Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Black Swallowtails, 1 by debnes_dfw_tx

debnes_dfw_tx wrote:
Oh that didn't work out very well Sheila.. I mentioned it somewhere in here lol. I think they caught something... waaaa. I am going to go full ahead though, I still have these 4 new ones since then. I am keeping an eye on their chrysalids on the back porch, on the South side of the house. They've never been touched, I even moved them by breaking off the branches they were on. I rather try that approach from now on with any cats I think.
This was a first actual intervention for me. All these years I have only been an observer/picture taker. Before that only a mere close observer. First ime for me taking any inside, etc. I will think/pray about it through the winter what to do next. I like to keep checking with their Maker ya know.

The birds were beating the bushes for berries and insects, and I had just bought that mesh hamper at a Dept Store...plus I still owed the kids a real experience. So we will see how I can translate all the best of the insect world to the class. I marked the saga to all the kids, 'To Be Continued". Plus I will make a poster with a lot of cool pictures of any stages they missed first hand. They should probably eclose before school ends next yeat too, so waiting can make things perfect in that regard.

I have been making my mind up all the way kinda like that. I wanted to do it differently than last time in every way, and so far they are all safe and sound. The last one wasn't very big, maybe half the size of the other 2. He decided to make his chrysalis under the papertoweling at the bottom of the cage. A group picture took some cutting out and attempting to scale it best as I could. This may be important to the report of the outcome in that I think the cat has all the right ingredients to make a butterfly after so many instars. The size determines how large (giant),or small (midget), they are as whole adults too.

Yep something killed the ones I took to school for sure, I strongly feel it was some sort of fungus or virus.

o/ Thanks for asking, I needed to update this story it had a gaping open end on it.

Deb