"Victor Martinez" wrote in message
...
Mike Harris wrote:
If you can encourage paper wasps to nest near the vines, they will keep
the gulf frittilary larva population in check.

They are such beautiful butterflies though... we don't care if we don't
get as many flowers.


The frittilaries are beautiful - and BT might kill them all off. The wasps
take a "sustainable harvest" and keep them from stripping the plants bare.
It's also fun to watch the wasps "patrol."

I found this relationship out inadvertently. I overzealously sprayed every
wasp nest I could find ~2 years ago or so, after getting stung for about the
40th time. Within several weeks the fritillary larva population was large
enough so that the passiflorae were down to stems and no longer blooming.

--
Mike Harris
Austin, TX