Swallowtails in central Illinois. I see a lot of black Eastern swallowtails and also giant swallowtails in my flower gardens. Eastern swallowtails use several types of herbs as host plants. I have fennel (a perennial) planted in several places and have parsley (an annual) in pots throughout the yard.
Giant swallowtails use different herbs, one of which is rue (a perennial) I bought a rue plant the other day and divided it into three parts which are now in pots but will later be planted in the yard.
Photographs of a black Eastern swallowtail, a giant swallowtail, and three plants in pots (the fuller one on the right is parsley, and the other two are rue).
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Which rues grow native in Illinois?
AstralSmoke
Level 8
June 13, 2018
1
I'm not sure. I bought a small pot of rue from a local nursery about a week ago and divided it into three pots. As soon as they look healthy, I plan to find a spot in my garden for rue. I'll make a note to look for the tag that came with it and if I do I'll get back to you.
You have some really cooperative models, and some beauties!! I look forward to flight #2 here to the north in WI.
Leafhead
Level 8
June 13, 2018
1
Thank you. They are beautiful and very photogenic. I'm not positive that I took the picture of the black swallowtail myself, but I know I took the picture of the giant swallowtail because I recognize my garage wall in the photograph.
Spectacular. My swallowtails love the Joe Pye Weed & any kind of sunflower related plant such as cup plant or compass plant. I bought some fennel but it isn't happy. So I will try again from seed.
Mooolah
Level 8
June 12, 2018
3
is that fire affecting you?
@btroje There is a vast forest of dead Ponderosa pines that the pine beetle has destroyed. The winters are so mild that the beetle is spreading unheeded. The fires will clean out much of it where it burns. It is just that so many people have moved into the area that homes & lives are at risk. It has to burn. It is natures way of cleansing. I haven't built yet & I have no Ponderosa pines. There will be lots of wild flowers next spring. Humans are not even an after thought of Mother Nature's. She is cleansing the area. Unfortunate but true.
@Countrywoman i have seen the dead trees and overgrown forests,Fire is the only thing that can fix it
First fireflies in earnest last night
@btroje
Pyro culture is a vital part of prairie maintenance as well, as it clears out dead detritus, returns carbon and phosphorus back to the soil and kills most but the toughest invasives. You wouldn't know by looking at first, but that blackened, charred "wasteland" roars back to life within days, especially after a good rain.
@Countrywoman
Prairie burns are more fun than just about anything! Part of me is a pyro, but mostly it's the greenery that comes from the destruction that amazes me. Same is necessary for other habitats like the Florida Everglades.
It is like watching the Phoenix rise from the ashes.
Talk about reinvention!
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