35 degrees last night outside!
I'm wondering if it will shock the butterfly or kill it to let it outside....
At what temperature is it safe to release him?
Incidentally, this one hatched after about 5 months of being in the cocoon!
Butterfly hatched last night!
Stephanie,
That is sooooo cool. It is a beautiful creature. What is that container made of?
Debra
Stephanie:
I'd go ahead and release her. There won't be any chance of her mating and having a successful next generation but at least she'll get to fly around some. Don't know if you had the container with the pupa inside or outside but a word of caution to anyone overwintering pupae of swallowtails, keep the containers outside in the cold, where nature intended them, otherwise if they are in a heated house the pupa will think it's spring time and emerge (and usually at the worst time). Try to mimic the natural setting as much as possible so they'll eclose at the proper time. But don't feel badly Stephanie, these things happen. I just saw a very fresh male pipevine swallowtail flying around the yard today, which was no doubt "tricked" into an early emergence by the very warm weather we've had earlier this week.
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
Dale, thank you. We had already decided to release her before we got an answer because we have no way of keeping her.
Debra, I made the container out of a plastic tote that's about the size of a shoe box. I cut out most of the solid top, hot glued the tulle to the inside and then popped the lid on. The lid wasn't secure enough for my liking, so I used a rubber band to add more security.
BTW, what kind of butterfly is this and is it a male or female?
Stephanie like Dale said it's a female and it happens to be a Black Swallowtail or so I think. The blue on the males is not as present. Enjoy her and hopefully next spring you'll get to raise more caterpillars.
I have a GST on my citrus that I brought inside for the winter. It continued to eat and is now ready to pupate I think. As soon as it does, it goes outside in the cool air. That way perhaps it won't emerge, but will overwinter hopefully.