Praying Mantis nymphs

With all of the butterfly larvae we raise, it would never make sense for us to use pesticides or herbicides around the greenhouses. So how do we control pests that want to eat up our plants? Over the last few years we have experimented with various "biological" controls including parasitic wasps and praying mantis nymphs... we have decided we like the praying mantis the best! I honestly d0n't know if they do a better job, but they are way cool! The image to the right is a photo of the nymphs emerging from the egg sack.

So it begins!

The greenhouse season is wrapping up at Little's Greenhouse... the "2 for 1" sale is this weekend. One way or another everything will be gone by next weekend! Behind the scenes for many months we have been preparing for a new butterfly season. Lots and lots of tropical milkweed has been planted for the monarchs... dill and parsley for the black swallowtails... our entire effort for the rest of the season will be toward producing lots of happy butterflies!

This week I brought my "breeding stock" in from another butterfly grower in the south.... a dozen larvae ranging from a day to a few days old. Over the next month, they will grow, pupate and emerge as monarchs. At that point will be pair them off, allow them to breed and then contain the females with milkweed plants, where they will hopefully lay eggs. With any luck, we will have three generations of monarchs this year... with the last batch ready to migrate in late August and September. If all goes right, we will have a "tag and release" party in Mid-September at the greenhouse.

Black swallowtails are usually the first butterflies we raise each year. For whatever the reason, they have not been around this spring. We have planted dill and parsley in the gardens and are hoping for some caterpillars sometime soon! If you find any in your garden... on dill, parsely, carrots or on Queen Anne's lace, stick them in a cup and bring them to me. I can show you have you can raise them successfully...