I was walking around the yard as usual this morning, checking out plants. I have a Rattail Cactus hanging in one of the oak trees and from a distance I noticed this Banded Sphinx Moth clinging to the side of the cactus. I thought it was stuck on the cactus spines so I gently lifted it to move it elsewhere but it seemed to be fine so put it back on the cactus stem. When I went back a couple of hours later, it was gone ... I sure hope it flew off and a lizard didn't get it.

Great photos, Lin - seems to be Sphinx Moth week... Love the new avatar photo - three very smiley faces.

Great links, Cheryl, and Melanie, you were right to identify the oleander - the French for some reason refer to it as 'laurier' (laurel) although the correct French term is 'oleandre'. I guess it's a bit like the way people both here and in the US call pelargoniums 'geraniums'.

I was just really happy to have something a bit exotic to contribute; I get so much enjoyment looking at everyone's amazing pics of beautiful butterflies.

My boss at MOSI took a picture of some Spicebush caterpillars a while ago and they turn up in my internet searches every now and then. She was recently contacted by a guy who created a meme with the photo and he apologized for not crediting her, but said he will from now on. I thought some of you might get a kick out of it. FYI, it's a pun on the book/movie "The Fault in Our Stars."

Sphinx are absolutely neat.

A Skipper > on a Dahlia.

This week it's the butterfly thread being highlighted in the newsletter. We had quite a few "noteworthy acorn tips" including:

@frostweed with a gorgeous Giant Swallowtail: http://garden.org/thread/view_...

@GrammaChar for her "Love is in the Air" post: http://garden.org/thread/view_...

@jmorth for more "love": http://garden.org/thread/view_...

Keep up the awesomeness, everyone!

Thank you Mellie and everyone, this is a wonderful thread because of Mellie's dedication and contributions and because of everyone's love of butterflies and beautiful pictures.

Thanks, Josephine. I couldn't do it without all you wonderful folks! And to newbies and lurkers, don't be shy! Just jump in and ask questions or tell us how wonderful our pictures are. We respond well to flattery. We all started at the beginning so don't ever be afraid to ask what might seem like a simple question. We're more than happy to share our knowledge and experience!

In case you miss it in the recently added pictures, @cliftoncat just added a lovely picture of what I believe is an Old World Swallowtail (Papilio machaon).

I totally agree with Mellie, we all started somewhere. Our love of nature and butterflies especially keeps us excited and learning every day.

Thank you, Melanie - and thank you for the acorns

For a real 'novice' question about butterflies - could anyone suggest things to plant to attract them in our zone 8b garden (southern England) and our zone 10a garden (south of France)? I know (sort of) what the bees like, but not really what butterflies like.

Mika, A few nectar source plants for Butterflies that come to mind and should do well in your southern England garden:

Asters, http://garden.org/plants/searc...
Butterfly Bush, Butterfly Bushes (Buddleja)
Coneflower, http://garden.org/plants/searc...
Torch Lily, http://garden.org/plants/searc...
Verbena, Tall Verbena (Verbena bonariensis)

plantladylin said:Mika, A few nectar source plants for Butterflies that come to mind and should do well in your southern England garden:

Asters, http://garden.org/plants/searc...
Butterfly Bush, Butterfly Bushes (Buddleja)
Coneflower, http://garden.org/plants/searc...
Torch Lily, http://garden.org/plants/searc...
Verbena, Tall Verbena (Verbena bonariensis)

Just a word of warning: The buddleja (butterfly bush) is an invasive species in New England. It can actually contribute to starvation of Monarchs because it takes over and crowds out milkweed. It does attract butterflies, but destroys the one source of Monarch food. http://www.rodalesorganiclife....

http://www.naba.org/pubs/bg172...

Thanks, Lin and Joanna. We already have all of the plants you list, Lin - possibly not enough of them, though!
We have I think three different kinds of butterfly bush here - one that I planted and 2 that self-seeded.
The one I planted seems to be really vigorous - perhaps I should think about removing it... Monarchs (the butterfly kind!) do exist in England, but they are very rare - I'll get some milkweed to see if I can attract them. I already grow stinging nettles for the Red Admirals, which we see regularly, but they are common throughout the country so it may have nothing to do with my nettles.

Mika , I found tis page it might help you decide Right side of page after clicking on the Butterfly shows the larval food plant ,

https://www.google.com/url?sa=...

Thank you Jim, that's a brilliant resource - I had no idea there were so many sorts of butterfly here! I'm going to make a shopping list of plants to buy - perhaps next year I'll see lots of butterfly varieties.

Okay you caterpillar guru's
Just found this cat on my rose bush (Rosa 'Joseph's Coat')...anybody know what it is?
***UPDATE*** closet match I've found is Noctuoidea - Owlet Moths and kin - Family -Erebidae, but no definite species

GoatDriver said:Okay you caterpillar guru's
Just found this cat on my rose bush (Rosa 'Joseph's Coat')...anybody know what it is?

Woah, that is some serious camouflage! I had to enlarge the pictures to see where the cat is!

Mika For the Acorn, I learned a couple there,, we have here , only a couple though , also noticed the host plants are not always that pretty and are same as a couple we have here , like the rumex and copper butterfly

I guess gardening for the butterflies is how to make the greenery plants look good with the flowers that bring them to their host plants . ?


interesting Larvae , coloration like loopers , good camoflage

Mika (and everyone), I find the real key to keeping butterflies around is to have their host plants. If you're attracting bees, then you're probably going to attract a certain amount of butterflies, anyway. But to keep butterflies around, you really want to focus on putting in some host plants. Then, they have no reason to leave! It's one stop shopping!

Off to consult my book on Goat's cat. If Cheryl doesn't beat me to it. She's good at identifying things.

Goat, I think you're on the right track. It looked closest to the Underwing Moths to me, which are in that same family.