Summer 2024 …that’s a wrap

There are many ways to determine the start of a new season. Meteorlogical seasons are defined by annual temperature cycles. In the Chicago area meteorological fall starts on September 1. However, with consistent temperatures in the 80’s and 90"s, nothing about September so far has felt like fall, except for the waning daylight. My body rhythm is more aligned with the astronomical seasons. This year the fall equinox occurred on September 22 so in my mind fall has officially arrived!

Now that summer is really over, I review my photos and remember milestones from this last season. Late spring started with the emergence of the the 17 year cicadas. I was happy to host them in my yard and look forward to their return in 2041. There were other inhabitants this year that I had not observed before. I first spotted the American Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis) on April 27. I had planted prairie pussytoes (Antennaria neglecta) in 2023 and as a host plant for the Painted Lady Butterfly, I am happy to provide this food source and look forward to their summer residency for years to come. In early June, I came upon the caterpillar of the Common Eupithecia Moth (Eupthecia miserulata) on black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). Its host plants are coneflowers, black eyed Susans and other species in the aster family. I suspect this inhabitant has been around for many years but it was new to me this summer. I was thrilled to see caterpillars of the Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly (Battus philenor) on the Dutchman’s Pipevine (Aristolochia tomentosa). I planted this vine at least seven years ago. As the saying goes “plant it and they will come'“, you just need some patience! Black swallowtail butterflies (Papilio polygenes) are yearly residents and they usually eat the parsley and dill in my herb garden. This is the first year I saw a caterpillar munching on the native golden alexanders (Zizia aurea). And of course, the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) showed up in mid May and enjoyed the many milkweed plants in the yard. Unfortunately, this was not an abundant year for the monarch with few sightings of butterflies, eggs and instars. My landscape offers plenty to eat to support the monarch life cycle. My hope is that summer 2025 will be a better year for the amazing monarch..

I had abundant and diverse populations of bees, wasps, dragonflies and butterflies hanging out this year too. Growing native is about creating habitats and supporting ecosystems. Invite nature to your yard!