White Peacock Butterfly

I haven't posted much. Just been reading. It's such fun to see so many of you enjoying butterfly raising and releasing this year! That was me 1-2 years ago! I am enjoying all the awesome photos that everyone has been posting!!!

I thought I would start a new thread on the White Peacock Butterflies. I don't know if anyone else has done so. I have two small container ponds that I grow Bacopa in! Here is the DG PlantFile on this plant:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1924/

I don't know if the Peacock butterflies have other host plants, but I know that Bacopa is the one that they are using in my yard. I have a LOT of WP butterflies in my yard almost year round. Here is a website on these butterflies: http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/196/
And also http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1779
(I thought it was funny that they have been spotted in sparodic places around the USA.

Anyway, I started this thread because I noticed that my Bacopa is usually very healthy and lush. Not so lately. So I looked closer and what did my inquiring eyes behold ... but a colony of WP caterpillars all over it! So, luckily I have more bacopa in the other pond that they haven't found yet. So decided to collect a bunch of them and raise them to observe their behavior. I also want to see the chrysalis.

I enjoy raising and releasing a "new" butterfly that I haven't raised yet. So this a first for me! I thought I would share with everyone in case some of you are interested to know more about this beautiful butterfly!

Here are all the cats I found in the one pond. An interesting defense mechanism that these cats do ... they literally drop into the water if they feel threatened. It doesn't look like they drown either, but walk on water back to their host plant when danger has passed. Very cool.

Here you can see them on the Bacopa. You might notice how chewed down my beautiful plants are! LOL! There were a LOT of cats in this water container! LOL!

This message was edited Dec 8, 2007 11:15 AM

Here are all the cats that I found in about 15 minutes! LOL! This is going to be interesting to see how they do in a cage! :-)

And here they are nice and cozy in the cage! I am quite interested to watch them mature into a chrysalis! I never knew what the cats looked like until now besides looking at photos. :-)

And here's a close-up of the cats on the Bacopa! Whoo Hoo!

Yea! I'm so glad someone is going to raise these beautiful butterflies. Since I got into butterfly gardening my dad decided these are his favorites. I didn't know much about bacopa; I think the WPs in my neighborhood must use the frogfruit since I see that more. I thought the bacopa would be taller. Frogfruit is so low to the ground it's hard to imagine those caterpillars on it; they're bigger than I imagined. At least now I'll know what to look for when I go hunting for them! Can't wait to read all your updates!

Melanie

Awesome!!! Am so happy for you!!! So many little caterpillars!!! WOOHOO!!!

You're going to be up to your (_|_) in frass :o) which reminds me, I saw a bumper sticker that said "Frass Happens" ROLF!!!

It will be interesting to see how your WPs turn out. They vary in coloration out here...from almost all white to tinges of brown, red, green and sometimes even a faint hint of purple. Strange!!! Maybe it's the glare of the sun or flash or something?

They use ruellia, water hyssop, false pimpernel, lippia and frog fruit out here as larval hosts. Am waiting to see if they will make use of the green shrimp plant - they are supposed to use blechum as well.

~ Cat

How much fun is that to have discovered something so exciting! I too will camp out and look for new development. Thanks Becky for sharing.
Kim

Haha...Frass Happens....that's funny!

Wow Becky, congrats on all those babies, they're so cute! I've never seen any WPs around here, looks like I need to get some Bacopa. I would need to get a separate water area for them, if they fall in the water when disturbed, they would be fish food.

You know, falling must be a defense for lots of caterpillars. The zebra swallowtail cats do it too (except they fall on the ground). One time I was collecting them and I lost one in the dirt and I felt really bad about it. I hope he managed to crawl back up to the plant.

