DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 26

Continued from: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/795474/

Moving right along toward winter now, we got our first hard freeze last night. Of course butterflies here are dwindling down to a screeching halt, but PLEASE KEEP POSTING YOUR BUTTERFLY PICS as you wish. This is a community thread for all, so make yourself at home.
I do want to point out something cool I found recently. When my Mom asked what I wanted for my birthday I told her butterfly cages, so I would be prepared ahead for next year. She bought me a $30 card and I searched the whole web and found a great site for the best cages I've seen so far. Magnes added a $50 card so I had 2 cards totaling $80.
http://www.amazingbutterflies.com ~Is the main site with tons of info, resources, and cool products.
http://www.amazingbutterflies.com/butterfly_castles.htm ~Is the page with the Castles
The 12" x 12" cages are listed as $10 on the site, but when I went to place the order BY PHONE I found the price had gone down to $8 per cage!! I was able to get ~EIGHT~ 12" cages and a medium sized sock. They took the mixed gift cards happily...

So in case you get a gift card or 2 or 3 this Christmas, you might think of doing this too.

Check out how they have the zippers on these cages!! I got mine on Friday and they are perfect!!

This message was edited Dec 16, 2007 10:10 AM

Wow, Debnes, that is so cool! I was planning on getting a cage or cages after the holidays, and this is the perfect info. Thank you.
I have one question- at the bottom of the page is this quote:

"These large cages were used for 7 months outdoors, repeatedly sanitized and washed out after each lifecycle.
We folded them flat and are using the same ones this year. Tip: Just keep the frass dry!"

How do you keep frass dry???

Cathy

Mellie, thanks for the info on the Lindera.

One more question, is this the spice bush you referred to in the same post:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/78830/
I'm wondering if these "woodland" type p ants will make it further south. I have a large live oak that provide a lot of shade, so I'm hoping...

Cathy

Cathy~
It is very difficult to keep the frass dry but necessary to keep it dry or best of all removed from the cage. Wet frass will cause some nasty diseases and it also attracts predators.

When watering the caged plant, make sure no water is left in the cage that will no doubt get falling frass wet.

Dry frass will vacuum much easier~ I use a dirt devil with the small extension piece to vacuum the dry frass out of the cage.

debnes

Fantastic, thanks for the info!
Those caterpillar socks they have are really cool too. Neat site, I bookmarked it so I can find it easily.

Just saw a GF blowing around in the wind and finally got a shot of it. Poor little guy must be exhausted with all this wind!

And one more, a little closer. The pentas were the only thing that kept him busy enough for me to get a shot.
Cathy

Great frit pics Cathy! They are sooo photogenic!!
:-)

Cathy, the sweetshrub I have is calycanthus floridus. I have two and so far so good. They took a while to leaf out this spring but I kept watering them and they were fine. They haven't bloomed yet, but I didn't expect it yet as they are small. Right now the one is starting to lose its leaves and after the cold temps tonight I imagine they will both loose leaves. Mine are both planted in shade in the moist part of my yard. They are also underneath a huge live oak. A lot of things in my yard are under live oaks - gotta love trees!

As for butterflies today, Dad said a Gulf Frit was flying around the garage as he was woodworking. I got a surprise when I checked my passionflower - I had caterpillars! I remember seeing an egg a few weeks ago but didn't think much about it. Today I was just checking the general health of the plant when a big cat caught my eye. I found five total and one egg. Of course, I brought them inside so they don't freeze tonight.

Melanie

As I was turning my compost I saw a zebra longwing flutter by and Mom said she saw a "giant yellow sulphur" on the bougainvillea as she came in the door. By the way, in case you're wondering this is what the window in front of Mom's office looks like. That's why she sees so many butterflies!

This skipper was flying around the yard. I thought it was one of the usual long-tailed skippers, but I didn't see any tails.

Here's a little closer up look at him.

In constrast, here's the usual suspects I see on the porterweed across the street. You can see this one has tails.

Thanks Mel, I think I will try a spicebush and a sweetshrub next spring. Sounds like a candy store!
Your pics of the skipper are so good, I never have any luck with them. I thought I had a shot this morning, but once again he escaped before I could focus and press! It was a little coppery colored beauty. Maybe next time.

