3 butterflies emerged (2 GFs, one BST). And I have no blooming plants after that arctic ice storm came through here. It hit us pretty hard here and will have to wait and see what survived those 3 days where it didn't get above freezing and all the thick ice. These are the first butterflies I've seen since then. Not even a sulfur has been around, and we always see them in winter. So I better go get blooming plants and keep them in pots until it's safe to plant them.
Gotta go buy some blooming plants!
I am going to make sure that next year I have some blooming plants in pots for times like this. I had some GF's eclose too and fed them inside a day or so then released them when it was nice.
I had one milkweed plant blooming, and they're always a favorite, but the butterflies would never use it because they'd fly to the top of the cage and just hang. What do you do when they do this?
Paige, when I had those deformed winged Monarchs, they would walk to the top of my pavilion even when I had fresh MW flowers, I tried Pentas and some other flowers...they ignored them. I finally put some gatorade on a cotton ball and held them on the cotton ball until they put their proboscis out and tasted it. Sometimes it would take several minutes. I don't know why, but after that, they were okay and would go down to the dish and feed. Even healthy ones that I couldn't release the same day because of rain. They would do the same thing. I don't know why.
Sure, Linda....any excuse to buy some blooming plants lol
Note to self....buy gatorade. Thanks!
I've had one deformed, actually mutilated by cats, that fed from flowers. All the others I've had to use Gatorade and had to show them where it was. I've had some that were smart enough to figure it out and eat right away and go back but most I have to use a toothpick to get them to initially drink then nab them again later and put them on the cotton. I'm thinking that they might be the brightest crayons in the box but not the smartest. lol
It seems like they will respond if their feet are on the Gatorade. When I put the Gatorade in the lid there would be a little around the sides, by the lip. They seemed to like to stand in it and drink. Seems I read that they have sensors on their feet? Do you remember something like that?
I have raised a number of butterflies in captivity. I even had 18 that lived their entire life in a cage because of severe weather. Gatorade is what I also used. I would use the lid to a butter container, pour Gatorade in it, and then put a plain white unscented Kleenex in the Gatorade to soak it up. I would leave the lid with the Kleenex in it in the cage for most of the day. I usually would take the butterflies, one by one, and put them feet first on the soaked kleenex. Most all of them would unroll their proboscus and drink. They smell and "taste" plants and nectar with sensors located on their feet, so if you sit them in the Gatorade, they will quickly figure it out. Most butterflies do not have an interest in drinking nectar until about 18-24 hours after eclosing. So don't be discouraged if they at first don't seem interested. I change the Kleenex and Gatorade out daily. And wash the lid every couple of days because over time it will get moldy.
This message was edited Jan 27, 2007 11:43 PM
Thanks, beckygardener! Maybe I'll try that also. If any of my two-tailed tiger butterflies eclose too early, I'll try that for them too. Guess I'm really too fond of those. This year, with all the cold here, I'm encouraged to think all 4 of those will make it to at least March. But then I see that BST eclose in January, in spite of all the cold...it's not like we've had many warm days. The GFs...I wonder if any of those ever make it through the winter as a chrysallis. I haven't heard of it happening. Quite often I see an occasional few flying around during the winter, but in spring they're normally not around at all. Then they show up when it gets hot...I assume they come up from far south.
Believe me, I know all that and did exactly the same things. Gatorade refreshed once or twice daily on cotton pads. I'd put them on the pads, knowing they taste with their feet. Nada! Sit...sit...sit...on the Gatorade....no drinking. Duh! ??? I'd finally have to unroll their proboscis for them and they'd eat. I've never found a reason why some do and some don't, even when they are all the same kind. Maybe I'll try making some sort of little hanging type of feeding station that's higher up. Or since I'm not going to be dealing with it any more this year I'll stick to my plans of making sure I have blooming plants next fall.
Oh Paige, who you trying to fool? You know you will not be able to let them stay out in your wild garden with predators everywhere! You're a softy and soon you'll have a cage full.
Oh no Roxanne, I'm going to toughen up and let them just fend for themselves. Right... LOL! I might think that but at the last minute, like this year, I'll be out frantically gathering them all in the freezing wind when it's almost dark, which is why I do plan on having me some blooming plants in containers for future use.
By the end of the season I'm kind of getting ready for a break and just waiting for all the orange cosmos to go away, not even thinking I might need to dig some of them up and keep them!
Well we are expecting freezing temps for the next two nights and I have broken down and brought my 11 Monarch pupas in. I hope they don't eclose because of the warmth in here.
I think you are lucky tho and have one of the smarter of the species so you might not have the feeding issues. lol
plus...they are the best to watch eclose!
This message was edited Jan 28, 2007 4:27 PM
I know, I suppose I'd better get some gatorade.