Monarch Butterfly Southwest Florida Butterfly Gardening Zebra Longwing Butterfly Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly Giant Swallowtail Butterfly Gulf Fritillary Butterfly Polydamas Swallowtail Butterfly Queen Butterfly Monarch caterpillar zebra longwing caterpillar cloudless sulphur caterpillar eastern black swallowtail caterpillar giant swallowtail caterpillar gulf fritillary caterpillar polydamas swallowtail caterpillar black rim swallowtail caterpillar black rim swallowtail caterpillar queen caterpillar zebra longwing caterpillar

There’s something about a giant swallowtail gracefully flying into the garden that catches my eye and makes me stop to admire its beauty. The wild lime tree, one of its host plants, is planted right outside of my office window, so the giant swallowtail catches my eye from time to time when visiting the garden.

The best part is I watched her leave many eggs behind. So, when I had a minute, I checked the tree in the area I saw her mostly, and found four eggs!

I have decided to stop raising caterpillars inside of a butterfly house and let the lifecycle unfold in nature.

With that said, I found a new way to help caterpillars if needed . . .

I have seen ideas to use mesh bags on the plants. So, I added the bags to the leaves that had eggs. This measure has been taken as the little caterpillars seem to always vanish a few days after they hatch.

I am excited to share that all the eggs have hatched and I have baby swallowtail caterpillars growing on my wild lime tree.

I am hoping this measure, while leaving them in their environment, will help them continue to grow, so they can form their chrysalis.

With anything that I do, I research until my heart’s content and I find the answers I am seeking. A few years ago, I stumbled upon the North American Butterfly Association, sparking a curiosity and desire to become involved.

I decided to continue to add to my butterfly garden space – more nectar plants, more host plants to attract new species of butterflies, before becoming certified.

My host plants now include – corkystem passionvine, maypop passionvine, Giant milkweed, butterfly milkweed, wild lime, birthwort, Dutchman pipe, bahama cassia, purpletop vervain, coontie, candlestick cassia, dill, frogfruit, Mexican petunia, plumbago, and Virginia pepperweed.

The nectar plants, also continue to grow in assortment. Some of my favorites include blanket flowers, zinnia, sweet almond bush, Mexican sunflower, and firebush.

With a these plants, my garden now extends across the front of my house, from my front door and beyond. There are many plants that have resseded themselves filling in more space around the walkway. The great part – I am still finding spaces to fill in with more new plants.

I am excited to share that my garden sign arrived, as well as my certificate. I now need to make a stake so I can put it in the garden.

I now have a certified butterfly garden. My passion continues to grow, even now, after more than five years of diving into this new passion and continuing to grow my knowledge of how to create the best space for butterflies.

Tag Archives: host plants

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