Am I the only one not seeing butterflies this year?I have seen less than 10 all summer and we are usually covered with them.No cabbage looper butterflies this year either so it's not all bad.The odd thing is we are in an area where no one sprays except the county for mosquitos,and that not very often.

I can send you all the cabbage loopers that you want . I have plenty, in fact, I just had to spray some BT this morning. As for the butterflies, not many this year, but, the bees have made a comeback, and that's a good thing
Dan

rudy625 said:I can send you all the cabbage loopers that you want . I have plenty, in fact, I just had to spray some BT this morning. As for the butterflies, not many this year, but, the bees have made a comeback, and that's a good thing
Dan

Thanks for the offer but please keep your cabbage loopers.The bees have indeed made a comeback.My bees have had the best year ever.

Seeing very few butterflys and humming birds this year.
But, a lot more bees.

Lonnie

I reckon that I got all y'alls butterflies. I was seeing 3 tiger swallowtails on the same plant when I was out there shooting... Unfortunately, the light was terrible, the pics were unsalvageable. Tiger swallowtails are Georgia's state butterfly, but don't usually show up in groups like the spicebush swallowtail and the gulf fritillary, or the sulfur yellows.

How many patches of host plants are y'all growing? It really makes a difference... when all around is turf, providing them with a place to raise their young makes all the difference.

I also have lots, Giant swallowtails have been around every day and I must have a family of zebra longwings nearby. I see them 3 or 4 at a time. Sulphurs are over the fence on the neighbor's Cassia bush.

I had lots of monarchs in the spring, too, but all the milkweed is eaten up and dormant right now.

Maybe you've had a big year for whatever predator eats butterflies? Like frogs for instance? I've been trapping and euthanizing the invasive Cuban Tree Frogs for 3 years now, but this year I am overrun with a host of different frogs incl. Cubans. It's a regular frog rock concert out there every night!

No Butterflies, and NO humming birds, this has never happened before, we always had 7 or 8 Hummers, this year NONE

Well...back. Here in the city....I can report one hummer here.. And one at mothers in north AL.plenty of butterflies in both places... Enough for a series of catapillars on Brugs difficult finding my catapillar killer anywhere... I took it to be pressure from the butterfly husbandry folks... Lots of bees here in the city... We lost about every one during their west Nile scare sprayings...of a few years ago... Nope we spray in the evenings... When the bees aren't about.. No harm to them... Right... And through recovery.. And the fact that bee keeping is no longer a crime here.. There are lots of local bee hives.. I can buy honey from a number of hives around me.. But just get it from some of his hives a bit further upstate.. As I have no allergy problems to combat.. And it's about 1/2 the cost.. And is still unprocessed in any way..
Being away ....between here and mothers three times already this summer...springing her from the recovery center the last trip.. And setting up home care for her....I haven't had the time to keep the players in the cage fight I run here properly separated ..some of the bullies are running wild..so at both places I spend a lot of time pulling them apart and penalizing them through snipping.. But with no daily interventions they are right back at it... And I'm left with chaos galore... But an everchanging floral display...

GordonHawk said: But just get it from some of his hives a bit further upstate.. As I have no allergy problems to combat.. And it's about 1/2 the cost.. And is still unprocessed in any way..

Those people who buy local honey to combat allergies do not realize one important thing.The honey they buy
was put up by the bees several,(3-4),months earlier.To put it another way,say you have an allergy to ragweed pollen,you need honey gathered while the ragweed was in bloom so that it contains ragweed pollen.

Yes indeed... Most beekeeper s don't move their honey out that fast and you'll get many months workin any given jar...maybe a years span of gathering... I miss having bees... The thought of thousands of them waking up and going out..battling the world working for you.. Brings a tear to the eye..

I've had lots of butterflies this year...still do. Hummers...about the same as always.

Maybe they all stayed south, I put out fresh drinks for them but they never showed up, I still have ONE yellow butterfly.
I will get a picture.

Had to take these with my phone. it is the only one but he is a beauty.

In flight


Landed on butterfly bush.

It has been a kind of cool summer in a lot of places up north. Maybe your hummers stopped here?

I planted cuttings of red firespike, and now that it's blooming, have seen multiple hummers on it for the first time ever!

I have butterflies but not as many this year as last.

Has anyone seen, or heard from Chocolate Brug. (William), I am worried about him, been a long time since he posted.

dyzzypyxxy said:...I planted cuttings of red firespike, and now that it's blooming, have seen multiple hummers on it for the first time ever!

Can you give a source for this plant? It's very interesting.

It's in all the nurseries here, and I got cuttings from a friend which rooted easily. It's a tender perennial here, but you'd have to keep it indoors where you are Chelle.

It gets to be a big plant, too. Took a few pics of it this morning. Didn't get up early enough to see the hummers, though.

Okay. Thanks. I'll keep looking for it through mail order. I think I'm getting the hang of the *bring it in for the winter* thing. As long as a plant will go dormant it usually survives my treatment. I'm growing a couple of other tropical shrubs in containers now. All I do is cut them back hard before I bring them inside. Seems to be working so far.

dyzzypyxxy said:It's in all the nurseries here, and I got cuttings from a friend which rooted easily. It's a tender perennial here, but you'd have to keep it indoors where you are Chelle.

It gets to be a big plant, too. Took a few pics of it this morning. Didn't get up early enough to see the hummers, though.

That is beautiful. I wounder if it would say happy in a pot!
R