I finally saw one yesterday in the neighbors yard, the first one in two years. I have Dutchman's Pipe( fimbriata) planted all over the garden for them and still no larvae. If anybody has any xtra larvae or chrysalis I would pay to have them shipped to me.
Check out this site. It is very informative.
http://www.butterfliesetc.com/buy-butterfly-caterpillars/butterfly-caterpillars
Good link.
Thanks
Thea,
Flicker's right, Edith (of the above link) is a great person to buy from & BaB is one stop shopping for butterflies in all stages. I don't see that she has any Pipevine livestock.though @ this time. If she doesn't, I'll be glad to give you what I have for shippingcosts. I had a bunch a couple days ago. I'm sure some have pupated by now so you could have all the cats remaining. Even if she doesn't have the PVS, wander around her website. there's a TON of info there for the newbie to the expert. Check out this link for a great education: http://www.butterflyfunfacts.com/
I'll check back w/ you in a bit to let you know the status of my cat stock.
Maggie
Maggie, I will pay the shipping for some PVS's, I don't need more than 10, I think! Go to my Dmail.
It is a good link, I read some last night and bookmarked it so I can go back, she did have some good information.
Dat,
I picked up one today. We may have a problem. I had hoards of them 2 weeks ago but only the one today. I trimmed back the vegetation around my multiple vines and looked for chrysalids but no dice so far. Will keep looking. It looks like they only have one flight, even in the South. I seems to recall having them over a long period of time last year but I don't recall when they wrapped up. Worst case scenarios are either, I find a bunch of chrysalids to send to you or THE worst, you get them next year.
Maggie
Datura - remind me come October if you still want some then. The fall season is our peak butterfly time of the year and the ranch has them by the hundreds. Trouble is not much rain here in months so I haven't seen any caterpillars...but folks called to say they got 2 inches of rain yesterday so perhaps that will cause their larval host plant to sprout some new leaves. The PVS use aristolochia erecta here which is a low growing plant. I'll keep a look out for low flying females and might be able to find eggs in the coming weeks.
Elsewise, remind me in the fall season - the barbed wire fences and posts are usually adorned with chrysalids :o)
~ Cat
All I have is fimbriata, do you think they will accept it as a host. Also, is it OK to try and raise them that late in the year for Fort Worth?
Datura:
Pipevine Swallowtails will definitely use Aristolochia fimbriata as a host. There are multiple broods in our area of north Texas and are on the wing from March to November (and sometimes into early December). Plenty of time for you to naturally get some into your yard. By the way, it's illegal to ship butterflies across state lines without a permit issued from the USDA (either the shipper or the receiver has to apply for the permit). Best to take Cat (TexasPuddyPrint) up on her offer later in the year, since she's in Texas, just to steer clear of possible trouble.
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
Dale,
Do you have to get a permit for ALL butterflies? I know that was covered in the seminar I went to but I thought it was only certain ones that required a certificate. I've not shipped any out of state but I have received some and don't recall seeing permits on the boxes.
Maggie
Howdy Dale - good to see you posting here :o) Hope the moths are doing well. Out of three cocoons I kept here - I released a male a couple of days ago. Two more I'm still babysitting.
On a curious note - I've got a. fimbriata planted at the ranch and have never had a PVS oviposit on it. Every and now and then when I find too many cats on a measley a. erecta plant I'll move the bigger ones to the a. fimbriata. I tried putting little cats on it and they died - yet I've read they use it as a larval host elsewhere.
Datura - just remind me during the fall season about those PVS. We get them by the hundreds at the ranch :o) - does Ft. Worth freeze during the fall? Am not familiar with your climate. We don't get freezes here - well, at least not very often, and even then - they only last a few hours at the most. As for snow - pretty much non existent. It snowed in 1967 and then in 2004 - but just for a few hours during the night. We actually woke up to a "White Christmas" in 2004 - last time that happened was in 1895!!!
~ Cat
Hi Dale, we worked at the FW. Botanical gardens last time you did the show. I was in heaven with the BF's.
Hope you continue to ck this thread as some of us have questions that might need an expert opinion. I have your web-site listed on a link to my blog I visit all the time for ID. I also have pics I took at two shows on my Facebook.
Dale, what do you think causes the wings to be deformed on my GST's. This is the second time it happened. I just need to know if its me doing something wrong.
Also do you support the theory that you should spritz the chrysalis with water when its real hot out?
Maggie:
Yes. Any butterflies shipped across state lines must have a permit (either by the shipper or the person receiving them). If you received some, say from Edith Smith in Florida, she will have gone through the permitting process and have the necessary paperwork to legally ship them to people. Not all species can be shipped. USDA has authorized only a handful of species to be allowed to be shipped and released and there are certain restrictions to certain states. This is actually a good thing as it keeps species from being released outside of their natural range. To use Edith again as an example, you can click on her caterpillar list and it will show you what state she can ship to. She's a very responsible butterfly farmer and always follows these regulations. Others don't always, unfortunately.
Cat:
Pipevine swallowtails do sometimes sneer at switching host plants but I assure you A. fimbriata is a very acceptable host. I've reared thousands on it and can not grow enough. The females are always ovipositing on it if I keep it outside and not in one of the greenhouses. I often will go to get a pot to feed to larvae and if I've left it outside will usually find it's already covered in caterpillars.
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
Hey Datura:
I'll never claim to be an expert -- just someone who makes a living raising butterflies. Hope you'll be working with us again at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens this coming March when we do another live butterfly exhibit during the month of March (and the first few days of April, I think). We need the experienced vets who have gone through it all before!
As for your Giant Swallowtails deformity -- my guess would be that the pupa was malformed, but that's just a guess. And I never sprtiz my pupae but then the majority of mine are outside in cages so they get the regular (and natural) humidity levels that they are adapted to in the first place. If you're rearing inside in an air conditioned house it can't hurt to spritz them occasionally (since the air conditioning is going to lower humidity levels drastically).
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
Dale,
Thanks for the info. Apparently not all my suppliers were ethical. I am now much wiser about asking questions, thanks;-). I do love Edith, she did stress that she absolutely will not ship to a state that is not allowed.
Maggie
