I had several BST and Monarch chrysalids ready to eclose. Whaen I got up this morning, they were all gone! I don't think they hatched because it was dark still and also there is no remnant left behind. I had set the screens outside because I had several failures that hatched and fell on the floor of the cage and ended up as spider food because their wings never unfolded. Snakes? Lizards? they were on a brick sill for the screen porch.
Thanks,
Maggie
what ate my chrysalids???!!
bump
I'm not getting a mental picture of what you are talking about, but then I've been staring at FoxNews for DAYS, so it's probably just me. If they were outside with no protection, then something had to have eaten them. They don't just disappear or walk off. ;) Were they up high or down near the ground? Could a toad get to them? I'm sure lizards would eat them. ?? You are just having bad luck. Are you sure it wasn't a giant tick?! ;) lol
Hi KKB,
Maybe it was- the revenge of the ticks! LOL
Seriously, the plant the BSTs had pupated on was clean as a whistle. So was the top of the screen box where the monarchs had been. Would a toad or frog really eat a chrysalis? I didn't think they would eat something unless it was moving.
I had tilted the screen lid against the side of the house so they had a more vertical surface to travel on. That actually worked quite well for two in a row. So I left it outside so they could hatch safely at will.
What I've observed on the ones that hatched successfully was that once moved outside, they like to hang on the screen and tend to travel up, just like the cats do. Lately I've also been moving them to the buddleia for something to hang onto and a source of nectar in case they're tired/hungry. Frequently they hatch before I leave for work but are not yet ready to fly so Ii can't leave them in the box all day.
Thanks,
Maggie
My friend raised painted lady butterflies. He kept them in this net thing. It was made with what looked like cheesecloth, had a hoop at the bottom like a very large embroidery hoop holding the cheesecloth and making a flat bottom, the cheese cloth then was pulled up to a point with a loop for hanging. The whole thing was about 2 ft wide and about 5ft high with a zippered opening. The cats crawled up the sided and hung from the cheesecloth. For when they hatched, he had sugar water soaked sponges in little saucers for them to have something to eat till he released them.
That sounds like a definite possibility. My hubby had made me a lovely box with a removable top and bottom. It was doing fine. Then we started having problems with hatching and falling to the ground so I had put the top outside as a trial. This initially worked great. So perhaps on to plan B. Perhaps a trip to JoAnn Fabrics is in order.
Thanks,
Maggie