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The Monarchs have arrived!
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April 2022 Edition
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This month so far has been awesome for egg laying activity on our host plants in our backyard. It began on April 3rd with John observing a Black Swallowtail laying eggs on fennel plants.
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Our First of the Year (FOY) Monarch was sighted in our habitat on Monday, April 11th. She spent the afternoon visiting each patch of milkweed shoots that had only just emerged a few days earlier. I spent a few moments photographing some of her eggs. As I was focusing on one in particular I heard a rustling noise, looked up and saw her in front of me about to deposit an egg. I quickly captured some photos of her in the act which is the featured photo above.
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Then just as I was about to head back inside I noticed a dark swallowtail flying around the fennel plants. As I was trying to get a positive ID of it, I was pleasantly surprised when she flew up toward the spicebush and paused for a moment to lay an egg on the backside of a leaf. It didn't matter that I couldn't make out her markings as I knew she had to be a Spicebush Swallowtail. True that she could've been a dark form female Tiger Swallowtail, though after checking her egg I was able to confirm she was a Spicebush.
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Cross fingers that the weather holds and there are no late season frosts. It is needed to help butterfly and moth populations recover from two years of decline due to late season cold snaps.
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What Are Keystone Native Plants?
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Keystone plants are those plants within an ecosystem that provide essential sources of food and shelter to other species. Each ecoregion has a list of native to the area plants that function as keystones. As we are most interested in those plants that support Lepidoptera species, our attention is most paid to those plants that serve as hosts for caterpillars.
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At the top of the list for hosts are eight species of trees. We are fortunate that our almost 2 acre property has multiple species of oak. Oak species top the list for our ecoregion with serving as a host to 436 species of caterpillars. We also have Prunus (wild/black cherry), Carya (hickory), and Pinus (pine) on or near our property.
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Do not despair if your property is too small to plant large trees or shrubs. There are many flowering perennials and bushes that have keystone value. The genus Solidago has an impressive count of 104 species of caterpillars supported. While Solidago gigantea (Late Goldenrod) is described as an aggressive spreader, other species in the genus such as Solidago odora (Sweet Goldenrod) and Solidago speciosa (Showy Goldenrod) are clump-forming and are not aggressive.
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Goldenrod (Solidago) tops the list of keystone flowering perennials supporting 102 caterpillar species
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Plants Available from Backyard Butterflies Ranked
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The number provided with each genus or species indicates how many caterpillar species uses that plant as a host. We will be adding this information to our website in the future for reference.
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Black cherry (Prunus): 362
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Goldenrods (Solidago): 102
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Aster (Symphyotrichum): 100
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New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus): 37
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Scarlet Rosemallow (Hibiscus): 28
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Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis): 24
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Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera): 18
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Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia): 16
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Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum):13
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Spicebush (Lindera benzoin): 11
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Red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis): 10
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Partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata): 10
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Blue Vervain (Verbena): 10
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Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium): 9
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Beardtongue (Penstemon): 7
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Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis): 6
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Blazing Star (Liatris): 5
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Passionflower (Passiflora): 5
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Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum): 4
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Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum): 2
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Cup Plant/Rosinweed (Silphium): 2
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Purple coneflower (Echinacea): 1
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Click on page image to download the PDF
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Backyard Butterflies is Officially a Nonprofit
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A Brief History of Backyard Butterflies
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John and I first began dreaming and planning our vision of Backyard Butterflies in 2015. Three years later in 2018 we formed as an LLC. In 2019 we incorporated as a nonprofit in North Carolina. It was our intention to apply for recognition as a 501(c)(3) public charity the following year in 2020. Then Covid happened...
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We weren't sure if we would be able to continue as the nonprofit we had originally envisioned because of the lockdown and changes in the way business was conducted. Without in-person interactions our education and community outreach activities were not possible.
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However, like many other organizations we quickly adapted and found what works. Much to our delight and surprise we have thrived!
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What changes now that we are an official 501(c)(3) public charity?
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- Your donations to us are now tax deductible.
- We can start a volunteer program because we now qualify for nonprofit liability insurance.
- We are exempt from charging sales tax on our plant sales because they qualify as our annual fundraiser and meet additional exemption provisions
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Designation Letter
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Spring Adventures in Mothing
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Last year I began to Seriously Moth on a weekly basis. At the end of the mothing season I made a person vow to begin mothing earlier so I can hopefully catch some of the Limited Time Only Catacola (Underwing) species and hopefully creep toward my goal of observing 1,000 species.
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Below are some of the more intriguing moths that I observed so far this month. The Chinquapin Leafminer measures ~10 mm in length. It proved to be a new record for Orange County. It appeared as a dark fleck on the collecting sheet. I happened to notice it glimmering from the light of my headlamp. Click on the image to see a larger view of its metallic looking scales of gold, blue, and purple.
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Pretty sure the Zale that visited is an Intent Zale, though it could be a Pine Barrens Zale. The Intent Zale uses Prunus species as a host which we have in the yard. Zale moths are a distinctly shaped genus of moths of which 26 species have been observed in North Carolina.
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The Eyed Paectes moth might be a new record to Orange County. Still waiting for vetting confirmation. Nonetheless, this moth was a 'new-to-me' species and it looked quite prominent and stunning on the collecting sheet.
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Chinquapin Leafminer moth
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Please spread the word that we can help hungry caterpillars!
We offer Caterpillar Support to those who are in need of host plants, foster care, or adoption of caterpillars.
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There are 21 species of caterpillar that we can provide the host plant for, and we can also provide host plants for some species of moths.
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This program is free of charge. All you need to do is apply letting us know what host plants you need, or if you need us to foster care or adopt your caterpillars.
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Newly hatched Sleepy Orange caterpillar next to a grain of rice
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Not sure what plants to grow in your habitat? We can help by conducting a free yard consultation that will provide you with a plant recommendation list.
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Upcoming Events
Sundays in April & May: Order Pick-ups & Shopping Hours 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
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May 21st: North Carolina Entomological Society Light Trapping at Backyard Butterflies (Rain date May 28th)
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Plant Pots Return Request
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We appreciate the return of pots for re-use if you happen to be passing by our way. No need to contact us, just drop them off on our porch.
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Support Our Missions
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Your contribution helps us fulfill our missions of providing education, community outreach, and assistance in creating backyard butterfly and moth friendly habitats.
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