I have got to get some more parsley. Thre is 2 here.
This message was edited May 17, 2007 6:27 PM
What have I got here?
#2
#3 There is a little teeny tiney one just below the 2nd "d" in the davesgarden watermark. Can you see it?
This message was edited May 17, 2007 6:28 PM
This message was edited May 17, 2007 6:33 PM
What you have there is Eastern Black Swallowtail cats! Congrats!!! Looks like you've got some healthy host plants for them, too!
Thanks Becky. Are they all the same thing? The big one looks different from the others.
Yes! They are the different instar stages of the same Butterfly/cat. You might need more plants as they are big eaters!!! They are really pretty butterflies as adults! See this DG link for more photos:
http://davesgarden.com/bf/go/6/
How many does a person need? I want to be ready. I bought 6 in a 6-pack. They are growing, but not all that fast.
It just depends on how many cats you have and how big your plant(s) are. The larger cats of any species can really eat a lot of leaves! But BST do like parsley, dill, Queen Anne's Lace, and Rue ..... so if you can add many of those to your garden, then you can move the cats around to feed on the different plants. That's what I do. Variety is the spice of life!! :-)
Thanks! I am going to the store tomorrow!
I've even heard they occasionally use the foliage on carrot plants. The Black Swallowtail caterpillars around here have been mostly appearing on the green fennel plants this year...maybe that's because those plants are bigger than the other host plants that I have. Congrats on the cool cats!
Thanks!
Hi Ya'll!
LindaTX8- So far I've only used my "Mock Bishop's weed" which is in the carrot family. I probably have about 50 cats so far. I then walked out into the garden and discovered that I'd had another BST lay eggs on my flat leaf parsley! Hoo! We did find that whatever they lay their eggs on is the plant that they'll want to eat...they don't like to switch! So I'm off to the store as well tommorrow! Happy cat's make me a happy gardener!
~Adrienne
ps In reference to the how many plants question...One small dill will usually feed 1-2 cats until they pupate. But thats just my experience...
I have dill seeds, but I forgot to sow them! I have a dozen bronze fennel seedlings about 6" tall now, but they reputedly get 4 or 5 feet tall in a season. The 6 curly parsley and 4 flat-leafed parsley. My Queen Anne's lace chose not to come back this year, but I do have carrot seeds. I didn't see dill in the herb section, but maybe I should go back for more parsley & look for dill. The things about Parsley is that it's a very attractive plant, so I don't mind having a bunch of it. Dill looks like a weed (to me).
My butterfly count (before this short cold snap) was 1 tiny azure blue, 1 yellow swallowtail and 1 Vanessa something. They each just did a fly-by and didn't even land on the delicacies I have provided. In fact, they didn't let their feet touch anything that I could see. Monday we'll be back up to 80 degrees, and I heard that was the magic temperature (not sure if that's accurate or not, tho)
Suzy
Adrienne - I've never grown Mock Bishop's Weed. That's one I hadn't thought of. I often have to switch my cats on different plants because they eat one down to the ground. I haven't had a problem with them being too picky about the switch. But they may stop eating for a day in rebellion of the switch. As long as it is a host plant, they will eventually eat it.
Suzy - Queen Anne's Lace is very hard to grow here too. Sometimes it grows really nice and other times we don't see it at all. I throw seeds down in my herb garden every year regardless. It's a pretty plant. I agree with you about the Parsley being a much more attractive plant than dill or fennel. I throw some seeds of that in my flower beds as well as my herb garden. It's nice to mix it up around the yard.
It does seem that the butterflies prefer very warm temps. Their wings have to warm up to be able to fly, so that would make sense that the warmer the climate the more butterflies out and around. Hang in there - they WILL come!! Also, sometimes I don't think I've had very many in the gardens, but it usually "my" timing. I just miss them! They do seem to show up in groups (different species) at certain times of the day.
Is he/she starting to change? I don't know if you can see it or not, but ther is a thread on either side of him.
