Here's a few host trees and shrubs I ordered to plant near or at the edge of my pond for Swallowtails.
Esculus parviflora (Bottle-Brush Buckeye) not a host for SWT but it's pretty
Lindera benzoin (Spicebush)
Magnolia virginiana: (Sweetbay Magnolia)
Betula nigra (River Birch)
Asimina triloba (Pawpaw)
Ptelea trifoliata: (Hoptree)
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis (Toothache Tree)
Persea palustris (Swamp Redbay)
Should anyone see a potential problem with me growing these in South Ga, or have some advice about any of these, please LMK.
I had to buy the small ones, (seedlings), so It"ll be a few years before they are hosting any ST cats. Am I correct in my thinking?
Two of the spicebush and pawpaws would have been nice but I had to stop spending. Maybe I can find some seeds somewhere.
I planted a Liriodendron earlier in the spring. It's a fast grower. Hope it makes it. I really needed it for a shade tree as much as I did for The TST's.
I'm keeping my eyes open for the Monarchs. They're just not here since those first cats were spotted on my milkweed. Maybe they'll be back in late summer or early fall.
I'm back to square one with my BST butterfly cages. The clothes hampers are ok. However, trying to keep up with 6 cats in that deep container is hard. One cat has already formed a crystallis and I'm afraid to move him. It wiggles when I try to move the stick.
I've taken three out of the hamper and put in them another container. I'm going to follow the experts. Since most of you are using the plastic containers, wet foam and tulle for ventilation, I gathered those supplies and I'm in the process of making some new cages. The snap lid plastic container does seem to be the best of all that I've tried.
All my parsley just wilted. It's tough it this heat to keep it fresh. I'm constantly cutting new stalks and also cutting dill.
When I finish my new boxes I'll post pictures. They're copy-cat boxes I learned to make from reading this forum. DGer's are wonderful butterfly teachers!
Adding more than just perennials for BF host plants
C-Dawg, It sound like you bought quite a bit. Where did you get everything?
I saw something over the weekend that made me think "cat cage". It was a very old fashioned small animal cage about 1/2 times bigger than a man's shoebox and made fro wire. I was thinking it would be possible to line it with tulle/netting and place it over the growing parsley in the ground.
The thing is, I don't know this would work, so I didn't buy the cage, but it was at an antique shop, so I don't think it will sell quickly or anything.
Any opinions?
Suzy
I started with stuff I already had on the first two. The old aquarium with old screen on top was like an oven. The 2nd one is a mesh clothes hamper and an additional mesh clothes bag which I bought at walmart. The trouble with it is it's too dang deep. I actually had a potted parsley plant in it. Watering it was hard because of the depth of the hamper.
The third one is going to work. It's what I see folks use on this forum. I went to Micheals and bought the wet foam. Went to Walmart and bought a 20 qt sterilite plastic containers, Loctite indoor/outdoor clear silicone adhesive, and then went ahead and bought 5 yds of tulle since the fabric area is about to close. I already had several of the 20 qt plastic containers but I'm using them to store pictures in one and seed packages in another.
I hate to admit all the this money I'm spending, but I also bought 2 BF castles from an online Butterfly site. It may be bolongna sandwiches for us for the rest of June. LOL Anyhoo, the Butterfy cats are going to eat good and hopefully live to flutter about all these flowers planted around my place.
Your cage over growing parsley sounds like it would work fine to keep birds out. Any preventive measure is worth a try. If I was going to do that, though, I'd make sure the tulle was secured with silicone to keep creepy crawlies from coming in through a loose area. Plus the cats can roam and find a slit too.
The butterfly site that I am buying those castles are no more than glorified mesh drawstring clothes bags like I already have. For one of them, their illistration shows them used "in the field" just enclosing a host branch of a tree and drawstringed closed.
Susy, I bought the trees from Mail-Order Natives.
Cordeledawg-You did right getting the "Castles"! I have been thrilled with them...I have all the sizes. Yes, I have the "sleeves" too and they seem to be too small. I was reading in the D.Wagner caterpillar book last night and he talked about making sleeves out of numerous things...but the thing I think i'll try the paint filter bags. I'll let you know. As for the hampers...are you turning them on their sides? It would be easier to go in from the side, I think.
Mail-Order Natives is a great nursery! I got a bunch of things from them in October and the Sassafrass is huge!
Suzy-I don't know how much the antique thingy is but woulden't it just be easier/cheaper to get a cage or pop-up hamper to put out over your plant?
Adrienne
Turning the clothes hamper on it's side is an excellent Idea! However, I'm looking forward to the castles since the mesh will be tighter than what I have now. Wasps can get into the regular cloth mesh bags and other cat killers too.
CD- Ohhhh! Didn't know that those critters could get in!
Adrienne
Yup, Adrienne, the mesh net holes I have are really too wide to keep wasps out. I've got tulle now, so that can be wrapped around the hamper. I haven't seen any swarming around my patio, but I do have them around my property.
That's why I want the castles. They're made specifically as butterfly cages. I can take them to the gardens around my pond where the milkweeds are. Plus, I'll be able to use the one that wraps and encloses a tree branch.
Deborah
Deborah,
I think I "spoke" with you about this on another thread... :)
It is SO reassuring when those babies are safe!
Adrienne
I'm so glad you did, Adrienne. You said it all! The reassurance in knowing they are safe!
I need all the advice and references y'all will send to me too. I may be jumping into raising butterflies a little too soon for me having so little knowledge about them and gardening in general for that matter, but I feel better doing something rather than just wringing my hands worrying.
Deborah - I'm glad you are just jumping right into raising cats! That's the best way to learn. You are saving that many more butterflies that probably wouldn't have survived otherwise. :-) I use the pop-up cages to raise large numbers of cats in along with a potted plant. (They are tall (deep) but I like them anyway. I have four of them which I got on sale last year for about $10 each.)
http://www.butterfly-gifts.com/1602-butterfly-house.html
The Castles are really nice too with the side zipper and are the same price as the above:
http://www.livemonarch.com/store_enclosures.php
Love those "socks" that they sell, too!
But I still use my small plastic bug cage for just a few cats. Which I have been using a lot lately since my cat numbers have dwindled. I clean it out really good between cat raising.
This message was edited Jun 25, 2007 1:54 AM