If you’ve ever wondered why there aren’t 1000’s of butterflies flying around, here’s one of the reasons. Painted Ladies lay eggs on my Pearly Everlasting every year and even though they try to pull the leaves together and use silk to protect themselves, wasps seem to find a way in to get to them. Here’s a picture of a painted lady larva which has become the host for a wasp larva in the white cocoon. I’m keeping the cocoon in a sealed plastic tube to see what sort of wasp emerges.
Butterfly Gardening 