No Monarch Butterflies this year

[claudine]

I have seen zero, and I live in a place that is supposedly part of their route!!! I'm starting to worry, I have seen so few butterflies and bee, but on the brighter side I saw some humming birds some weeks ago! They were gorgeous They thought my colorful clothespins were flowers lol. I disappointed them, since i have no flowers anymore

Oh, you're so lucky!! I'd love to see humming birds! I'm sure they're the cutest and the prettiest little creatures in the whole world. It's such a pity that they don't live in my climate zone.
Of course butterflies are gorgeous too, but I prefer humming birds

 

[ChanellG]

I haven't seen a monarch butterfly in person. I don't think we have that kind of butterfly here. Are they harmful?

They are anything but harmful! In fact, I can't think of any butterfly that is harmful. The larvae eat the leaves of certain plants, including some food plants, but I wouldn't call that harmful. It's easy to put in extra plants to feed them and still have your food plants intact. I grow dill and fennel for the swallowtails to save my parsley.

 

[ChanellG]

I have seen zero, and I live in a place that is supposedly part of their route!!! I'm starting to worry, I have seen so few butterflies and bee, but on the brighter side I saw some humming birds some weeks ago! They were gorgeous They thought my colorful clothespins were flowers lol. I disappointed them, since i have no flowers anymore

Oh, you're so lucky!! I'd love to see humming birds! I'm sure they're the cutest and the prettiest little creatures in the whole world. It's such a pity that they don't live in my climate zone.
Of course butterflies are gorgeous too, but I prefer humming birds

I was at the home of someone in my gardening group from Facebook recently and while we were in her yard a hummingbird visited one of her cigar plants! I hadn't seen a hummingbird here since before hurricane Katrina (almost 20 years ago, in fact)! I'm about to start an in-ground plot of plants to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

To see bees you have to leave some of the wildflowers and invasive vines in a section of your garden. Those attract pollinators better than anything!

 

[ChanellG]

He is so adorable!! I love cats, I wish they weren't so scared of my evil little Yorkie
I noticed two butterflies in this picture. They're so big! In my garden, I sometimes see butterflies that look quite alike, but they're much smaller.

The monarch butterflies in the photo had just emerged from their cocoons. It was such a rewarding experience fostering them! I didn't have the time to dedicate this year, but hopefully by next spring I can do it again.

 

[helagumamela]

They are anything but harmful! In fact, I can't think of any butterfly that is harmful. The larvae eat the leaves of certain plants, including some food plants, but I wouldn't call that harmful. It's easy to put in extra plants to feed them and still have your food plants intact. I grow dill and fennel for the swallowtails to save my parsley.

Really? That is very interesting to know. The caterpillars in our garden killed my okras. They ate all the leaves. :/

 

[Trellum]

Oh, you're so lucky!! I'd love to see humming birds! I'm sure they're the cutest and the prettiest little creatures in the whole world. It's such a pity that they don't live in my climate zone.
Of course butterflies are gorgeous too, but I prefer humming birds

Thank you They are very fast! Wish I could take a picture of them to show you, but sadly they are so fast and always on the move. But a friend of mine has one of these outside her garden:

So the hummingbirds feed I'm sure if I had one of those outside the yard a lot of them would start showing up after a while. I heard you can make your own as well, it would look like this:

They love sugary water!

 

[Trellum]

I was at the home of someone in my gardening group from Facebook recently and while we were in her yard a hummingbird visited one of her cigar plants! I hadn't seen a hummingbird here since before hurricane Katrina (almost 20 years ago, in fact)! I'm about to start an in-ground plot of plants to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

To see bees you have to leave some of the wildflowers and invasive vines in a section of your garden. Those attract pollinators better than anything!

Thanks for the tips By the way, have you tried with a feeder? My friend has one, she fills it up with sugary water, and so far she has attracted a lot hummingbirds! :O I'd do the same she did, but I'm moving soon and in a hurry right now!

