Attracting Butterflies

12 Jun '06 4:18 pm

Thank you for the interesting information .I wonder if 'ours' are going to Mexico ? Swan plants are often grown at schools ,so that the children can learn and appreciate life cycles.They grow about 5 feet tall.
The 'swans' contain all the seeds .They are fluffy like thistles,and I save the seeds and plant them in Spring .I wish I could post some over .
I know the birds won`t touch the caterpillars ,but someone was telling me that wasps attack them .Is this true ?
Dixie.

12 Jun '06 8:59 pm

The Sierra Chincua Butterfly Sanctuary is in the mountains outside the town of Angangueo in the region of Michoacán.

13 Jun '06 12:06 am

Wow, sjoerd, thanks for pinpointing the location!

Dixie, yes, I've heard about the wasps, and with some people it's a horrific problem. They don't actually sting the pupae, but there are a few species of parasitic wasps that lay eggs in monarch larvae and pupae. The eggs turn into wasp larvae that eat the monarch, then pupate and turn into new wasps. Some people have had to use wasp and bee traps, which don't always work. Others just bring their caterpillars inside for the duration. I don't know how widespread this problem with wasps is, however.

13 Jun '06 2:21 am

Hi, again , dear Darlene!

Thank you so much for the Milkweed photos! I have already seen some more in Google/Images. It is such a beautiful little shrub with lovely pink flowers!I enjoy so much the enlightening and educative discussion here!

I'm sending you two photos I took in Athens this last weekend, where I had to fly urgently for private reasons. There was a lovely Buddleia outside the entrance of Acropolis Metro Station, at the feet of the Holy Rock, where the ancient monument of Parhtenon is found. So, apart from the lovely butterflies and the Buddleias , you may see a little bit of Parthenon in the backround of the photos...

13 Jun '06 1:09 pm

Hi, again, dear Liza! Thanks for the thanks!

I'm just enamored with mooseycountry, because I, too, am learning so much, and seeing so much I never knew existed, and everyone here is so fabulous. We're from all around the world, but we've created our own small community of friends. (Okay, I'm a sentimental person... I want to send all of you a great big hug!).

Those pictures you took in Greece are spectacular, especially with the Parthenon in the background. I never heard of Buddleia. Thanks so much for posting it! The flowers remind me of those on our Joe-Pye-Weed in North America, exactly the same color and very similar, although the leaves are narrower. Butterflies love it, too. My, your shots would make beautiful pictures to hang on the wall in a frame.

That's a male Swallowtail butterfly, right? I think I can see the swallow-type tails at the end. (Just a tidbit, in In case you didn't know, the tail is a defense mechanism. If a bird chomps down on it to try and eat the butterfly, the tail breaks loose and the butterfly is free to fly away.)

I'll have to show your pictures to my husband. He visited Greece ages ago; saw the Parthenon, too. Just hope your trip wasn't for any "sad" reason.

Thanks for the "gift," Liza!

13 Jun '06 1:14 pm

Sjoerd, just wanted you to know I visited your website.

What a wonderful community. Gives people the freedom to grow things to their hearts' content, pick fruits themselves instead of buying them from a store, and reap all the rewards we who have our own gardens at home get, whereas the the people in this community might never be able to do so if they didn't have what you offer. And, they can also make friends with people who have like interests.

What a great idea. Keep up the good work! Darlene

13 Jun '06 9:31 pm

Thanks for visiting my website, Darleen. I hope that you enjoyed it. I was updating it at the time you wrote your response, so I hope that you didn't have trouble viewing the pages. I made changes on the English as well as the Dutch versions.
Yes.. the Volkstuin , or "Allotment" as the Brits call them are an institution here in Holland (as well as in G.B. for that matter). It sure fits our bill, because we live in an upstairs flat (appartment)and have no "normal" garden. heh heh.
It's about a 10 minute bicycle trip out to it. You may have noticed that our "club" is quite organised. Not all volkstuins are quite as organised...and in G.B. they are much less organised - in some cases to an alarming degree, I have seen.
Anyway...thanks again for visiting and your nice comments.

13 Jun '06 10:09 pm

Sjoerd,
I so much enjoyed visiting your site, Its amazing what can be learnt from Mooseys Website. I never knew lotties existed (only allotments in England) they must be so good for your community.Im surprised you dont have much more of a waiting list.No wonder you have a lottie if you live in an apartment and dont have a garden! Do you not even have a balcony garden?

13 Jun '06 11:17 pm

Well Goose,

Yes there is a balcony overlooking a tree-lined 4 lane street below with a grassy median.
The median also has sparsely planted "small" trees.
Because of the small size of the balcony, the traffic and the lack of light (sun blocked by large sycamores) I can't grow anything other than small flowers in balcony flower boxes which I hang on the balcony rails.
Well as for the waiting list-- I think that the rules keep some folks away...but there are 4-5 other allotment complexes in the area as well, so perhaps people choose one closer to their home. This one is way on the outskirts of town.

15 Jun '06 7:39 pm

I have not grown swan plants especially for the Monarchs but I do have a lot of Buddleias growing throughout my garden and I always have Monarchs visiting. Do you think I should grow swan plants Question

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Attracting butterflies