The Butterflies are back!

Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae nectaring on Eupatorium odoratum. This butterfly gardening nectar source is a butterfly magnet in the month of October.

Many different species stop by to feed as they make their way south for the winter.

SURPRISE!!!

It is a Dyras iulia, Julia Longwing in Katy, Texas feeding on the mistflower mentioned above.

A rare sight for this part of

Southeast Texas .

We saw this species last year and this year feeding on the same plant as well as a Heliconius

charitonius, Zebra Longwing also seen last year and this year.

And of course, lots of Monarchs and Queens visited in the month of November.

Plant mistflower in the fall months. Once it blooms profusely and the butterflies visit it on their journey the blooms will brown and set seed. Once this happens, you should cut it back to about 10 to 12 inches above the crown of the root zone. It will shoot back in April or March and bloom

once again in the early to late Fall. You will have seedlings in other spots in your garden that will pop up in the early spring. You can easily pull these out or transplant them into a new home in your garden.

Male monarch feeding on milkweed bloom.

Danaus plexippus

Monarch

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