the Master Gardener Director at our local extension office has this contraption in her office. It is made with two needlepoint hoops, one at the top and one at the bottom. It is wrapped with some light netting, something you'd find at the fabric store. Inside the housing, there is a plate which serves as a base and on it she put dill, little branches, etc. She is a MG and a Master Naturalist. Pretty sharp lady.
Never heard of anybody having a pet caterpillar, though, lol
here is her "pet". I was in a hurry and didn't have a chance the ask what happens when it becomes a butterfly.
I raise butterflies too. I have various bug boxes. I have thought of making a habitat with the needle point rings but was not sure what it would look like. Thanks for the pic.
Sam
I just amde some for some friends. It is really easy. Now got tp finish the others and get them in the mail lol. Her chryiliss looks like a Black Swallowtail
Donna, that what she said it was. She also had a short house (not shown in this pic) that was about 18" tall, but she said her baby seem to prefer the tall house.
Might have to try making a taller one. Probably like it better since they was to crawl way away from the host plant
Awesome. I'm going to try that! I need something for my cats. I had monarch for the first time last year and had to borrow a friend's empty fish tank.
I've made this same net cage several times too. I don't put cats in it tho because if I usually put their food in a vase and this hanging thing is not very sturdy. I use smaller things for the cats and I think what I was doing was putting the chrysalis in there if they were movable.
One winter I had a whole bunch of Black Swallowtail's eclose and it was too cold outside to release them so I put them in this so they could fly. The hard part is getting the net closed tightly where the edges cross over each other. I folded them over each other a few times then clipped it shut BUT some how these butterflies know where the openings are! I had to keep watching them because they woud crawl in between the layers of net trying to get out and either get stuck, or get out!
Does the embroidery hoop cat cage have a sewed seam? Am thinking this could be done...sewing up a long tube and putting the hoops at each opening???
~ Cat
what if you sew it part way and then use the velcro to stick the long slit together? I was worried about getting my pots of tall milkweed in there. I am going to make one for my classroom.
sorry I didn't noticed if Margo's was sown. Would a very wide overlap of the netting work?
Sewing it then putting the hoops in could work but then you could only get in thru the end and gathering the end and getting the hoop inside it right is not easy. A long strip of velcro could work if it isn't too heavy.
I don't know what is in the bottom of hers but it can't be much more than a plastic plate because you can't put anything heavy in them. A pot of anything would pull it down, which is why I have never used them for raising anything.
By time you do all of it you'll just wish you had bought a mesh laundry hamper with a zipper lid from Lowe's.
A number of times, I have used a popup hamper I found at Lowe's. The top zips open and I cut out a cardboard circle to put in for a "floor". I hang it by a chain from the ceiling and lower it carefully when I need to clean up and feed the caterpillars. I have caterpillars as "temporary" pets or guests, I guess. Right now I have mainly Spicebush caterpillars. Also Black Swallowtail caterpillars and one other I found on a black cherry tree leaf yesterday. It might be a Red-Spotted Purple, but it's too tiny to be sure just yet. Makes for an interesting hobby.
The post inspired me to make one. It was cheap and easy. I think it will be a great place for pupa. I think my next one will be much shorter so that I can reach down into the thing.
Our Lowes does not sell the pop up hamper anymore!!!!! I have given all of my hampers away!%&**
Ebay had 10 of the hampers starting at $80 +/-.
Sam
konkrete, a plastic plate is what she had as her base.
I use a variety of cat houses I made out of those plastic rubber maid type containers. I cut out large holes in the lids and hot glued tule. They work well for eggs and smaller instars.
I use a pop up zippered hamper to house my chrysalids. That gives the eclosing butterflies room to flit around a bit.
However, I recently saw a reptarium on sale at PetsMart so I bought it. It has a nice sturdy pvc pipe frame and provides more than enough room for last instar cats to crawl around - they love crawling up and down the mesh looking for a place to pupate. It also gives eclosing butterflies room to flit around as well.
