In Missouri they host on Ptelea trifoliata. I've also seem them lay eggs on Rue if you can find someone with that.

One thing I see is that sometimes people find that the cats refuse to switch over and will die.
Not saying that will happen, just that on the butterfly forums, I've seen some people that have problems with that.

I don't know how much of a botanist you are, but when I lived in Indiana and Illinois, their most common host plant was prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum), and I know it grows in your area, so if you can find it, I'd try that.

Tucker

Thanks for the responses, I'll see what I can find!

Mike,

Those look like big leaves. If your tree has a lot of leaves and you don't have many babies, they may have enough food available without stripping your tree. I don't remember them being heavy eaters. They are very slow moving and mine seemed to eat mostly at night.

I fed mine on Rue, as that is the only host plant I have for them. Rue has tiny little leaves and yet, to me, it didn't seem like they ate a lot, considering their size. Being slow, maybe they don't expend a lot of energy, thus requiring less food! :-)

Best of luck. I hope you're able to locate enough food to get them to maturity.

Mary