their habits in my area--W. Houston. Should they be here at this time of year? I have tons of Monarch and Gulf Frit cats (I just looked up the Gulf Frit to ID it--nasty looking thing!). There are so many Monarch cats, they have eaten EVERY leaf from the maybe 8 plants I have. I also have a newly formed Monarch chrysalis on my rosemary! Can anyone tell me if this time of year is normal for them to be here and also point me to some good information about them? Thanks, Janet
This picture was when we still had a few leaves for them to eat!

Here's my Lavender Lady passion vine

I say you are very lucky they are surviving and enjoy the show. I have cats also in Central FL but this year they are being eaten before the marture... by wasp I believe. Weather has been warm and I'm sure the reason for the late cats!

Thanks sunkissed! I hope my chrysalis survives!

I wonder if you need more plants to feed your cats?!

Not that I have any . . . but I worried this summer/fall that it would happen to me.

The Monarchs were late in coming through this year. Not much for them to lay eggs on until we started getting some rain in TX (IMHO). I just know there were still Monarchs here on into mid or late November around Fort Worth. I had one chrysalis that I came across after the first freeze, It would have emerged that next morning I believe. It was black and the orange of the wing was visiable. Too bad I didn't see it before, I would have brought it in and released it when the weather got better.

Oh, on the Gulf Frits....if you have enought for them to eat, they will be around all winter, just dormant. I have the 'blue crown' evergreen passiflora also and usually it won't freeze even up in my area.

This message was edited Jan 3, 2012 5:16 PM

This is a Gulf Frit, with the winter coloring, taken in December 2008. We had a few light freezes before then. This last year we had heavy freezes and I didn't see hardly any GFs until really late in the season. I didn't lose my BC passi, but it did die back.

I just got back from being gone almost 2 weeks and my passi is just a bunch of stripped branches at the top! Lots of eatin' been goin' on. And the monarch chrys I was watching has not changed at all--just that beautiful green. I assume it is dead but hasn't started decaying yet. I'll have to check on things better in the daylight tomorrow. Thanks for showing that Gulf Frit winter coloring. Very interesting!

I have Monarchs which emerged two days ago that I'm hoping I can release today. Plus 4 more chrysalis that will probably eclose in the next day or so. I put a pot of Impatiens in the cage for them to nectar from but I don't think I can hold them much longer. Supposed to have another light freeze again tonight, so I'm debating if I should hold these another day or so.

I felt bad when I held the monarchs during heavy rains. The one I had didn't move from her spot during the 2 or 3 day dark, wet, heavy, chillly rain. When I went to release her her wings quivered in a scary way and it seemed she was too weak to fly.

Within the next 10 minutes or so though, I saw a monarch soar over the back porch roof. That was my girl, though I was very anxious over it before during and after. It's not an easy decision to make. Maybe if you get him/her out in a sunny spot very early in the morning, s/he will be able to get a good start on the flying thing and get thawed out in a sunny spot the next day?

I dunno. This screwy weather changes everything.

Good luck with yours.

A.