Melanie

ROFLMBO! Cat - I LOVE it!!!!! "Frass Happens" - That is just too funny!!! So ... I did an internet search, cause ya know I wanted one of those bumper stickers and I found this neat website. They offer several cool bumper stickers! I like them all! :
http://www.cafepress.com/beetlegoods

The little catty darlings are doing well today. I have no idea how big they get in their last instar stage or even if I currently have some in their last instar. I am going to put some sticks in the cage today because I don't know where they like to go to pupate into a chrysalis. This is really quite interesting. I do have other plants which they are supposed to use as a host plant, but no cats on any of them. They have always used the Bacopa in my yard. I think that I am going to start some more Bacopa in some individual water pots. (Pots without drainage holes.) That way I have plenty around the yard. I just love the Peacock Butterflies. Mine always look the same. Prominent markings. I've never seen an almost solid white one. That's interesting that there might be different varieties of WPs!

Becky...I checked out that website and it gave me an idea. I'm going to go through my old ebay files or the old posts on here to see if I can find the lady that made the "I Brake for Butterflies" bumper sticker for me and see if she can made a "Frass Happens" one with a butterfly caterpillar instead of a beetle grub :o)

Glad to hear the WP kitties are doing well.

~ Cat

One side of our yard has always been really moist; I've been uprooting everything and planting natives instead. Dad literally drew a line in the sand and said I could have that section since he can't get grass to grow there. I've been thinking about groundcover and now I'm thinking maybe I should try to get some frogfruit going over there. I don't think it's wet enough for bacopa, but I'll do a little research. Can't wait to see how this goes!

Yeah Becky!!
I raised these beauties in May/June and they're great! When you look at them really close it looks like they're wearing little red boots !I was also so in love with their tiny green crysalis' I had a friend of mine copy one into a charm! They eat a ton, though! Where's you get your Bacopa? It's really hard to find here and although there's Fogfruit right under the pot of Bacopa they've never used it. Good on you and enjoy!
Here's their "boots"

Adrienne

Adrienne - Great close-up photo! I don't think I can get a photo that close-up of the little darlings! Thanks for sharing that photo! I've never seen any cats on the wild frogfruit here either. I think that there probably needs to be a lot of Frogfruit in a clump to sustain even one cat. They are PIGS! Almost as piggy as a Monarch cats!

Cat - Does your friend make a quanitity of bumper stickers or just one? I went ahead and ordered one from the beetle site. I know it was a beetle grub on the bumper sticker, but what the hey... their stickers aren't supposed to fade or run, so that got my attention. All of the stickers I have put on my van are all white now. I guess I need to scrub them off and add some new ones! LOL!

Melanie - I would sugget that you just grow some Bacopa in a pot. (Get a pot without drain holes or plug the holes.) I think this plant is attractive and looks good growing in a pot. It blooms either tiny white or light blue flowers on it. I got my plant at the Maple Street Native Plant nursery here locally. I wonder if this plant grows by seeds or division? Anyone know or have experience propogating this plant? I just broke a piece off from the original plant and stuck it in the other water pond in mud and it grew pretty fast. I did send a piece to someone I traded water lilies with and it was dead when she got it. I put it in a ziplock baggie with some water to try to keep it hydrated, but it still didn't make it. (She got it in 3 days.) I noticed when I give it to the cats, it wilts pretty quickly, but luckily they are quicker eating it! :-) :-) Most places that sell water plants for ponds have it. You could try a nursery that sells pond plants. I am sure they probably stock it.

Becky...

The seller was called Cornerstop. Haven't contacted her though. Perhaps someone on here has a nice big juicy monarch caterpillar dropping frass - if so we can email it to her and see if she will make some bumper stickers. At the time I ordered the I Brake for Butterflies bumper sticker she made those in a small quantity. I'd like to see a well known caterpillar...like that of a monarch - that most folks would recognize and understand :o)

~ Cat

Sounds like a good idea, Cat! I'd love to have a bumper sticker of that and would pay for it! :-)

Adrienne - I looked really, really close at the WP cats I have and I do not see red feet. Hmmm ... I wonder if it is a different species of WP that I have. Do you have a photo of the adult butterfly that you could post here? I am thinking that your butterfly might look different than mine.

Becky,
It's got to be the same, right? We're only across the state...Hmmm! I'll post a pic though.
Mellie-I have Bacopa in small pots sitting on top of pebbles that are then resting in a deep dish thats filled with water.
Follow? The plants will grow long limbs that start roots and I then just cut those and start them in new pots. Easy...but they do eat sooooo much that it never seems to be enough.

