TREC Mango Bonanza

     I was at TREC Tropical Research and Education Center (University of Florida)  in Homestead, Tuesday with my friend Michelle. Our friend Ian gave us a tour of the grounds and fruit tree collections. He also sent us home with a few mangoes, heh-he. You WON'T find these varieties at Publix; I hate those bland things! There are many mango cultivars to choose from each unique in flavor. I recommend you try them all. Fairchild has their Mango fest on July 9, 2011 Mango Festival at Fairchild they have an extensive tasting table where you can explore all the different flavors mangoes have to offer.....They also sell trees, chutneys and jams etc. If your in the area do yourself a favor and stop in.

Question

What would you think about being able to grow your own vegetables and fruits? Enough where you wouldn't have to purchase these items from the store? (unless of course you insist on eating veggies & fruits that are out of season) Maybe even your own eggs and tillapia? Comments please? 

Black Swallowtail

Family: Papilionidae •
Genus: Papilio •
Species: polyxenes •
Range: North America •
Synonyms: n/a •
Common Names: Black Swallowtail •

     Look at this handsome devil that showed up in my yard last week. One of the many butterflies I see in my yard from time to time. Click HERE for some earlier posts on butterflies. Here is a little more information about the Black Swallowtail butterfly courtesy of the University of Florida.

     The caterpillar of the black swallowtail is 1-1/2" to 2" long, often called the "parsley worm" because it forages on parsley and other umbelliferous plants (carrot, wild carrot, dill, celery, fennel, etc.). Mature larvae are green with black and yellow spots or markings on each segment.
     The black swallowtail butterfly, also known as the American or parsnip swallowtail, has a wingspan of 2-1/2" to 3-1/2".  The upper surface of the forewings has two parallel rows of yellow submarginal spots that contrast with the basal black color of the wings. These spots also appear on the hindwings, but with a curving row of blue spots between the rows of yellow (Castner, 2007).

Sources: Castner, J.L. (2007, July 1). Florida butterflies sheet 2. Retrieved from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in032





 Black Swallowtail by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.