Your caterpillar is pupating. The chrysallis will form next....this link shows the life cycle of the Black Swallowtail and includes pictures of the two forms of the chrysallis. I'm glad it made it!
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/johnson/hort/Butterfly/BlackSwallowtail.htm
Congrats pdoyle on your new chrysalis!!! Next will come a lovely butterfly! :-) Yay!
My last batch of BSTs took exactly 10 days each to morph..So expect them to eclose about the 30th of May. :-) Great Job P!!
:-Deb
Thanks! I am so excited! I just went and checked on him and there is no change from yesterday. The other cats on the parsley are growing fast. I bought some more yesterday.
Whew! There is no room at the Inn!
~Adrienne
A close up! Hee,hee! :)
Those pics are hysterical! You have them lined up like they are at the post office! ha ha
Thanks for the info on the dill -- I also have mock Queen Anne's Lace (Ammi Major) Will be interesting to see if they find it, and if they use it.
I also have Queen Anne's Lace that showed up under the Sweet Gum tree -- it's growing and blooming in full shade, how odd is that?
Suzy
Suzy-
Mother nature just does whatever she wants....doesn't she?! They line up like that on their own...even choosing one side of the cage over another! :)
~Adrienne
This message was edited May 22, 2007 8:39 AM
Just found more eggs on a Parsley(flat leaf)
~Adrienne
Your really cookin' Adrienne!!
Nice job saving so many cats! That ought up the population of BST in FL!!
Very impressive!
LOL Suzy!
Very nice nursery lineup Adrienne! Great pic!
Have you noticed when a cat touches one of the chrysalises, it moves and kind of bumps up? The Monarch cats do that to each other when they get too close. I've never seen a chrysalis do it until the BSTs. Pretty interesting. Maybe that's why they connect in a couple places and like to be vertical.
Fly girl,
I've totally noticed that "bumping & jumping"! It's always weird to me. I have some Red Admiral cocoons who did that to me the other day. I always freak out for just a sec.... :)
And I got....
This message was edited Jun 3, 2007 7:07 PM
This was fluttering around our screened in porch when i got home. What a joy to release it.
PDoyle, Congratuations! He's beautiful! I keep watching my parsley -- I went out and bought a dozen more to be sure I was ready, LOL!
Tho I hate to say "never", I just cannot see me hatching these babies inside. Isn't there some sort of cage you can put over the host plant to keep the good guys in and the bad guys out? What kinds of things does it need to have inside? What exactly would they prefer to hang on? Can you buy them?
I saw the largest Eastern Tiger Swallowtail I've ever seen here today. S/He was so big, that I wondered if it was a Giant Swallowtail and rushed right in to see what they looked like. Not even close, so I figured it was a very fat and healthy ETS. Yellow. Does that automatically make it a female? I forget.
One more funny thing -- and I may have already posted this, but they are getting so big, I was reminded again today. I thought I'd buy some cabbage in case the Cabbage Whites got hungry. I didn't have my glasses, but anybody knows cabbage, right? Wrong! I bought 8 broccoli plants. Not too popular with the Cabbage Whites LOL. I need to go to the veggie forum to find out when to harvest it because it sort of looks ready right now. I figure if they don't eat it, we might as well.
Suzy
lol suzy. My screened in porch is really big (it's like a screened in carport really). The only reason I put this plant in there is because I started out with 8 cats on it and I was checkin it daily, In one day I went from 8 to 2 so i moved it in the porch. I have one more on it that is pretty big now so I may move it back out side. I just hate to lose them. I did buy more parsley. I have a big pot with with flat, curly and anouther type in it hopeing to attract more. This was so neat. I need to read up on this more.
dawn
Depending on the size of the plant, you could buy "sleeves" for the plants to protect the cats...or even make your own with tulle-type material.
Suzy,
I have the cages from Live Monarch and the cats just crawl up and make their cocoons on the sides.
heres a link to the place that I bought them
http://www.livemonarch.com/store_enclosures.php
Adrienne