The best butterfly day...

Well, I've had no luck finding any Wild Golden Alexander for my Black Swallowtail caterpillars ~ Today it looks like they've abandoned what is left of the parsley and fennel to venture out on their own in search of food...I hope they have better luck than me.

But yesterday was the single most fantastic day I've ever had for spotting butterflies in my garden! I saw 14 different types:

Gulf & Variegated Fritillary, Monarch, Eastern Comma, Question Mark, Pearl Crescent, Red Admiral, Buckeye, Black Swallowtail, Tiger Swallowtail, Clouded & Cloudless Sulphurs, Red Spotted Purples and a Hackberry Butterfly {for the first time ever}!

I was absolutely amazed! They were all {with the exception of the Hackberry Butterfly, who was sipping sap from a tree} nectaring in my overgrown butterfly garden...I really am beginning to think that the butterflies just don't care about the weeds...yay!

I love my garden :o)

A Backyard Safari...

While I was searching for a wild Golden Alexander plant for my Black Swallowtail caterpillars in the yard today, I came across something that I just had to share with you ~

I saw what looked like a hummingbird, dangling upside down, from a vine, with it's throat slashed...it's little feet still clutching the vine...so, so sad :(

I couldn't imagine what had happened to it...until my husband noticed a GIANT 8 inch praying mantis right next to the bird...I did a little research and came across an article in Birdwatchers Digest about a praying mantis killing and eating a hummingbird {I didn't have the heart to take pictures of our hummingbird, but there are photos in the article...so if you're squeamish, don't look}


But here's the killer praying mantis from our yard...

I also spotted a baby Saddleback Caterpillar on one of our Tulip trees today too! I have read that their sting may be the most potent of North American caterpillars ~



So although I'm still on the hunt for caterpillar food, I feel like I've been on an afternoon safari in my own backyard!

Oh nooooo! I'm running out of fennel...

Good news and bad news... I checked on my one lonely little fennel plant that's standing in the garden and the good news is that it's loaded with Black Swallowtail baby caterpillars and eggs!

The bad news is that while I'm terribly excited to have so many Black Swallowtails, I don't think one little plant can feed 15-20 hungry caterpillars ~ And I'm afraid to buy a fennel, parsley or dill plant for fear that the nursery may have sprayed it with insecticide and it's too darn late to plant seeds and have them grow in time to be a meal for these little guys....what to do?

I guess I'm going to have to go in search of something that grows in the wild....I did some research today and found that Golden Alexander grows in our area {it's in the carrot family and Black Swallowtails like anything in the carrot family}. So armed with my wildflower field guide, off I go!

Keep your fingers crossed! {Gotta save the baby caterpillars!}

I'll keep you posted :o)