1995: September 1-3: A Red-spotted Purple with many of the markings of the White Admiral (Limenitis arthemis proserpina) seen.

1998: On August 30, 103 Sachems counted at 1:30 P.M.; most were nectaring on Late-flowering Boneset. This is the most I've ever seen in the garden.

On September 13, a Long-tailed Skipper seen laying eggs on bean plants. This butterfly is unusual for this area.

On October 12 at 8:30 A.M., counted 118 Yellow-collared Scape Moths on Late-flowering Boneset. During the day, they disperse and in the evening they return to the Boneset.

1999: October 4: A Black Witch Moth spent the day on the brick of the house. It was attracted to the porch light. A drought accompanied by water-use restrictions reduced the number of flowers and butterflies in the garden.

2000: We had cool and rainy summer and a dry fall (no rain in October). On May 6, a Polyphemus Moth spent the day in a bush trying not to be seen. Periodical Cicadas emerged between May 9 and May 18. White M Hairstreaks were seen on nine days from August 28 to October 21. On four of those days, there were two of them in the garden. They nectared on Heath Aster, Small White Aster, Garlic Chives, and Late-flowering Boneset. Is it a coincidence that these plants all have white flowers? The high count of Sachems occurred on September 2 with 61 flying at 4:00 P.M. On October 28 at 7:30 A.M., I counted 31 Yellow-collared Scape Moths on the old flower heads of Late-flowering Boneset; there were none the next morning.  For the first time, a fawn and a rabbit appeared in the yard. The fawn stayed for about a week, and ate violets and New England Asters. My cat stalked it, which finally scared it away. By eating the tops of the Aster plants, the fawn encouraged the plants to branch out more, which resulted in more flowers in the fall. New for the garden in 2000 were Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus), American Snout (Libytheana carinenta), and Common Sootywing (Pholisora catullus).

2001: This was a great year for Red Admirals and Painted Ladies. In mid-May the Red Admirals streamed northward through our area. I noticed them flying low above the mowed grass of the National Mall in downtown Washington, D.C. (5/22 and 5/23). Suddenly, Red Admirals were garden regulars. By July, with another brood flying, four were in the garden on July 12. The last one was seen in the garden on November 4. The Painted Ladies' migration was not as noticeable to me, but they appeared in the garden early (6/30) and stayed late (11/5).

Other butterflies also had good years. For a short time in June, Summer Azures were quite numerous; there were six in the garden on June 7, 2001. Also, in early September, Peck's Skippers were unusually numerous: on September 2, 15 were flying in the garden. The high count of Sachems occurred on September 1 with 54 flying in the garden at 4:00 P.M.

On the other hand, some butterflies (and a moth) were less common or not seen. There was only one sighting of Spicebush Swallowtail and no sightings of Pipevine Swallowtails. After three years of seeing Clouded Skippers in late summer and fall, none were seen this year. Also, Yellow-collared Scape Moths did not gather on the Late-flowering Boneset in October as usual.

In October, the Washington Area Butterfly Club visited the garden. After the visit, Jane Whitaker and Pat Durkin determined that what I called White Snakeroot was actually Late-flowering Boneset (Eupatorium serotinum). I won't be getting rid of it from the garden though because it's a favorite of the White-M Hairstreak. This year, the only White-M that I saw in the garden was nectaring on Late-flowering Boneset on September 22. Late-flowering Boneset is also the most popular native nectar plant in the garden having attracted 20 different species since it first arrived in the garden of its own doing. Part of the reason it's so attractive is that I have so much of it. The most popular nonnative plant in the garden is, not surprisingly, Butterfly Bush.

This year, a new addition to the garden that I started from seed turned into a star performer: Bronze Fennel. In late September, 15 Black Swallowtail caterpillars appeared on it. I raised them in cages and hoped they would overwinter. Instead, they emerged during the warm November and December and flew away.

Due to warm weather, butterflies were still flying in the garden in late November and early December resulting in a two December sightings: a Sleepy Orange nectaring on flowers of an Abelia bush and a Monarch nectaring on Marigolds in pots that I'd protected from early frosts. These were the first December sightings in the garden.

New to the garden in 2001 were Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe) and Northern Broken-Dash (Wallengrenia egeremet) for a total of 38 species seen during the year.

2002: New for the garden was Southern Broken-Dash. An Anglewing was the last butterfly seen flying through the garden on November 24, 2002.

2003: We had a wet year. No new butterflies this year. Ocola and Fiery Skippers were common in the Fall.

2004:  This was a good year for butterflies in my garden.  I saw a total of 41 species, a new record.  The highlights included more Peck's Skippers than I'd ever seen in the garden; the high was 65 of them on August 29.  They peaked about the same time as the Sachems did, and on some days they were the more numerous species.  On those days, the garden was full of skippers.  Also, Red-spotted Admirals, Pearl Crescents, and Sleepy Oranges were plentiful.  For the first time, I found Sleepy Orange eggs and caterpillars on the Maryland wild senna.  And the White M Hairstreak didn't fail me, returning once again to nectar on late-flowering boneset.  Spicebush berries at last:  the new spicebush planted last year is a female!  Some of the abundance of butterflies was probably due to predator satiation thanks to the periodical cicadas.  These 17-year cicadas first appeared in the yard on May 11 and lasted till June 12.  They were fun while they lasted.  I especially enjoyed lightly tossing them into the air and watching them defy gravity unlike most objects that I throw.  The deer helped me by trimming the asters resulting in lower plants with more flowers.