well i am not even going to try it with the sassafras. i am going to have to look into that Lindera subcoriacea i have a silk tree, it just doesnt seem to be doing well i guess it is not in its happy spot.
i just brought all my hatchlings in. i may take them to the local butterfly encounter, i raised enough butterflies last year to last a life time i think i had over 300 caterpillars, i had monarchs, queens, GST, BST, skippers, gulfs and zebra longwings, zebra swallowtails just about any one i could bring in i had cages all over my husband told me no this year lol i either bring them in until the get close to pupate then they go outside, and all i have this year is giants , gulfs and spicebush oh yeah tons of gold rims. must be a bad season here.
debi
DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 61
Sherry, I know nothing about propagating sassafras. But I looked in my propagation book (Jill Nokes is the author) and it says sassafras can be propagated by root cuttings, not stem cuttings. It said to select large root cuttings in early spring before the plant leafs out. Ideally about 2-3 inches long and 1-1 1/2 inches thick with a live stem sprout, but it says smaller root cuttings without the sprout might work. Then plant vertically in fine soil and keep moist.
Hey Blond....good macro photos!!! What camera do you use?
~ Cat
Root cuttings make sense, Linda - sassafras colonizes or spreads by root runners. I think I may try that soon.
Sherry
hey texas
i use a sony cyber shot. nothing big an expensive walmart on sale lol
OH MAN!! You folks certainly are lucky.. I have one lone Sulphar BF & I am happy.. BUT here I was really happy that I found fennel seeds.. AT LAST & they are now sprouting along with dill & parsley.. I am still waiting on a Butterfly Bush to arrive from SpringHill Nursery.. which I think I regret as it's taking a long time to get here & I ordered it on the 12th!! I am already with a container/ area for it too!! I got the Black Knight one as it was hard to get here & it's one of the newer variety.
I love all your photos & I hope to get some BF's too!!!! I have my BF garden all ready & blooming.. I even won Yard of the Month ( May) here in my community!! hahaha ( that was before everything started to bloom!!!
I know how you feel on the Yard of the month when you don't feel it looks it's best. I got it in October one year!! I ran out and bought mums and pumpkins just to make it look better. They leave those signs up all month, so you are pressured to keep it mowed and edged too!
I hear ya Sheila.. I am actually fortunate to have lawn maintainence bi weekly so it's kept nice.. only thing is the lawn could use work now! hahahaha
eggs all over the dill and fennel. D's SO was all worried I was going to feed them to him cause I use both cooking...told him he didn't get any off of those plants, (I put bird netting around the ones I use for cooking to keep the BF's off)....hope my bronze fennel seeds come up soon tho !!...judging by the number off eggs I see, I may have to go buy some more and the bronze is really hard to find around here. I can find dill plants tho..
I found that the first instar cats could be switched to parsley easily. It grows pretty quick.
I have some bronze fennel volunteers from last year. I can't remember who was asking if they set seed. Can't wait until some butterfly action comes to the yard.
In the lats week I have seen a Red potted Purple, Eastern Swallow tail and this Viceroy that I did manage to get a pic of!!
Sweet!!
I spotted a GST and a painted lady yesterday but too busy and no camera at hand.
Yippee! I had another Forbes Silkmoth emerge today.
I gave the one that emerged on the 23rd two nights to call to a mate. No other moths ever made an appearance. Deduced it was male so I turned him loose :o)
Am hoping this freshly emerged one is a female. Am thinking it is female as the abdomen is thicker and the antennae are thinner. Will see if she calls to a mate tonight.
~ Cat
Nanny, that viceroy is gorgeous! I haven't seen one around here in a long time - I may take a little trip and search some willows to see if I can find any cats.
That forbes silkmoth is beautiful, too, Cat - congrats, congrats!
Sherry
i found one finally after seaching for days i am sure there are more here is my newest baby the viceroy caterpillar
and one more of my baby
I'm jealous, blondhavmofun - I love those viceroys!
I released a giant swallowtail, a red admiral, and a sleepy orange today, plus two of the giant swallowtail eggs hatched late this evening, so I brought them in. They were so new when I brought them in, the egg was still next to them. So it's round two for giants - there's only one left to emerge from its chrysalis from the first batch, a straggler.
I got a picture of the sleepy orange right before it emerged - you can see its antenna through the pupal covering.
Sherry
And shortly afterward, he emerged.
Sherry
Sherry....great photos of the Sleepy Orange!!!
~ Cat
There was a Forbes Silkmoth on my patio screen door about an hour ago. Am not sure if it is the male I released a few days ago. It was quite docile so I put it into the cage with the recently emerged moth that I am hoping is female.
Out of curiosity - does anyone know if brood members mate with each other? I never thought of that...but if it is the male I released earlier - that question comes to mind.
~ Cat
I don't know, Cat, I've wondered about that myself. I've had male and female butterflies from the same brood emerge at the same time, and they've never mated in the cage before I released them, but I don't know what happens after they leave.
It'll be interesting to see what happens with your forbes silkmoths!
Sherry
Sherry, please add your pics of the sleepy orange to Bugfiles; they are so much more detailed than similar ones.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/354/
Cat~ the answer is yes. They certainly do mate within the brood. I think that leps would be extinct if this were not so. They live such short lives to begin with, (especially the great moths) and may be the only prospects for miles.
Another phenom I have noticed is when I've collected and reared cats: They might be in 3 different instar stages, however as time nears to pupate, they all sort of catch up to each other within a day's difference.
Here is your new thread my dear fellow & fellowette butterfliers!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/996614/
Rats! I posted in the old thread.. ROFL! See new thread in above post...
This message was edited Jun 1, 2009 9:12 PM