The skippers are very hard to get photographs of. I think it helped today that it was so windy and cool. That first one was clinging to that blade of grass as the wind was blowing. Generally, they fly around so fast I don't even try.

One of my Gulf Frit caterpillars just molted. It's so cute!

First, Melanie, let me tell you how much I am enjoying your photos. I'm envious of your weather down there. Winter has seized Mississippi.

Debnes, thank you for the great site. I bookmarked it and also ordered from it. Unfortunately, the 12" x 12" cages are sold out. I am new at this and don't really know what a beginner needs, but I ordered one large castle, the next size up. I also ordered two small socks.

Question: What is a frass that is supposed to be kept dry?

Debnes or anyone else, recently I read (can't remember where) that butterfly houses are for aesthetic value only in the garden. The article said butterflies rarely, if ever, use them. What is your experience?

The books I ordered have not yet come, and I am really anxious for them to get here! This will be good winter reading. Also, January, hurry up and get here -- I want to start my butterfly seed collection! Can y'all see the greenhorn that I am!

Martha

WOW great site Deb. Those are very reasonably priced

Frass is caterpillar poo :o)

Guess if you're going to vacuum it up it works better if it's dried - elsewise it will make a mess of your dirt devil.

I usually also put a small shall tin with wet floral foam in my cages and stick cuttings into that. Then when I need to clean out a cage I pick up the container (with cats still feeding on the cuttings) and set it out while I flip over and clean out the cage :o)

The weather was chilly this morning but it warmed up nicely...and for once, no strong winds. It was a really nice day but not many butterflies were out.

Does anyone use reptariums for cat cages? I have a 22 gallon and 35 gallon cage that I rotate. I use smaller rubbermaid containers for most everything else. Got those in all sizes up to 18 qt :o)

~ Cat

Ha, ha, ha! I should have guessed -- cat pooh! Sometimes I feel so stupid! Thanks, Cat

Martha

Martha~Did you go online to order or did your call them on the phone? The site said they were sold out, and it has the 12" cages at $10. I called and spoke to the guy who designs the cages and works a lot of the breeding operation there. I think his name is Joel. (Really cool guy! Knows a lot about raising butterflies.) It's worth calling to place the order to get it all exactly like you want it. If they are actually out of the cages it wouldn't be long for them to make more... We would surely all be fixed up by the time butterflies return here next spring.

Those are great ideas Cat! I use the small gladwares also... You guys know I need more than 8 12" cages to manage, so I do use whatever will work. I don't use the reptariums I bought, the screen has regular screen holes, and the chalcids can walk right through them. I can use th reptariums for other critters though.

This dirt devil can vacuum up slightly wet frass and it is easy to clean out of the plastic catch hold inside too. I have cleaned the way you're saying too, by removing the plant and hosing down the cage, drying it out and putting fresh plant in.. Never hurts to keep paper towel down on the bottom too. I throw the frass down under the host plants in the yard after I collect it.

Stayin warm over there Donna? We froze last night... A lot of my plants were zapped, a few were ok. The pipevine leaves all turned dark green. Milkweed is drooping like rags. Passionvines look alright. Parsley looks fine too. I didn't cover anything. We will see what holds out until spring.

debnes

Deb, you remind me. I need to plant parsley! And I will call Joel (or whomever) tomorrow. Thanks.

Martha

Martha, don't feel bad- When I read "Just keep frass dry," all I could think of was not giving those cats any extra water, don't want them to have wet poop. Dehydrated caterpillars??? I was clueless!
Good thing we've got all these wonderful bf people to teach us as we go!

Cat, I like the idea of the cuttings in the cat cages. I'm taking notes as I go!

Cathy

Okay, here's another retarded question. Are you supposed to give the cats water?

Martha

Martha, I'm so glad you're enjoying the pictures. We extreme Southerners promised to do our best to keep everyone going through the winter. As for the water question, everyone seems to say that cats get all the water they need from eating leaves. However, because I keep mine indoors in a Critter Keeper (plastic cage) I mist them occasionally. When I've done so, I've seen the caterpillars suck up the water droplets. I thought it was weird because I didn't think they would drink, but I've seen them do it time and time again. I'd love to hear from others about their experiences. FYI, I've also read that it's important to mist any chrysalids that are overwintering with you, especially if you bring them inside.

Melanie

Thanks, Melanie. I need all the info I can get. Does anyone else out there mist their chrysalids they are overwintering inside?

