🐞Aphid PREDATORS + 10 Amazing Migration Facts🦋🇲🇽

🎥 Why we let Aphids STAY on Milkweed

August 10, 2025

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Happy Sunday Good GROWer,

it’s been another warm week with soaking rain and a bounty of butterflies.

After a slow start to the season, this looks like this could turn out to be our BEST butterfly year since we started our new monarch garden back in spring 2022…


🌿 Garden PLANT Report 🌺

So what’s growing on in the garden this week?

20 foot Hydrangea TREE

  • Hydrangea Paniculata ‘tardiva’ : this pretty panicle hydrangea tree was planted compliments of the former owners, but has been one of the best pollinator plants in our garden for attracting a wide range of beneficial pollinators from butterflies, to bees, and lots of other ‘smallinators’. It also regularly attracts nectar-seeking monarchs, which I don’t think is common for other hydrangea species. Ours has eclipsed 20 feet!

This tree also recently attracted a pair of monarchs you’ll see pictured further down the newsletter.

note: if you want a panicle hydrangea tree, you will need to find one from a grower that has specifically trained it to grow in tree form (I was not able to find you an online source for this particular species)

But first, find out more about WHERE migrating monarchs will be going this fall?

Did You Know? Monarch Migration FACTS 🦋🧐

It's hard to believe these featherweight insects fly thousands of miles to find the perfect overwintering grounds...but they do!

Check out some of these amazing migration facts and see how much you know about the annual fall migration:

🕷️Garden WILDLIFE Report 👀

We have had daily garden visits from both tiger swallowtails and monarchs, but today a striking predator takes center stage:

Yellow Garden Spider

  • Southern Sized Spiders 🕷️😳 🕷️

In seasons of warmth and excess moisture, spiders seem to thrive and we have a few large spiders in the garden this year. In fact, one of our resident hummingbirds got caught momentarily in the web above, but was able to break free. This spider web is pretty low around the bee balm and zinnias so I think it’s trying to catch small pollinators like bees, flies, and wasps.

  • MORE Eastern Tiger Swallowtails: yesterday I saw five at one time, + a sixth dark form tiger, and a black swallowtail to boot!

  • Aphids + their predators! I rudely interrupted these two “ladies” in the milkweed patch yesterday: Mating Ladybugs ⬅️

  • More Mating: Two monarchs in the hydrangea tree ⬅️


Coming Up Next?

We’ll continue to report on plant success and failures, and expected and unexpected garden visitors…

Until next time,

Tony your Butterfly Guide

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