She flitted around the flowers and trees, stopping to lay eggs on the small swan plant (milkweed), then flitted out again. She came back 3 times during the day to do the rounds again and again - it was a joyful sight.
That got me into action because we are already seeing wasps in the garden too.
I picked off 5 eggs and have them under cover. I potted up some mature swan plants and set them under the mosquito net, to stop butterflies from laying more eggs on them. My reasoning is because these plants will need to be food for the caterpillars that emerge from the 5 eggs and there aren't enough mature plants to feed any more caterpillars as yet.
As more swan plants come on stream, I'll look at bringing more eggs inside. I know from past experience that any eggs left outside are quickly dealt to by wasps or other predators such as ants, earwigs, shield bugs and others. I also have to keep a close watch for aphids because we usually have a big problem with them decimating swan plants, in this area, as summer progresses.
So, I'm getting in quick and will raise a few early caterpillars for now, while the swan plants are in good condition, and see how it goes as summer progresses.
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Click on each picture below to see a larger size........................