Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Overwinter Black Swallowtail Chrysalis, 1 by AmandaEsq

AmandaEsq wrote:
Greetings:

In 2009/2010 I accidentally overwintered my first BST chrysalis in the closet on my back porch. I say "accidentally" because the butterfly formed its chrysalis on a stick I placed in its enclosure, and when it didn't eclose I kept the stick outside in a flower pot with the stick standing in the soil upright. Over the winter the chrysalis detached partially from the stick. It was hanging upside down so I removed it from the flower pot and laid it down on a table surface on the back porch. Over time I forgot about it, and in spring when I was doing some cleaning on the porch I opened the closet door and there on the floor was a fully formed BST butterfly. I was so surprised!!!

I just took a picture of the closet door - rather unflattering sight. The squirrels and other critters have taken their liberties with the door. The sunlight at this time of day/angle is the most it gets all season.

This year I have 18 BST chrysalises on sticks, the top mesh of a plastic critter keeper container, and on the fabric mesh of a PVC cage. Since I know a little bit more this year about butterfly rearing I realize that this is the natural order (!) of things. I don't want to be too careful, seeing as how in my negligence the critter was able to go thru it's lifecycle without any attention at all.

I have the fabric mesh PVC cage on the back porch with all the chrysalises inside it. I wonder if it's okay for me to move the entire PVC cage into the closet on the back porch from which the original BST emerged.

The closet door has louvers (?!) and is not sealed to the elements. It does not receive much direct sunlight. I would like to move the cage into the closet to protect it from ME, not the elements. It is fairly large and in my way sitting on the table on the back porch.

Does anyone have any comments or vehement objections to moving the entire cage inside? It still gets humidity, air circulation, some light, natural temperature.

Let me know how YOU overwinter YOUR BST chrysalises please, and if you think it's okay for the cage to go into the closet.

Thanks!

~Amanda