Exploring Marine Ecosystems and Native Plants: Insights from Coral Reefs to Backyard Gardens
For most of the summer, I only saw Gulf Fritillary butterflies flitting over my two passion flower vines and occasionally sipping nectar from the flowers I had planted. Then sometime in late September, I saw my first Monarch! It was utterly thrilling to see as many as three or four at a time nectaring on the Torch flowers and laying eggs all over the milkweed plants!
I was so excited to be able to grow tropical plants when I moved to Florida and passion fruit vines were at the top of the list. I purchased a plant, a pot and some soil and got all set up with my new Passion Fruit plant... seconds later I had Gulf Fritillary butterflies laying eggs all over the plant.
It's almost time to release my mason bees. They've been hibernating all winter in my fridge in their special humidibee container where they get a consistent winter temperature and a perfect level of humidity; where they are protected from predation and damage. I'm estimating that by the end of March, it will be consistently warm… Continue reading Blue Orchard Mason Bees
Erica Lauer Vose 