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misssherryg

Pipevine Swallowtail Eggs on A. debilis and more

MissSherry
10 years ago

Last year I ordered and planted Aristolochia debilis/Chinese pipevine to see if it would thrive here and to see if pipevine swallowtails would lay eggs on it. They've ignored it so far this year, and, considering the huge number of eggs they've laid on the A. tomentosa, I was making plans to give the vine away or throw it away. While I was out in the garden today, I noticed a female fluttering around it, so I waited, and she laid a small cluster of eggs on it!
The vine is very easy to grow, started making new growth before the A. tomentosas and shot up quickly. I'll let you know whether or not the caterpillars thrive on it or not. The flowers look similar to A. clematitis flowers, and PVS cats do well on that one, although it's not the first plant the females lay their eggs on. I've got a little of A. clematitis left, and there are no eggs on it.

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The pearl crescent eggs STILL haven't hatched! I'm wondering now if they're duds. The cool weather has caused the PVS eggs to take a long time to hatch, so that may be the case with the PC eggs.

I saw a southern pearly eye in my front yard today, flopping around in their typical ungainly manner. There is a creek down the road from here, and canes grow all around there. I ordered 3 cane plants last year and planted them in separate areas of the bottom of the hollow, where it's nearly always wet. Two of them got bitten down by deer, but are resprouting now, only one is the original height. There aren't enough leaves to support more than a few caterpillars. I seem to remember that they usually lay eggs in groups, but sometimes singly - if this was a female and she came to lay eggs, let's hope it's 'singly'!

Every time I pass by a small sassafras in my garden, I see this caterpillar -

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I think it must be an early instar white marked tussock moth, maybe not.

Another luna moth has emerged, and I think it's a female. It's harder to tell the sex of luna moths than other big moths, because the females have a decent size 'comb' - this one has a fat body, so maybe I'll get some eggs from this one! :)

Sherry

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