Zebra Longwings are finally back

Zebra Longwings have been missing from my yard since Hurricane Wilma back in October. This past Wednesday 4/5/06 I saw my first Zebra Longwing in the yard. On Thursday I saw cats on one of my "hidden" Corkybark Passionflowers. Then on Friday, I took the picture below of ZL & GF cats on this Corkybark Passionflower.
It's a composite picture 'cause the biggest ZL was on top of the stick looking for a place to go into chrysalis (and it's too good a pictue of a Zebra Longwing caterpillar to not show it.)
If you look close there are two ZL's on leaves, one on the bottom left and another middle right and a GF on the left middle. The inset is the ZL on top of the stick.

A mystery is how they find this plant. It's growing inside a walled area behind a Chinese Fan Palm in the shade of a Chaya on the left and Fennel on the right. It's totally in shade with no part of the plant visible unless you look underneath the surrounding plants. Also, this plant has a built in ability to change the look of it's leaves as a defense to the butterflies looking to lay eggs. Look closely at the leaves and notice how different each group of leaves is.

Art

You think you can hide a yummy host plant? The butterflies must be laughing at both the plant and you!

Linda, laugh! I did not hide the plant. It grew where the bird that ate the seed, redeposited the seed via droppings. This spot is directly under my east border overhead utility lines.

For years these plants have been poping up under the utility lines, but I didn't realize they were corkybark passion flowers until last year. I treated them as weeds and pulled them. You see, most of the area under these lines is in full sun most of the day. The corkybark doesn't like full sun so it grows differently in full sun conditions. It doesn't usually send out tendrils and it's growth becomes stunted and it dies shortly thereafter.
With the early hurricane season last year I quickly fell behind in my weeding behind my big bush area, which is around the perimiter of the north, east and south borders. Toward the end of summer I spotted several corkybark's growing in these bush area's and beneath the pool patio privacy fence. When I realized what they were, I began transplanting the one's that were in full sun into more shady area's. I have them growing everywhere now.

I have the corkybark's to thank for the large populations of ZL & GF butterflies I ususally have here.

Art

Yay for you Art! I'd love some Zebra's this year. I know they are in my area but so far only the Gulf's have found my vine.

I've heard tales but never experience the wandering PV until this year. My main plant hasn't come back yet but I've had runners in places they are not wanted. It did spread further down the fence and that's ok but it's out a little too far and I'm afraid someone will step on the base.

Art or Linda (or anyone else) have you ever had a problem with the ants on your vine? I know they pollinate the flowers, which I certainly want, but last year they ate all my butterfly eggs! I don't like to bring the GF's inside and can't always get out there to collect eggs. Any ideas?

KKB, I get ants everywhere! Lots of ants here. It doesn't seem to make much of a difference (I don't think) in my butterfly populations.

I always have a good amount of local butterflies everywhere in the yard. This year I am making more of an effort to get them to nectar here. Previously I mainly offered larvae plants with just a scattering of plants for nectar. Now that I understand more about gardening I have been planting to get them here for nectar too.

The only problem I had this year was the absence of the Zebra Longwings due to the hurricane Wilma. No one here understands why. I have been taking the MG course at our local extension. I asked the professor teaching the class on butterflies about it. He said everyone had the same problem, but they were not able to offer a valid explanation other than the hurricane caused it. At that point they had not returned to the yard.
They returned here after last weeks class so I didn't have a chance to discuss it. I will talk about it at this weeks class and see if they have learned anything new.

Art

I would think that it will just take time for them to repopulate. If eggs and chrysalises were destroyed then the surviving adults just have to get busy!

I watched an ant take an egg off last year. I would have stopped it but I thought it was an aphid until I discovered the egg missing later. I can't imagine how I would ever get rid of the ants or stop them, so I guess the butterflies are just going to have to work it out on their own.

Good luck on adding the nectar plants. I try to keep a variety of all kinds and several hosts for the butterflies in my area.

Way to go!!! I planted passion vines in the hopes of attracting zebra and julia heliconias...so far have just lots of gulf frits. I've seen a stray julia nectaring on my duranta but have never seen a zebra here...although they are at the local butterfly parks. I can still hope! :o)

How's it going with the coontie and atala hairstreaks?

~ Cat