Pollinator Island up on Sweet Gum Hill: First Swallow Tail

Makes a guy want to get out his fiddle and play a jig!

This is a male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly 

And we have been visited by the female of the species as well, the dark version below:

August 6 Update:   The Return of The King!

Monarch at the Milkweed, looking quite dapper after its three thousand mile Odyssey from Mexico over the past month. 

                     Then in late August we begin to see the next generation of Monarchs:

These black and green and orange caterpillars will encase themselves in a greenish brownish whiteish shell, presumably made from the milkweed that is so important to their diet, egg propagation, and nectar. Then in the early spring, this generation will emerge here in Pennsylvania and spend five weeks feasting on milkweed greens. They will lay eggs which will become the migrating generation, which will nourish itself on milkweed nectar. Amazingly, somehow that generation will migrate to Mexico and winter over there before breeding. Then they will die but their offspring will migrate back to the northeast and inbreed with the non-migrating groups they will find here.  The adaptive advantage is that once every second generation there is a species wide breeding opportunity and the genome can recoup all of the potential advantageous mutations which have happened in the widespread habitats, so long as these changes assist in flying, breeding, or surviving.  Think of it as a generation skipping "spring break."  By planting a small patch of milkweed next to a butterfly bush in the center of our yard, we have enjoyed watching a wide array of butterflies this year. But all of the new caterpillars we have seen reinforces for us the importance to the population of Monarchs.  The total population of Monarch Butterflies has crashed over the past four years, down some ninety percent. So they need all of the help they can get.

What can you do?  Devote a small spot of your yard to a butterfly island. Plant milkweed seeds there and refrain from using anything chemical on your yard. Permit the milkweed to grow and self propagate. The Monarch butterfly uses this plant at all of its stages. So do not mow it. Just let it grow and watch closely.