Thx Roxie!
Daily Pics of Butterflies Pg2, 4-28-07
I have a very young passiflora suberosa that may get completely devoured by those cats! I was happy to see the funereal duskywing identified above.. I get a lot of those and was not sure exactly what kind of duskwing they were.
Now I need to get my mits on one or 2 of those...lol!
You will probably need more too... Ya might have to put a net on the plant after this brood is done if you want to keep it.
:-)
I will keep an eye on it. I have 2 more passion vines, but neither is very big and leafy. If I need to, I may try moving some of the cats after awhile.
This message was edited May 6, 2007 8:40 AM
I have had better luck with the hamper type sideways. It's easier to reach in and clean the frass out, or freshen the host plant. When the cats get real fat and go off the plant crawling around they will be ready to pupate. I take them out and into another container when they empty their bowels, (I know it sounds gross), but they will have a very large bm with liquid right before. They really dont need more food at that point, they will just make their chrysails. The final container must have plenty of room for them to hang and dry their wings properly. If they don't their wings will dry bent, and they will never fly. the mesh hamper is fine bc they can walk on the mesh easy. They can't walk on smooth plastic like they could as cats.
Always wash the cages with bleach and rinse thoroughly before using it again. Frass has to be swept several times a day to keep them from getting sick. Also know that they breathe through spiracles on their sides, not from the face like we do, so careful when handling them or these can get cloged
I use the frass to sprinkle in the soil of plants in the garden.
I also made a cage just for hanging them. I made it of a wood frame and screened it on all sides. I will snap a pic later when they've all eclosed and hung in there. Right now 3 of the 4 are in a comma shape and silked in place.
I am trying to figure out a 'process' to stay ahead of the masses, LOL!
:-)
If anyone reading this has some nifty processes please share them! We can make a good thread later on about all of that.
This message was edited May 6, 2007 8:34 AM
The cats I am talking about here are BSTs. They make a leaning chrysalis attached in 2 places. The cat makes a comma shape to do this, usually upsidedown. GFrits, Monarchs, and Zeb Heliconians all make a 'J, and hang from a single cremaster, upsidedown.
You can tell which kind does what shape by looking at pics of their chrysalises.
Deb
Wow, I just learned way more than I ever wanted to know.
Tell me about this on my parsley.
As I was moving the parsley around to get a better photo, This sort of flew out! It hopped around on the grass for awhile before it finally took off.
Here is another picture of the caterpillar?
snuzer - Looks like the Black Swallowtail Butterfly. And the last photo is of it's chrysalis. But it looks empty, so the butterfly must be out and around in your garden!!! :-) Parsley is one of their host plants! Congrats!!!!!!! Yay!
Thank-you for the info. The Black Swallowtail hopping around on the grass for me must have been drying it's wings! Now that I know what the BST chrysalis looks like, I will know what to search for on my parsley in the future!
Snuzer - Your first photo is upsidedown. That is a chyrsalis of the BST. But it looks like the little fella is still in there morphing! Keep an eye on it and you may soon see another one emerge! :-) :-)
Becky You were right. The first photo showed the chrysalis with the bf in it. Now the chrysalis is definitely empty, as shown in the second photo. My daugther thinks the bf is beginning to come out in the first photo. I am quite sure that the BST I saw "hopping around the yard" came frome that chrysalis.
snuzer - Here's a link to show you what the different stages (instars) of the Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars look like. That way you will know what to watch for! I think you are right about the butterfly emerging when you were taking the photos! Great shots!!! :-)
Here's an old thread that you might find informative:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/659985/
Hey guess who came by and visited for several hours today.....
Sheila's Mourning Cloak...... flew all the way from SOuth Fort Worth to Watauga, lol. She went straight for the "brew". When one of the Red Admirals saw her, she was chased all around the yard until she found a hiding place in a nearby tree... To wait for another chance to take a sip. I was thinking how cool she would look on the Black Holly Hock, (or any flower), with that black burgundy and gold trim, but nooooooooooo she would only take the brew...lol. Wow, they sure have a lot of host plants!
And what a beauty!!
Deb - It might be time to start a 3rd thread for daily photos! (Hint, hint)
Thanks Becky!
Gorgeous butterfly Deb!!!!
continuing here>>
http://davesgarden.com/forums/pf.php
Thanks for coming! I am enjoying all your pics very much!
Deb