Martha

I saw a ZLW flying outside today. Here it was down to 29° last night, so apparently they can survive some lows like that. But tonight is supposed to get even lower still...darn! I've got one ZLW that I'm keeping in since yesterday. Will let it go tomorrow, after the freezing is over for a while. I've got a couple more ZLW chrysallises left. Other than that, there's one TST and a two-tail chrysallis I have left for over-wintering outside.

Yep Linda it will not be freezing here for a few days either. You should have good release days ahead for a few. I handed my baby Gulf frits over to my DD bc I will be in NY for a a few days around Christmas. Not sure if I will be able to get online after the 23rd. Try to get some pics of your release tomorrow if you can.

. I had some Black ST & GST chrysalids outside a few weeks ago that are overwintering. Something ripped a hole in the fabric of a small gladware cage and stole one of them . (The cat had made it's chrysalis right on the fabric.) I brought them into the mudroom after that.

Yes I do mist them about once a week. I don't mist the cats at all because it cuts down the chances of bacteria in the cages and keeps the frass dry.

I found out the hard way. At my very first attempt at raising Monarch and/or Queens cats. I found the important of having fresh mw leaves for them. Several day-old cuttings of mw, made them dehydrated and didn't do well indoor. I felt really bad, but then I've earned a very valuable lesson then. That was when I learned from this Forum to mist the cuttings when I bring cats inside to protect them from outdoor's predators.
Kim

At the right time I will use your valuable lesson, Kim, and mist my indoor cuttings. Thanks too, Debnes.

My first book arrived!!! :- ))) The "Kaufman Focus Guides, Buuttlerflies of North America," by Brock & Kaufman. It is beautiful and so well organized. I can tell this book will be close by my side.

Martha

Congrats on acquiring a good book on b.f. Martha, Weds. I'd be heading into town, and will spend half a day at the library in search of good books. :-)

Good going Martha!!!

I keep several copies of it everywhere :o) - always have one on my computer desk - so if there's a butterfly I've photographed I can easily thumb through it to narrow down my search. Same goes for helping out when someone posts one for identification on Dave's.

My offer still stands...if anyone is interested in a butterfly book - let me know - If I have it I will post some excerps for anyone wanting to see the innards :o)

~ Cat

I let the ZLW go today. But it was pretty battered-looking. For some reason, that kind seems to damage themselves like that when they're kept in the cage very long.

Ooh, damaged or nay, it's beautiful. I've never seen a ZLW before.

Martha

Good Martha! You got the book, yaaay! I got the poppy seeds yesterday, Thanks!

Even with the freeze these Admirals were out in the afternoon...

Nice ZLW Linda, a little tatter won't hurt... I've seen them flying hapily with a lot more damage...

Someone just emailed me the cutest video.. All you wildlife lovers just have to see this:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/798198/

I just checked on my Gulf Frits and instead of five I had six so my egg hatched! He's so tiny but he's very active; he's wandering all over the fresh leaf I put in this evening. As for the Zebra ST eggs, I think one was a dud prior to coming home, one might be a dud, one has changed from green to the coppery tint they get before turning gray, and there's another coppery one that might be a little darker than when I brought it home. I'm just glad to have some caterpillars again.

We are glad you have them too Mellie. Ours are long gone, so we are enjoying the pics and talk keeping the bf forum going.
I did snap a picture of one butterfly today. I have been driving past it for about 2 weeks now. It is at our Botanical Gardens here in Fort Worth. They replant the clock at the main entrance about 6 times a year at least; using different patterns each time. This time it is a butterfly using pansies, pretty cool huh?

Very cool Sheila! I haven't been over that way for a while. Thanks for posting that!
:-)

I am there way more than I want to be since I work close by. I would much rather be visiting the gardens than headed to work! LOL! It is a great place to have lunch when the weather is nice though.

Linda,

Do your cages have room for the butterfly to flit around? I always put the chrysalids into a meshed reptarium that way the butterflies will be able to cling to the mesh and walk along the sides and top. I noticed when I let them eclose in the aquarium or a plastic rubber maid container they'd bang against the sides and damage their wings.

That looks great Sheila!!! Am going to suggest our local NABA park make a flower bed in the shape of a butterfly and perhaps another one in the shape of a caterpillar!!!

Love it!!!


~ Cat