Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Do you raise butterfly cats indoors?, 1 by konkreteblond

konkreteblond wrote:
Right now I have my one and only Zebra Longwing. I'm hoping it doesn't overwinter! I got it from a friends house. That was the first ZL I had seen outside of an exhibit. I'm so exciting waiting for them, but it's always a little scary to walk by the cage and suddenly there is a butterfly!

I released my last BST probably last week. I think it was the last. I had some that I wasn't sure if they were going to eclose, but then suddenly they did. I was surprised! Almost exactly one year ago, I had a BST lay over 50 eggs on my fennel. It was so late in the season, so I brought them all inside. I gave some away, and I think I had about 35. They all hatched in December! I was sure they would overwinter, but their clock was messed up. I had to feed a few of them inside after my cat got ahold of them. Even tho it was cold, if it was sunny I released them.

Adult butterflies don't live very long. It depends on the type. Some live for a few weeks and others for several months. I think the Monarch's have a pretty long life compared to some.

This is a picture of my fennel a few months ago. Look closely and you will see the cats all over it.