If you look close you can see two Zebra Longwings on the upper left and lower right.
Today it looks like this . . .
And we have these 3 newborns who will soon be fluttering around . . .
You can see the pupae they emerged from right above them. In fact, we counted over 20 empty pupae. How exciting! All this on one single passionvine. I didn't realize they would attach their pupa onto the passion vine. Now that I know, I'll have to watch more closely to see them emerging.
I hope they discover the other passionvine in the garden so this one can recuperate a bit. Who would ever think a gardener could be so excited over massive plant damage in the garden. From the perspective of a gardener who plants with the hope of attracting wildlife . . . Massive plant damage is a good thing and a 'BIG HOORAY' that you're on the right track!
8 comments:
I thought, what the heck is she celebrating for if she has massive plant damage. Then when I saw the pictures and read your post, I saw. Boy, they sure devoured the plant didn't they. That looks like a great plant to have. I'll see if I can find it here.
Happy summer gardening ~ keep cool and hydrated ~ FlowerLady
Hooray, indeed! Good for you, I want some of that kind of destruction also.
Talk about a "one stop does it all"! I didn't know they would attach their pupa onto the passion vine either. I've never noticed mine to do that . . . I'll have to pay closer attention. :-)
Longwings! Always exciting to see them.
Oh, Susan - from your title, I thought you were being sarcastic, lol and was wondering if you had a big storm or something. Well - I am happy to see a most positive reason for your plant damage! That is exciting! I am always thrilled to witness something new to me going on in the garden and I love hearing about your new arrivals!
I remember when I planted my first passionvine, I was so excited when the butterflies discovered it. But soon it was completely leafless and there were still a bunch of caterpillars on it. I was so worried about the hungry caterpillars that I went driving around from nursery to nursery looking for another passionvine to feed them. Of course they ate that one too, but it still wasn't enough. I ended up buying three passionvines that year. Luckily, it's such a pretty plant. You can never have too many.
Thanks everyone for your comments. It's so nice to have friends who understand this kind of quirky behavior.
So fun when the butterflies do their damage-thing on the host plants we put in just for them. Love to see the Zebra longwings fluttering about in the garden.
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