Something to consider for your butterfly plants. -----Original Message----- From: Charles Cameron [mailto:ccamer@xxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 6:43 PM To: dplex-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [DPLEX-L:35981] Gardening thoughts Folks, The following by Jim Nottke was just printed in the 2009 #1 issue of the Carolina Butterfly Society's newsletter "The Chrysalis". A Caterpillar Garden vs. a Butterfly Garden As you plant your 2009 Butterfly Garden, I suggest that you separate your caterpillar host plants from any nectar plants by as much distance as practical. Ten years ago I planted my host plants in my flower and vegetable gardens wherever they fit with regard to their needs for sun, water, space, etc. While butterflies deposited many eggs, the loses of eggs and caterpillars to predators was very high - in fact I got some good photos of caterpillars being preyed upon by a variety of other insects and spiders. Then about 5 years ago, I thought about isolating my host plants from other plantings, so I started a Caterpillar Garden in a large grassy area of a former cow pasture. The 20 x 20 foot host plant garden is separated from pasture weeds and fruit orchard by about 75 feet of closely mown grass (aka urban desert). While the host plant selection has varied a bit year-to-year, it always contained Hackberry saplings, Common Milkweed, Tropical Milkweed, Fennel, and Parsley. I hand picked any flower buds that formed and seldom saw a wasp, hornet, praying mantis, assassin bug, ant or spider in the area. In this environment, caterpillar survival was very high, with host plants often being completely defoliated due to large number of caterpillars! Last year, instead of keeping flower buds removed, I let the milkweed bloom, and caterpillars quickly disappeared. The insects and spiders drawn by flowers find that caterpillars make a good meal. Anyone who has kept caterpillars in screened containers will tell you stories about wasps and hornets trying to find a way to get at the caterpillars. Now go plant your Butterfly Garden and your Caterpillar Garden.> Charles Cameron Greensboro, NC c-cameron@xxxxxxxxxxxx ccamer@xxxxxxxxxxxx