Speaking of Giant Swallowtails, one of my favorite host trees is the Hop Tree, Ptelea trifoliata. I really can't understand why this isn't sold in every nursery in the country. I have to credit a guy who was volunteering at a new state natural area for telling me about its value to butterflies. He later became a park ranger. I already knew the Hop Tree by sight, but he showed the volunteers a caterpillar on the tree they had moved near the house they were using as headquarters. It was a Giant Swallowtail cat. Later, I found out that the Two-tailed Tiger Swallowtail also used the Hop Tree across the road on unoccupied land. So I had to have some! I found one to dig up in an area that was going to be developed and rescued it.
