host plant
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Phaon Crescent
Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora) is the host plant for Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon) butterflies. For several weeks I have been seeing many of these small butterflies, although I haven’t spotted any caterpillars yet. There are nibbles on Frogfruit leaves, however. Maybe caterpillars are doing that? This butterfly also visits other nearby plants, although in this case on the Texas Continue reading
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Older Black Swallowtail Caterpillars
When I reported a month ago that I was seeing Black Swallowtail caterpillars on my dill plants, they were quite small and had a “saddle” pattern over their stripes. Here’s an example: Now, a month later, I see several much chunkier caterpillars that are still the same species but with rather different coloring. These are Continue reading
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Black Swallowtail Caterpillars
I often see Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) butterflies here, but they are difficult to photograph because they are constantly in motion, even when feeding. I have a few dill plants here, courtesy of a friend, and since they are a host plant for Black Swallowtails I wasn’t surprised to see what looked like egg-laying behavior Continue reading
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Phaon Crescent And Frogfuit
Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora) is a native ground cover that loves to grow here. The flowers are tiny, visited by small bees and butterflies. Frogfruit is also the host plant for Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon) butterflies, and I’m starting to see quite a few of them now. It’s hard to discern scale on these photos, but Continue reading
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We Need Caterpillars!
If you want your garden to be visited by birds or butterflies, then you need to be willing to accept caterpillars, and they will voraciously eat holes in the leaves of their host plants. Even before I’d had a chance to plant much of anything here, we were blessed with an abundance of volunteer sunflowers. Continue reading
About Me
Nature Lover.
Inquisitive Observer.
Student Gardener.
I invite you to join me on my journey to convert my sterile (from a nature point of view) new house lot to a healthy and diverse ecosystem, as I make discoveries, mistakes, and hopefully progress. I am not an expert or professional. The project started in February 2023 and the location is Seguin, Texas, USA.
Rewilding My Lot 