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#1 |
Grub
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Rogersville, TN USA
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How appropriate on the day we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus, the butterflys have returned to Rogersville! Very exciting to me to see a small 1" black with some blue marks butterfly landing on dandelions to feed
![]() I was also picking up some debris-the troublesome "devils walking stick" trees that i have cut down and located what appears to be insect, possibly butterfly, egg "galls" embedded into the trunk of these pesky weed trees. I will hold off burning this debris for a while to see what emerges.
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Gardening-the art of killing weeds and bugs to grow flowers and crops for animals and birds to eat ![]() |
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#2 |
Grub
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Rogersville, TN USA
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Addendium to above message-the devils walking stick is a host plant for the "Giant Swordtail" butterfly. No doubt this is the galls I have found on several of the trees.. Definately not burning the debris now until the larva emerges
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Gardening-the art of killing weeds and bugs to grow flowers and crops for animals and birds to eat ![]() |
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#3 |
Slapping, Swearing, Itching, Scratching Mosquito Bait
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: pennsylvania,usa
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You'd be better off composting stuff like that rather than burning it! All that potential compost goes up in smoke, never mind what it does to the air.
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#4 |
Grub
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Rogersville, TN USA
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I would love to compost it, but dare not get any closer to the very thorny beast than is necc. to cut most of it down and then grab it with loping shears and drag it carefully over to the burn pile site. Composting would require me to cut it up into smaller pieces, rather leave it in the 10' sections or longer, that I have.
Rest assured that I am not going to burn it until after the caterpillers emerge from the galls I have found and left. I know that my reward for leaving these thorny beasts laying around will be punctured lawn tractor tires ![]()
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Gardening-the art of killing weeds and bugs to grow flowers and crops for animals and birds to eat ![]() |
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#5 |
WG Writer
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Greensboro, Alabama USA
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Permaculture Magazine Article From Issue 15
You could sheet compost using black plastic or cardboard over the vegetation. You would have to girdle or cut the trees though. |
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#6 |
Official Plant Nerd
Join Date: Dec 2008
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The galls you mention won't be butterflies but they will be an insect of some sort and bugs are good things because our birds eat them and feed them to their nestlings.
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"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss |
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#7 |
WG Facilitator
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Cajun Country, Louisiana, USA
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Congrats on your butterfly sighting. I have been seeing a few lately too.
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My yarden and I lean a little to the wild side. |
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Tags |
butterfly, today |
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