We had 5 shrubs out front, what I thought were Mock Orange plants.  I always liked these plants for a couple of reasons.  One they smell great in the Summer, and second, they attract Giant Swallowtail Butterflies and Hummingbird Moths.

This past Winter they seemed to get hit pretty hard so I thought I would replace them.  I went to RCW Nurseries and asked if they had any Mock Orange in stock.  They did.  Unfortunately, they looked nothing like the Mock Orange that I had in the front of the house.  As I was trying to explain how these shrubs look, I recalled that I posted a couple of pictures on this blog where I specifically called these plants Mock Orange.  Once I showed the lady at RCW Nurseries the pictures, she said, “oh, those aren’t Mock Orange, that’s Lakeview Jasmine.”  Really?  I’ve been calling those shrubs Mock Orange for that past 3-4 years.  I asked if she had these plants in stock and she did not.

So I call Joshua, from Joshua’s Native Plants.  I asked him if he had any Lakeview Jasmine in stock as I love this shrub and it attracts the Giant Swallowtail and Hummingbird Moths.  Joshua immediately tells me that these plants are poisonous to the Giant Swallowtail.  Huh?  I never knew that, but I often wondered why I would see the Giant Swallowtail lay eggs on this plant, yet I never could find any Caterpillars.

Here’s the lesson for today.  Lakeview Jasmine is a wonderful smelling shrub.  It attracts Giant Swallowtail Butterflies.  It will also kill the Giant Swallowtail Caterpillars.

I ended up digging all 5 plants and threw them over the fence.  I think they were dead anyway.

Here are the pictures I posted previously showing a Giant Swallowtail Butterfly laying eggs on the Lakeview Jasmine (what I thought was Mock Orange).

Giant Swallowtail On Lakeview Jasmine

Giant Swallowtail Laying Eggs

These Butterflies are absolutely huge, and beautiful.  Previously we’ve seen them lay eggs on our Improved Meyer Lemon, Ruby Red Grapefruit, and Republic of Texas Orange trees.  Only rarely have we seen them venture to our front yard to lay eggs on our Mock Orange Lakeview Jasmine shrub, and we’ve never seen any large Caterpillars out there.

Giant Swallowtail On Lakeview Jasmine

Here she is laying eggs

Giant Swallowtail Laying Eggs

Update: March 19, 2010.  Lakeview Jasmine is poisonous to Giant Swallowtail Caterpillars!

I’ve only seen these Hummingbird Moths once before and that was in the Spring, and again, they moved so fast that I never did have a clear idea what they look like.  Here’s what I’ve learned after tonight.  They have huge eyes, they don’t mind buzzing right by your head, and they don’t like being captured.

Hummingbird Moth On Lakeview Jasmine

This next shot was done after Leecy managed to capture one of the Moths with the Butterfly net.

Captured Hummingbird Moth