Swallowtail Caterpillars

Lucas found this little guy hanging out in one of the crab apple trees.  (In the back field, apparently, we have a bear hanging out in one of the old wild apple trees, so a caterpillar is preferable, at least on the property near the cottages!)

This is the caterpillar who will turn into the lovely swallowtail butterflies that flit about on our lilacs every spring.

These butterflies are two generational in this part of the country -- which means we see the first ones in May, and then the second go-round starting in late August.

Crabapples are among their preferred habitats -- and since we have several of those trees on the property, they like us.

This has been a poor year for our lovely \Monarch butterflies. A cool wet spring has held their population are almost record lows here.  It is now a matter of exclamation to see one flitting from flower to flower.  Hopefully they are doing better to the south -- although there are horrible heat waves in parts of their southern range that don't bode well for anything or anyone.  Our best advise to help these lovely butterflies is to be sure leave Milkweed in your gardens and along fencelines. It is their only habitat... the only thing the young caterpillars eat...