I would like to buy some live larvae to raise yellow swallowtails and monarchs. I have the perfect place to raise them. When I taught school (I am now retired.), we bought larvae for the Painted Lady Butterfly from Southern Biological Supply in South Carolina, but about 10 years ago they stopped carrying other varieties of larvae and only stocked Painted Lady caterpillars. Have any of you tried this?
I have the "flight houses" for when they first emerge and a outside" house' for them to feed in. I'd be grateful for any help you can give me.
Buying live butterfly caterpillars
Hello L,
You know, for the past few days I have been researching where to buy butterfly eggs/larvae. Lots of places sell adult butterflies for release and a few of those will sell the larvae in small quantities suitable for home. I'm still on the lookout for a good supplier but came across this site which had a member list of breeders:
http://www.butterflybreeders.org/pages/membersandtheirfarmsbystate.cfm
Please post if you receive more information about individual companies and I will do the same.
Sheila
I have been told by the members of NABA that it is not wise to raise buttterflies that are not from locals. They can infest the native population with all sorts of things. And the monarchs are usually from the west coast and are confused about the migratory route when released elsewhere. Just a thought. Good luck. ruth
From the IBBA website:
Interstate Transport of Butterflies for Release to the Environment
Interstate transport of butterflies is governed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA has ruled that only nine butterfly species may be moved across state lines for release, and then only to certain states. In addition, for some species USDA have further divided release permissions by sub-species; for example, Western Monarchs may not be released east of the Continental Divide(1). In all allowed cases a USDA release permit is required. See the chart below to see which butterflies can be shipped in from out of state and released where you live.
The nine butterfly species are:
Gulf Fritillary, Monarch, Zebra Longwing, Giant Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak,
Eastern Black Swallowtail, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, and the American Painted Lady. Doesn't mean you can get each and every one of them. You'll have to check to see if that species is allowed to be shipped to your state. For any other species, you would have to find an in-state source. Ideally, you would find a breeder close to you so that you would get butterflies that are adapted your region.
Here is the link for IBBA: http://www.butterflybreeders.org/index.html
Lots of info...
Sheila
This is a cool site, too. Lotsa neat stuff!
http://thenaturestore.com/butterfly.htm
Have you tried Educational Science? They sell Monarch larvae as well as Asclepias (Milkweed).
www.educationalscience.com
Very cool site! Saved it to my favorites. Thanks. :-)
John
I'm going to throw in a WELCOME to Tdogmom!! She's a sweet lady that is a wealth of information and ideas!! So glad to have you here!
Welcome Tdogmom! Thanks for the heads up, koncrete. :-)
Thanks, everyone, for all the welcome messages. :) I've been collecting Monarch eggs this past week in SoCal. Has anyone else been finding the Monarchs are ovipositing? I am so thrilled to see the eggs and babies hatching…Woo-hoo! I now have two Monarch chrysalides as well so I am one excited butterfly enthusiast! :)
Do you have photos of your butterfly raising setup? I'm a retired old geezer and get to be a kid again. Wish I had had a teacher like you while growing up. Will you be my teacher?
John
Me too!
That makes two wannabe kids!
hey everyone - i've had surgery on my shoulder and can only type with one hand. when i'm better, i will try and explain about my caterpillar house. i am glad to have those sites to go to to look for larvae. i have raised painted ladies for years, and it is really fun. linda
You take care of that shoulder, Linda! Looking forward to hearing about your cat house full of painted ladies!! ;-)
John
Hi,
I am really bad about taking pictures of my 'set up.' :P I raise my caterpillars indoors so that they have the best chance of making it to adulthood. Here's a photo I took when I had a huge number of Monarchs last year (I have about 40 Monarch cats right now, 100 Painted Ladies, and numerous Gulf Frits). I basically put the caterpillars in these little 'bug cups' with fresh leaves which I refresh twice a day (more often when I don't work). I am fanatical about cleaning the frass and feeding so the cups are sent through the dishwasher. The bug cups are 8 or 9-ounce plastic cups with lids that have holes in the tops. I usually have a number of cats in each until they get larger (late instars) when I only have three in them. I put one square of Charmin Ultra toilet tissue over the top of the cup so that they can pupate on the tissue (or, for some butterflies who like to make the halter, I put in a broken chopstick that has been filed so there are no rough edges). I also sometimes throw in a piece of nylon netting stuff for those who like to pupate on that. I keep them all in the downstairs bathroom which is the butterfly nursery. :) This picture was taken, obviously, outdoors in front of the Asclepias curassavica plants by my teeny-tiny Butterfly Sanctuary in my backyard. :)
I would have to modify that setup to suit the winds on the Southern Plains. ;-)
Well, I'm understanding what's involved in this endeavor, I'll be looking at larvae with a different eye.
And, a container!
Do the containers get washed daily? woud clear plastic 1 pint containers work? with holes punched in top, right"?
Just to get a clearer pictue.
Art mentioned that a painted lady layed eggs on a plumbago, so I'm replanting my waterlogged one and got another to plant in the nature flirt part of my garden.
Sidney
Sherry, that looks like soooo much trouble. You are definitely a patient person, teaching Kindergardener's and doing this! But then again, you are raising different kinds of cats too. I still use my wooden box that my dad made me, or my little bug huts. My cage is getting pretty worn tho, since it got wet once. I would like a reptarium's like Miss Sherry uses. Look at this one on ebay!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1285&item=4365364154&rd=1
Here's one even cheaper:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1285&item=4366653022&rd=1
FYI, Big Lots sells these little mesh bug huts for $3 and they work really great.
Here's a pic of my last batch of Monarchs.
This message was edited Mar 20, 2005 8:59 PM
Will be checking BLs. Those are awsome.
Sidney
Big Lots?
Yes John, Big Lots. A source of many goodies for the garden and computer. I always check there first.
Sidney
Allways?
I'd recommend education science too. I haven't tried it myself but have heard good things.
I bought monarch larvae and eggs from monarch watch but they had a disease going around in the lab. They didn't even bother to tell me about it! So all of mine died except for one... out of two orders of 30 each!
If you're going to raise, I'd also recommend Oe Sporacide Reagent.
The monarch cats are devouring my asclepias. I can't keep up with them.
I'm going to have to start covering some of my plants and rotate them as they get eaten until my new seedlings are ready. I have monarch pretty much year round year.
Jan...
Luck you!!
John
I know the western Monarch migrate but I don't know about ours. I seem to have Monarchs, GF and a few others year round. It's hard keeping enough food available all year.
We have a Monarch flyway going through my county here in Texas.
John
Thanks so much for all the info you've given me. i had surgery on my shoulder a couple of weeks ago, and cannot type very well, but I've really enjoyed reading about all these choices. I love all those cups with the caterpillars! It is so much fun to see them go into chrysalis and eventually emerge. Oh well, when I'm better, I'll be ordering some of those. I can't resist!
Oh we do love to talk don't we?
Here's another link that's especially great if you want to include children:
http://www.insectlore.com/info.html
We've done the butterflies and the praying mantids. Next will be the ladybugs. :)
Thanks for that link, smiln, looks interesting. (Going thru my 2nd childhood). I will explore it a little later.
John
That is a fun link. Except for the ants. My little boy introduced himself to fire ants when we visited my dad in AL.
Monmouth County is on one of the Eastern Monarchs migratory routes. This year, I'm taking my son to Sandy Hook during the migration. Maybe, if I can talk someone into it, I can hit Cape May as well.
Sheila
Don't forget to type in web5 if you do any ordering on Insectlore's website! This way you get a 5% discount! :) (hey, every little bit counts, right?)
Thanks