Am thinking I will be purchasing more reptariums for the fall season butterflies and setting them on the steel shelves on my back porch. I really do like the way they look and work.
~ Cat
I've seen some reptariums on ebay for about $40. I should just invest in one of them and be done with it. By time you add up the $ spent on little things that don't work well it's eventually added up to the same price or more.
I paid only $19 for a 22 gallon reptarium at PetsMart...it just happened to be on sale at the store near my house. I thought it was a fantastic price so I drove over to the other store that was about 15 miles away but they had it at regular price and knew nothing about it being on sale. I will keep checking the local store for more. I do hope to buy at least three for the fall season.
I've seen some good prices at the Sam's website but haven't made the time to drive over to the local store to see if they have any in stock. There is a website for ReptileSupply.com that has fairly decent prices too. Could be worth looking into if you plan to buy more than one or want to get a big 175 or bigger 265 gallon one.
~ Cat
I sure needed one today! I've posted somewhere how I've decided to try and just leave my cats outside since they eat so much better, are more colorful, and are larger. But I say this every year and like every year I went out to check on my cats and saw missing ones and spiders! gggrrr!
So I grabbed some scissors and took 2 pieces of Rue with big BST cats on them inside. I put it in a vase and sat it on the bar and forgot about them. I had planned to go to Lowe's to see if I could find a hamper with a top but forgot and came home to only one cat! So my son and I were down on our hands and knees looking from a "caterpillar's view" trying to find it but finally gave up. I figured either the cats would find it or they'd find it when it eclosed, which has happened before. But a few hours later I found it across the living room on the frame of my back door. He is now safe in the bug hut with a fellow chrysalis and safe from feet and paws.
Going to Lowe's and PetSmart tomorrow!
Konkrete...
Do ya'll have an HEB grocery store there? I got my pop up hamper at HEB...our store has a couple of aisles for laudry and cleaning supplies. It was a little cheaper than the ones I saw at Walmart :o)
Yeah, I've seen those reptariums on ebay too but they tend to get expensive and then you also have to add on the shipping. Seems cheaper to get them locally.
Speaking of rue...have you tried to start any from cuttings? One of the local flea market vendors that I buy my rue from said she does that.
I now take cuttings and dip them in root hormone powder before I push them into the wet floral foam and put them into the cat cages. When the cats eat up all the tender parts and leave just the main stalk I remove the wet floral foam with the cutting still embedded and plant the whole thing in the yard. Seems to be working...the cuttings are putting out new leaves :o)
~ Cat
Oh, great idea to start cuttings! I just got my green floral foam but didn't find a hamper yet. I have 2 pieces of Rue that I'll dip in rooting hormone and see what happens. I was able to replant milkweed last year and it's much easier to come by than the Rue so this would be great.
I don't have an HEB close. I'll keep looking around and just use my small bug huts and my old cage. It's still good but got rained on several times so it's a little warped.
A few years ago I had my dad build me this cage from a library book. I recently copied those to keep and to share but I have to scan it onto my old computer then put it on a disk and transfer it. I'd like to make a whole new one.
Thank you for the pop up hamper idea. I went to HEB right away and picked it up for $12.
I saved 7 monarch cats from my milk weed garden yesterday. The ants and wasps keep geting them. Now they have a safe place to grow.
Does anyone leave their hamper outside?? I was curious about it holding up in the Texas heat? or ants getting inside it?
Krissyve,
I keep the hamper outside...as with the reptarium. They are on my covered patio. I was keeping them inside but since I keep the airconditioner on the cold seems to slow them down. They do fine outside...guess they are acclimated to this hot south Texas heat.
The only time I bring the cat cages inside is when we are in danger temperatures below 70...which is very rare :o)
You will probably find that the cats like to crawl all the way up to the top of the hamper and pupate around the top edge...please remember to be careful when you unzip the lid. They seem to stay away from the plastic zipper part...but still...use caution.
~ Cat