 

[claudine]

Thank you They are very fast! Wish I could take a picture of them to show you, but sadly they are so fast and always on the move. But a friend of mine has one of these outside her garden:

So the hummingbirds feed I'm sure if I had one of those outside the yard a lot of them would start showing up after a while. I heard you can make your own as well, it would look like this:

They love sugary water!

If humming birds lived in my area, I would install at least 100 feeders in my garden, I'd hang them on every branch of every tree I know I'd never get bored with observing those enchanting, tiny creatures
Do they drink fruit juices as well?

 

[AbundantBlooms]

In the very early spring, the hummers make it all the way up north where I live and I always have a feeder out which they hungrily visit, but I never knew why they came all the way up here so early if there were no flowers to eat from. I wondered if they migrate early because people put feeders out, but I wasn't sure. I looked up answers to why this was on the internet but couldn't find anything. Then, one day I was on Netflix and watched a documentary on birds, and in that show I learned that hummingbirds that come way up north early like the Ruby Throats we have here and feed on tree sap that starts flowing in the spring, from wells in the tree bark that woodpeckers and sapsuckers create and eat sap from. There's established areas where these woodpeckers and sapsuckers feed from and the hummers know where they are so they always get visited early on like this. I thought that was awesome! We have a few maples on our property so I thought about trying to create some wounds in trees next spring- nothing harsh or cruel, but just to see if it would work to attract an early feeding hummer.

I've seen videos on the internet of hummingbirds eating fruit juices. Worth a try!

 

[ChanellG]

Thanks for the tips By the way, have you tried with a feeder? My friend has one, she fills it up with sugary water, and so far she has attracted a lot hummingbirds! :O I'd do the same she did, but I'm moving soon and in a hurry right now!

I might get a feeder for the new hummingbird and butterfly garden once I get it established. It's fairly easy to make your own and I'm becoming quite proficient at simple syrups. A sweetened flower syrup would probably be a fantastic treat for hummingbirds. Of course, I'd have to be sure that yard kitty didn't try to catch them.

 

[ChanellG]

If humming birds lived in my area, I would install at least 100 feeders in my garden, I'd hang them on every branch of every tree I know I'd never get bored with observing those enchanting, tiny creatures
Do they drink fruit juices as well?

LOL! People make sugar solutions for them, but they drink the nectar from plants. It's not necessary to put so many feeders out as long as you grow the right flowers. Are you sure that there are no hummingbirds native to where you live, @claudine?

 

[ChanellG]

Really? That is very interesting to know. The caterpillars in our garden killed my okras. They ate all the leaves. :/

Well, you can't let them eat all the leaves from the entire plant. Without leaves a plant can't sustain itself. I don't know of a particular butterfly that lays eggs on okra, they tend to stick to one or a specific family of plants. What you had was probably the larvae of a moth.

 

[helagumamela]

Well, you can't let them eat all the leaves from the entire plant. Without leaves a plant can't sustain itself. I don't know of a particular butterfly that lays eggs on okra, they tend to stick to one or a specific family of plants. What you had was probably the larvae of a moth.

Oh I see. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me! I will check my okras again. The last time I checked, their leaves were almost gone.

 

[Trellum]

If humming birds lived in my area, I would install at least 100 feeders in my garden, I'd hang them on every branch of every tree I know I'd never get bored with observing those enchanting, tiny creatures
Do they drink fruit juices as well?

Hi CLauds! hehehehe, I bet that would be a quite interesting sight My friend uses water and sugar, but not sure about fruit juices, my guess is they prefer something plain like water and sugar, plus I'd not trust juices much, unless you make them yourself and even then not sure if it would work. Those lttle birdies are kinda picky sometimes

 

[Trellum]

I might get a feeder for the new hummingbird and butterfly garden once I get it established. It's fairly easy to make your own and I'm becoming quite proficient at simple syrups. A sweetened flower syrup would probably be a fantastic treat for hummingbirds. Of course, I'd have to be sure that yard kitty didn't try to catch them.

Awww!!!! That's awesome!!! Have you posted anything on that topic? Maybe a topic on how to make your own flower syrups would be a great idea Or a post on how to make your own butterfly/hummingbird feeder, I know I'd love that and bet others would do too