Lori, if you are talking to me, then thanks! We're lucky to have a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum and the website as a whole. I'm so glad to hear some good news about Monarchs in your area! It seems like a lot of people on this thread saw fewer butterflies this year. I'll just say we had a strange year in Florida (and still are). Some species did way better than usual while others didn't seem to be as numerous as they usually are. Might just be the normal ups and downs that different species experience. I've been raising caterpillars for a little over seven years now so I'm getting a pretty good idea of the patterns. Plus, I volunteer every Sunday at the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa. The museum has a crew of volunteers, but the butterfly volunteers are a separate group because you have to have such specialized knowledge. I'm always joking with the guests that I never actually go inside the museum (which is actually pretty true). I just stay outside in the butterfly exhibit - or in the lab. I've been lucky to raise species at the museum that I don't get at my house (mostly because I don't have the host plant) so that's been a real help when it comes to learning about butterflies. We're supposed to be getting rain here and then cooler temps for the holiday so I probably won't have much in the way of photos until Friday. I told my boss at the museum I would stop by so she can have a couple of days off to enjoy Thanksgiving and not have to worry about the caterpillars and butterflies.
