Caterpillars

H20fwler

5 year old buck +
I've tried to do a lot for pollinators in the past couple of years and have been noticing more butterflies starting to hang around. Last night I spotted what at first I thought was a nice bunch of monarch caterpillars on a ferny looking plant...I looked them up and apparently they are black swallowtail? I snapped a couple pics thought I would share.

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I've got a respectable amount of milkweed and a large amount of wildflowers on my place, and I'm also trying to push that higher. I ID'd a couple different moths and butterflies I hadn't seen before, the last time I was up. I'm sure they were always there, I just didn't notice them. Also found four different types of bees in my plot.
 
Yes, different butterflies have different host plants. Everyone probably knows that monarchs use milkweed. Black swallowtails use dill, fennel, and queen anne's lace.

Other important varieties for butterflies are Elm, Willows, Cherry, Spicebush, Arrowwood vibernum, hackberry, alfalfa, stinging nettle......
 
I'm trying to diversify my pollinator strips even more and will be planting the dill&fennel to try and encourage seeing more of the swallowtails. I've got a good start on the milkweed and have some swamp milkweed showing up now. In the past couple of years I have focused on wildflowers and see now that I need to be looking at other plants also. We have put in a few bee hives originally thinking to help out the fruit trees but after researching into them have come to realize the huge benefit they are to all habitat with a bonus of honey. Next spring one of the new projects we want to try will be putting out some bumble bee and mason bee boxes.

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H20 - One thing my wife and I found out is that bee balm (wild bergamot) attracts bees like crazy. All kinds of bees. Boneset, New England asters, Phlox, and Goldenrod are good attractors as well.
 
H20 - One thing my wife and I found out is that bee balm (wild bergamot) attracts bees like crazy. All kinds of bees. Boneset, New England asters, Phlox, and Goldenrod are good attractors as well.

Yes sir! This year we have hundreds of them in pollinator strip and pasture and you are correct bee's bumblebees and butterflies love them. We are also finally seeing a lot of the blue vervian too.
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I'm trying to diversify my pollinator strips even more and will be planting the dill&fennel to try and encourage seeing more of the swallowtails. I've got a good start on the milkweed and have some swamp milkweed showing up now. In the past couple of years I have focused on wildflowers and see now that I need to be looking at other plants also. We have put in a few bee hives originally thinking to help out the fruit trees but after researching into them have come to realize the huge benefit they are to all habitat with a bonus of honey. Next spring one of the new projects we want to try will be putting out some bumble bee and mason bee boxes.

Mmg7hK9.jpg

1TFeKDP.jpg

uO9cCdW.jpg

That is really impressive work H20. You have me thinking I should be doing more of this around my place. Thanks for sharing – and inspiring.
 
That is really impressive work H20. You have me thinking I should be doing more of this around my place. Thanks for sharing – and inspiring.

Your welcome! I can't take the credit though my wife is the one that wanted "a sea of wildflowers" at the farm and pushed me to try the project.
When I first started messing with different habitat projects my focus was primarily on deer with a side of turkeys...now it has morphed into all kinds of other habitat things that have really been fun and interesting for the whole family and it has really opened my eyes to so many other things I had never even thought about.
 
The pollinator patches are gaining popularity. All those bees, butterflies, bumbles, and all the little flies that look like bees are all pollinators !! While they may not be directly beneficial to deer & turks, the pollination they accomplish is crucial to fruit crops and many other wild things like berries, nuts, etc. Our camp has a spot dedicated to planting wildflower strips …….. finally.
 
i've recently dived into pollinator plantings myself, one thing i struggle with is frequency and timing of mowing when establishing the new sites> does anyone have any experience or tips regarding mowing? ive researched multiple schools of thought, some saw mow often others not at all. SyRVLtrlTdumpKjeKJmt3A.jpgR9xKMQUZQli6a+nJAL61gg.jpgjlR3T28OSEKjRs1E26jbhg.jpg 7mLY1s8PSNmwZaufJnDsfg.jpgSaRuYhhwRwuv27AMI9Sq1A.jpg lka5p4sVTpShIGScXt4BJw.jpgLdqS7Y+eS06xhZH31USraA.jpg
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John, When we did ours we mowed it 4 times the first year, twice the second year, and burned the third year. I'm sure there are other ways some maybe better but it is what we were told to do and it worked out ok.
 
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