Adrienne

Here's another body pic Becky-

Most of these cats are now in their last instar. I have 4 hanging at the top of the cage. I will certainly take a photo of their chrysalises.

Here is a new photo. I am trying to get close ups, but my camera just doesn't do very good macro shots or I haven't figured out my camera yet. LOL!

One more not real clear shot!

Adrienne - YOU got some amazing close-ups! Thanks for sharing them! I can't wait to see their chrysalises! :-) :-)

Ooooh lucky you! So many WP cats!!!

I get the butterflies in my yard but no takers on the ruellia, green shrimp plant or frog fruit. I need to obtain bacopa :o)

~ Cat

I have a few of the WP cats getting ready to eclose today. Here is a photo of the top of the cage with all the chrysalises hanging on it. The bigger chrysalis is a Monarch. On the right side you can see the last of the WP cats getting ready to pupate into a chrysalis.

Here is a close-up shot of the soon to emerge butterfly hanging next to 3 other WP chrysalises.

Here is a comparison of a Monarch chrysalis next to the WP chrysalises.

And here is a WP cat hanging in a J next to another WP chrysalis. The flash lightened the color of the chrysalis.

Those are fascinating pics. of your WP chrysalises and the Monarch's for comparision. Thank you Becky for sharing such wonderful pics.
Kim

Lovely photos!!! Can't wait to see the newly emerged WPs!!! Is that a dark WP chrysalis next to the monarch one? Are they getting ready to eclose?

~ Cat

Becky, they look great! Can't wait to see the new babies!

Just checking in Becky!
Those Chrysalis' sure do look big. Mine were tiny! keep me posted.

Adrienne

Love the White Peacock thread! I love all my local beauties but it's nice to see something different! The Bordered Patch does that stop, drop, and fall thing too. I don't get near them without a bowl underneath them. lol

I was just checking this thread and realized I never posted a photo of any of the eclosing butterflies. I only took a few and most all of them have either been released or didn't emerge for whatever reason. Something I noticed is that they seem to look different to me. Maybe it is my imagination, but the patterns on the wings seemed different between some of them. Here is one that I had released a week ago.

In my video that I posted on YouTube, you can see 2 White Peacock butterflies together towards the end of the video. I listed the YouTube link in this post: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4338531 I have a LOT of them in my yard currently. It was a busy day for butterflies today! I do believe that Fall/Winter are the busiest seasons for butterflies in Florida. :-)

This message was edited Dec 29, 2007 6:35 PM

That was lovely! Bravo!!! Becky, so wonderful, so soothing, so beautiful!
Kim

Glad to read the WP eclosed in good health. Interesting that you noticed the variation in markings. I've seen some that have different shades of coloring...seems to make the markings either fade or really stand out.

Was just reading my email from Butterfliesetc and learned that if a White Peacock caterpillar pupates in a dark area, without green leaves around, it will be black. If it is surrounded by green or light, the chrysalis will be green. If it is raised on Stonefly artificial diet the chrysalis is teal. I had no idea about that!!!

http://www.butterfliesetc.com/aawhitepeacock.php

~ Cat

Interesting info, Cat! Thanks for posting that little tidbit of information! :-)

Here is another WP that I recently released. All the butterflies are appreciating my blooming Cosmos. :-)

Wonderful thread Becky! Congrats on all the WP babies, and great job raising them! You go girl!



debnes

Cat; thanks for sharing the interesting tidbid about the wonderful of b.f. and the website. Becky, beautiful job! Good morning Debnes, and everyone. How cold is it there where you're? It's so cold here and windy, I'm yearning for spring time.
Kim

Hi Kim! It's about 30* here now, and it is supposed to change this weekend with days in the 70s. We just got back from NJ and NY where we spent a week with MIL for Christmas... Man! it's good to be back!! Especially since we had to leave our goggie in the kennel. He was so glad to see us.. I don't ever want to leave him again, that was so hard. He is a member of Man's Best Friend and they do take good care of him, but still!!!! Too hard on us missing the little pooch! LOL!