Hi John, Sorry this is extremely late. I think I will try this method and see if I can attract morning cloaks. Morning cloaks are attracted to fruit right!?! I know they occur in my area but they seem to never venture too far from those lovely woods. However, as for my location, I live in between Zebulon and Rolesville, NC. But my zip code suggest that I live more so in Zebulon. My community is more rural than suburban. Just imagine two cul-de-sacs on 1 side of the road stuck in a tobacco field and across the street another cul-de-sac stuck in the woods with a corn field behind them. I have only raised monarchs once, and that was back in 2007. In 2012 I saw one monarch visit my garden, but it was a male. I don't understand why my garden has not attracted them. I have nectar plants galore and 3 species of milkweed: tropical, orange butterflyweed, and common milkweed. As a side note, I don't use any pesticides or herbicides or any "cides" for that matter lol.

Michelle, the males CAN be territorial but sometimes they are very tolerant of each other. This year, everyone seems to be getting along in our garden. I still see chasing, but then I'll see them nectaring right next to each other a couple minutes later. That's quite a string of males! I've released more males recently too, but just put out a female this morning. Congrats on all your butterflies, Tony

Actually, in our part of CT -- central to north central -- this was a banner year for milkweed!! Until now, that is... The patch in my meadow must have quadrupled this year, and it was in every bit of land along roads and even in shopping center parking lot strips. However, after Irene, I noticed my large stand in the meadow has shriveled and turned brown. Last year we had monarch caterpillars galore into early October. This year (though I have not yet waded into the remains of it) I can't see much green left, so there can't be much caterpillar activity. But YES! We can all plant milkweed, even if it's just in the back of a border or behind a barn. Massive quantities in the Midwest are gone because the farmers there now have corn that is Roundup resistant -- so they can spray their fields to get rid of the milkweed and not harm the corn. (Though why you want to feed anyone or anything corn that has been sprayed with Roundup is beyond me.) And they DO! NY Times had a great piece about it this summer ... Check out MonarchWatch.org and consider planting a few monarch-friendly plants, maybe even get your yard certified as a Monarch Waystation (there's no minimum size--and I can attest that milkweed will even grow in a pot on your patio, which makes watching those caterpillars work their magic so much easier!). It's a terrific project ... and the monarchs will thank you. I swear, they dip their wings as they head off in the fall ... pretty sure they're saying "thanks!!" Me, I just whisper "Godspeed" as I watch them bank to the southwest over my barn, beginning their amazing journey. Here is a link that might be useful: MonarchWatch.org

That does it. Next year I am for sure planting Agastache. That house down the street with the three large A. cana had about 15 or more monarchs yesterday. This is no exaggeration....... today there were easily 60 if not more, there was too many to count and it could have been a lot more. I walked up and got swarmed by about 20 of them circling around me. Then I noticed there were three more Agastache planted across the lawn and these had just as many. Unbelievable. The Lantana's planted a few feet away didn't have a single monarch. These Agastche are really big, I may have to take something out just to fit two or three in. So, I now deduce that monarchs will nectar on Lantanas over Butterfly Bushes but they prefer Agastache over both. I have never seen so many in the city. I need to take the camera.