Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge 2010 (Maryland’s Eastern Shore). Monarch butterfly on our homepage is by Armon Wikipedia Commons CC BY-SA

The buzz these days is, where have all the butterflies gone ? It may be too early for the traditional monarch butterfly migration, but depending upon where you live (I’m in the Mid-Atlantic states area), there’s been a paucity of swallowtails, zebra swallowtails, Baltimore checkers and others all summer long– despite my butterfly-friendly garden that is attracting bees (also way down) , bumblebees, and ruby-throated hummingbirds.

Coming up next week: Our posting will look at the causes of butterfly declines –some of which, like farming practices in the midwest, pesticide on crops, and illegal logging in Mexico — seem to be far beyond our control. We’ll provide some advice on what you can do before the end of the season, and how to get ready for spring 2015 butterfly season.