We came from here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1003131/
This is the first of my babies to grow up. I've never raised any cats before, and was just thrilled to see all that feasting and pooping yielded such beautiful results :-).
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 64
I just got back from an emergency fennel run...whew! Here is a newly hatched Anise Swallowtail cat:
Wow, that IS newly hatched. that is ONE gorgeous butterfly (and photo).
Excellent pictures Sunny.
Beautiful, beautiful anise swallowtail!
Sherry
Very nice pics and really newly hatched!
I have black swallowtail larvae all over my fennel right now and was elated to see the my favorite Giant Swallotails layed tons of eggs on my patio citrus. One GST came with some Rue I bought, I didn't see it at first. When I did I transferred to a "safehouse" so I can watch it pupate. I was so afraid of losing it since I hadn't seen any last year. No fear now I have tons of eggs!
Hey guys do I need to put paper towels over the vents on top of the terrarium to stop parasitics from getting my larvae? I really don't want to lose my GST that I transferred to it.
The GST layed most of her eggs on the smallest citrus plant I have which is Satsuma. It finally started new growth and now it will be gone. Ya think she would have used the big ones. But well worth it, I have been waiting with baited breath, OK not baited but a little alcohol breath to see if she lays eggs this year. The Mockingbird got all of them last year. I'll show her I am going to cover the plants with mosquito netting. NEENER, NEENER, NEENER!!!!!!! I think only Texans will get that remark. LOL Every body else in the US goes Naw Naw Naw Naw Nah Nah!
I think that Marcia whateverhernamewaslawyer from the OJ Simpson trial made us all aware of Neener Neener!
Datura....Neener! Neener! Neener! :o)
Great photos Sunny!!! Those Swallowtails are awesome!
I found GST cats on the newly sprouted leaves of a sour orange tree I cut down to the ground but didn't dig up. Lots of new shoots coming out of the stump. Guess the butterflies like laying eggs on the tender leaves. Good thing too because I can see them easily as opposed to those butterflies laying eggs wayyyy up in the top branches of the citrus trees.
Also released two Pipevine Swallowtails today :o)
Am still baby sitting lots of Forbes Silkmoth caterpillars and the Reakirt's Blue caterpillars too.
Haven't seen many butterflies at all due to working late and well, today we actually got some rain! Yippee!!! We needed it. Only see lyside sulphurs hiding out in the vines and greenery :o)
~ Cat
~ Cat
That's great news on the rain, Cat! We got an all too brief spritzing of rain , but....that's not what we need! STILL Exceptional Drought level and the Level 3 water restrictions are estimated to arrive this weekend.
DATURA12, I use paper towels to cover the top of my terrarium...anything that will screen out the predators/parasitoids would do.
Well, I have a golden Spicebush cat! It will soon be pupating (already dumped), so I put it on a stick and put it in a container. Yippee, Spicebaby made it this far!
A week ago I found this Monarch chrysalis hanging near my patio. I brought it inside and placed it inside a birdfeeder cylinder I had (made of wire). It was smaller than I wanted, but the only thing I had around to use.
Sunny beautiful BF. I have my first crysalis off my parsley. Once you get started protecting and releasing them it is addictive. I am new to this thread. In my garden i just now have begin to see zebra long wings.
When I got home from work I found the Butterfly had emerged, Probably it happened early, and the poor thing was stuck in there most of the day. I let it go and it flew over to this shrub where it is resting. Hopefully it will be OK and be able to feed early tomorrow.
another one i just found.
Beautiful gardenpom i am sure it will be just fine.
Ahhh...one of the Reakirt's Blue caterpillars formed a chrysalis today. Geez, those things are tiny!!! As you can see by the photograph - it fits between the lines of an index card - that's smaller than a grain of rice!!!
~ Cat
oh my!
Sooo cute!!!
Can I mix different families of cats together in same tank?
Hey all I am going to post two pics, I am confused which or any are pipevines or black swallowtails. I don't want to put them on my blog unless I am positive. And if you know if they are male or female that would be good. I am just having a hard time with ID on these two.
Thanks a bunch
Ok, here is #2 for ID
Both appear to be female Black Swallowtails to me...one a tad worn and faded.
This link shows the life cycle and has photos of both male and female adults.
http://www.pbase.com/rcm1840/lifecycleofblsw
As for putting different cats in the same cage - it can be done but is not recommended. Some might carry disease, bacteria or parasites that can harm the other caterpillars. Also, some are known to be cannibalistic and they will eat smaller caterpillars - I've had this happed to Queens. They've even gone so far as to eat into chrysalids! Others tend to fight and will take a chomp out of each other.
~ Cat
This message was edited Jun 26, 2009 11:14 AM
Thanks a bunch, the different lighting and torn tails were confusing me. Sounds good to me not to mix, I won't do it. Thanks for a quick reply.
I am going to need to move the new crysalis of the GST, can I gently wrap the thread onto a chop stick by rolling the stick around the thread and then move it?
I couldn't find that info in the sticky thread.
Peg
Yes, just make sure you have the chrysalis facing the right direction :o) I usually dab the end of a skewer stick into hot glue and touch the end to the thread and twirl it around so it will stay in place. Don't burn the butterfly's butt though! LOL!!!
...or you don't even need to hang it back up by the thread - you can just lay it on a paper towel or sponge inside the cage and it will still pupate. Helps to have something it can cling to or climb upon when it emerges - any piece of rough wire or twig will do.
~ Cat
Yes, it's so important when they emerge to be able to climb up and hold onto something, high up enough and with enough room around them that their wings can dry without touching anything. Otherwise, sometimes they end up with such deformed wings they can't fly.
