All the Dirt on Gardening

Giant Swallowtail butterflies are a thrill. We don't get a lot of them and I watch for their appearance every fall when they come to nectar and lay eggs on the Rue plants.  Called Orange Dogs in citrus growing areas because their caterpillars eat Rue to the stems. According to the U of FL , " Its range extends from southern New England across the northern Great Lakes states, into Ontario, through the southern portions of the Central Plains to the Rocky Mountains. The species ranges southward to Florida and the Caribbean, into the southwestern United States, and on through Mexico to Central and South America." Two Giant Swallowtails in flight The caterpillars go through five skins but each one looks like bird droppings of one kind or another.  It's one of those things: If you grow the host plant and avoid all chemical sprays and applications, you will get an opportunity to enjoy these gorgeous creatures in your garden or patio. Rue has beautifu...

Providing plants for butterflies to raise their young is a good hobby for those of us with asthma who can't have furry pets around all the time. The Giant Swallowtail butterfly lays one egg on any plant in the Rue family, including citrus trees and Devil's Walkingstick . Her caterpillars are considered pests in citrus groves . But here in zone 7 Oklahoma, they are welcome to eat the Rue plants we grow specifically for them. We planted a Prickly Ash, Toothache Tree or Zanthoxylum americanum, also, but the leaves are 8 feet high and we can't see caterpillar activity up there. Oklahoma Biosurvey provides information on everything flora and fauna in our state. Their butterfly link has selected links to larger, informative sites. The rue plants came from a gentleman in Oklahoma City who gave me two starts that I have been babying for two years. This year they are large enough to attract a single egg and the resulting Orange Dog caterpillar in these photos. Common Rue, Ruta gra...