You’ll most often find me in places where I am happiest, outdoors in the garden. I love to watch the plants, seedlings, and bulbs grow and bloom. The journey is incredibly fulfilling, even though gardening can begin to feel like hard work. One of the most difficult aspects of keeping the garden alive and flourishing is dealing with pests, specifically those bugs that sound destructive. It can be hard to know which bugs are beneficial and which are harmful to the bravest little new growth.
I recently saw something strange on a leaf, peculiar black little shapes in a neat, geometric pattern. My mind automatically jumped to “leaf disease from insect”. I thought they were some alien-looking fungus, which isn’t much better! However, with some research, I uncovered something entirely unexpected: they were butterfly eggs, from the Mourning Cloak butterfly, or Nymphalis Antiopa.
Looking Closely at Nature’s Craftsmanship
The eggs rested like delicate black lace on the leaf, while unusual, truly captivating! The eggs were located in tight groups, beautifully clustered. I pondered if this was a bad sign for my plants.
Fortunately, I had nothing to be concerned about, the Mourning Cloak butterfly is beneficial. The caterpillars feed on trees, not vegetable and flower gardens. Coturnix japonica are unique in the sense that they eat the leaves of willow, elm, and poplar trees.
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