My Spicebush ST cat is attached to its stick now in the container and will soon do its thing. Two more are getting ready also, so I moved them into the big container.with the sticks. There's one more of the larger cats, but it's still green. And I saw a puddling RSP while I was watering (nothing can disappear quicker in this heat wave than moisture). Of course it left when I went inside to get a camera!
I rigged up a wood block with holes drilled in it at different angles and then put chopsticks in the holes, works perfectly. I cut a tight woven piece of material to place beneath the lid and tank so no predators can get at them. The three BST's are going into chrysalis now. I just collected three more new babies and put them in also. Everybody seems to be happy. There are still more eggs yet to hatch on the fennel, I may be making a fennel run. LOL
The GST's just hatched today, those are my favorite. There should be enough food for them as I have 5 patio citrus for them. I am definitely going to cover them up though, that darn Mockingbird spotted them last year and took them all. NOT ON MY WATCH!
Thanks for your help all, and Sheila if you read this....its all your fault for teaching me!
Well Peg, it looks like you are hooked, but such a wonderful addiction.
Josephine.
Yes, I really love it. Here is a pic of my rig, does it look OK for them. Notice the BST's on the side going into chrysalis.
Well, it looks fine to me, as I always say there are many ways to accomplish a task.
Looks like a wonderful BST playground :o) They are sure to enjoy climbing up and down those chopsticks looking for the perfect pupating spot!
Was at the ranch today and photographed a Red Crescent Scrub Hairstreak nectaring on clematis drummondi (Goat's Beard aka Old Man's Beard Vine) which is extremely invasive and it grows all along the fence lines. Dad keeps threatening to spray weed killer along the fence but I keep talking him out of it :o) It serves as a good nectar source - there are always dozens and dozens of blues on it these days. I usually see lots of Ceraunus Blues, Reakirt's Blues, Mallow Scrub Hairstreaks and Variegated Fritillaries on it...so having it run amok in the back fields is fine by me!!!
The Red Crescent Scrub Hairstreaks aren't very common but last October I came across an area where I counted two dozen of them. Am hoping I'll be able to find an ovipositing female soon.
~ Cat
Also have native clammy weed growing wild out there. Found a plant with several flower clusters and was able to photograph three Dainty Sulphurs on one of the clusters :o)
~ Cat
Forgot to post this dainty little Western Pygmy Blue - one of the smallest butterflies in the world :o)
I'd caught up with all my work and was sitting at my desk quite bored Friday afternoon so I decided to step outside for a while. I noticed this little bugger flitting around. I went back inside, got my camera, and got a couple of photos.
~ Cat
Wow!! Cat, that is just adorable, great shot !!!
Nice BF's! Never thought about Clammyweed being a host plant!
I was watering the new plants I had put by the new shed today and a RSP came by to puddle and lingered quite a while. It looked at little worn, but still pretty! Also up there was a Dark Buckeye...that one didn't stay and flew away as soon as I approached. But it looked something like these. No Agalinis yet, but hey, I have other host plants. If only!
http://vireos.com/darkbuckeye.html
That RSP is definately still pretty; almost all blue!
Great shots today Cat! Pretty flower for such an ugly name as Clammy weed!
Peg.... Looks like you have a new hobby! LOL!! I have tried a lot of sticks and things in the past; we each have to find what works for us. Here is what I did at one point in time (see pic). I used sticks in with the plant clippings then when they pupated; moved them into a flight cage so when they emerged and dried they would have room to get away from the sitcks and not damage their wings. But now I just take everything out of the container when a couple make their chrysalis I can watch for the color changes and set that container inside a larger cage.
Like Josephine says, they don't have to be hanging to emerge, but it is easier to me if they are.
Like I said I DID do that. But after a while I had a lot of BSTs that didn't emerge and sticks everywhere! So after 3 weeks they are put in a cage on a towel so they aren't taking up a cage. This time of year they will usually emerge in 2 weeks, but in the fall they will try to overwinter but inside they get confused. This year I am going to fix something outside that I can watch them, but they will be in the elements some what.
Wowie!! That blue is vibrant on that RSP!!! Sure wish we would get those here.
Yes, clammy weed is a larval host for Cabbage White, Checkered White and Great Southern White but I've not noticed any caterpillars on them nor have I noticed eaten leaves...yet. Will keep looking though :o)
By the way, it is a stinky plant! It has really pretty clusters of flowers though. I was quite taken aback when I got an up close look - whoda thunk it would have purple, turquoise and maroon anthers or are they stigmas, stamen or pistels? - which are totally contrasted by the white flowers!
Puts out lots of seeds too.
~ Cat
This message was edited Jun 27, 2009 11:28 PM
ps...that Buckeye photo link Linda posted was taken at South Padre Island - about 60 miles east of me :o)
We get Common, Tropical and some say even the rare Mangrove Buckeye here.
This is the Tropical - note the dark brown and orange surrounding the forewing's large eye spots. The Common has a more beige to whitish markings surrounding the forewing eye spots. I've not seen a Mangrove Buckeye here.
~ Cat
This message was edited Jun 27, 2009 11:38 PM
Yeah, that's the buckeye that was here. We only see them on rare occasion, but I usually know it when I see it.
My concern over the poor milkweeds at the front of the property led me to drag the long hose down there in this drought. And because I looked around, I found this. Listen, I've got a whole bunch of wild artimisias in my back yard. And this single plant fairly hidden down there at the edge of the woods...that's the only plant the ladies have ever used on my property! Now I know...I'll have to move some of my artimisias down there later! And check them often...somehow. A single American Lady cat left...there was probably many earlier.
