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Post by rt on Aug 14, 2018 6:32:18 GMT -6
Thank you Natalie, and yes, very helpful information. Definitely going to give it a try next year. One question though, I know the swallowtails like parsley, what other kinds of food do you give them? |
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Post by Natalie on Aug 14, 2018 7:56:10 GMT -6
rt Black swallowtails host plants are parsley, rue, Queen Ann's lace, carrot tops, rue. Some people are sensitive/allergic to rue.
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Post by Natalie on May 25, 2019 11:31:41 GMT -6
This thread is a bit old, but we are still raising butterflies and they are starting to emerge from their winter sleep. We have released 10 swallowtails that overwintered. I think we have about 8 left in their chrysalis. Here is a female (more blue) and a male (more yellow). He was really petite.
I also overwintered three yellow wooly bears (Virginia Tiger Moth) I had forgotten what the moth looked like until we had one emerge today. Pretty little thing. My son thinks it look like a Yeti. 
My son in his hammock with his new fishing hat...
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Post by davewatchman on May 25, 2019 17:06:45 GMT -6
This thread is a bit old, but we are still raising butterflies and they are starting to emerge from their winter sleep. We have released 10 swallowtails that overwintered. I think we have about 8 left in their chrysalis. Here is a female (more blue) and a male (more yellow). He was really petite.
I also overwintered three yellow wooly bears (Virginia Tiger Moth) I had forgotten what the moth looked like until we had one emerge today. Pretty little thing. My son thinks it look like a Yeti.
My son in his hammock with his new fishing hat...
These really are amazing. I never knew people raised butterflies. I only get them in my stomach. And these are great images. This one reminds me of a lampshade, or the design on a ladies dress from the wild west.  But i would avoid photobucket like the plague. They used to be good until the founder's son took over. Then they started holding people hostage for their images, demanding a monthly fee or else. And people had all their images scattered across these sites that would not display anymore. Just black squares to view on car repair forums. I switched over to Imgur. It's easier to use anyway to get the image links. For now anyway. Until the Son takes over. Or until this guy spoils the party.    |
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Post by Natalie on May 25, 2019 17:27:49 GMT -6
thanks davewatchman ! For the compliments and the advice. I noticed photobucket has changed, and I don't like the changes. Like the huge watermark.
Last year was our first year of raising the yellow lampshade ones. They are unimaginatively called Giant Swallowtails.
I'll give Imgur a shot.... I have one of those party crashers, too. Her name is Ash.
yes, Imgur seems pretty easy to use.
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Post by Natalie on Jun 5, 2019 14:02:44 GMT -6
My son was outside today and decided to check for eggs and caterpillars. He found two giant swallowtail eggs and a bunch (like 45) pipevine swallowtail caterpillars. No monarchs yet.
We tried to raise some of these last year but didn't have great success. I am not sure why. Last year I got some from someone because after years of having a pipevine I had never found any caterpillars. These are really fun looking caterpillars. They also eat as a group until they get bigger. (The orange spot in the photo is their eggs out of focus)
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Post by Natalie on Jul 2, 2019 9:31:11 GMT -6
caterpillar update.... I have come to wonder how these pipevine caterpillars even survive. I would bump the enclosure and a bunch of them would fall off their leaves! Maybe that's why the world isn't over run with butterflies because most actually don't survive in the "wild". So, we ended up with 30, I think, in their chrysalis. Here they are fully grown:  We also had two black swallowtail caterpillars and three giant swallowtails. Here is a shot of chrysalises (I think the proper term is chrysalids). The first three are giants, the two greenish ones are the blacks, and the last is one of the pipevines. They also are sometimes green.
Outside they would attach themselves to sticks and look just a broken piece of the stick, or maybe a dried leaf. What I do, if I can, is something I learned from a butterfly group. Caterpillars will "purge" and start wandering around looking for the perfect place to make their chrysalis. If I can see this happening, I put them in half a toilet paper tube with one end that has a piece of toilet paper rubber banded on it. Then I stand it up with the open end down. They usually make a chrysalis then on the side of the tube, but sometimes the make it on the toilet paper end. Then I hang them on the side of enclosure. This keeps them from making their chrysalis on top of another chrysalis. We haven't had an monarchs yet. |
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Post by Natalie on Jul 2, 2019 11:00:17 GMT -6
I spoke too soon. I went out to the garden today and found some monarch eggs.
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Post by Natalie on Jul 3, 2019 11:11:20 GMT -6
We have our first pipevine butterfly. I think this is the only one I marked for when it went into its chrysalis...June 21. So, almost two weeks.
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Post by Natalie on Jul 5, 2019 16:12:52 GMT -6
Just wanted to show how tiny a newly hatched monarch caterpillar is. That lid is 2" by 2 1/4"
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Post by davewatchman on Jul 6, 2019 10:02:22 GMT -6
   These are excellent images. It makes me think twice about all the damage i could cause just by walking across the back yard. Or pressure washing the underside of the lawn chairs. These pictures make me think of my Canon Powershot camera. It's just a cheap pocket camera, about 200 on sale, but it has a lot of features. It can be put into a manual focus mode where you can put the lens an inch away from a subject like a flower, and then manually focus and take very good closeup pictures of the pollen. Or somebody's eyeball. It won't be of good use on raccoons, i wouldn't think. thanks davewatchman ! For the compliments and the advice. I noticed photobucket has changed, and I don't like the changes. Like the huge watermark. Last year was our first year of raising the yellow lampshade ones. They are unimaginatively called Giant Swallowtails.
I'll give Imgur a shot.... I have one of those party crashers, too. Her name is Ash. yes, Imgur seems pretty easy to use.
I don't name mine. I just finished an experience with them that i don't even want to talk about. I had to reach down into a void to feel around for two trapped babies. I didn't like that. I'm glad it's over. And i wasn't in the mood for snapping pictures. Then, i'm sitting back in my recliner having my first coffee of the day in the dark at 4 AM, and i see something moving out of the corner of my eye. It's a possum, a juvenile possum, walking right beside my chair and below by legs. Right across the front room floor. Slow, like he lived here for ten years. He went under the computer desk and i lost sight of him. I can't believe it. I think i'm hallucinating. Am i having a vision? Did God send me a possum? Am i insane? Just this morning i finally caught him in the trap i set in the basement. I'm glad to know that i'm not losing my mind. I'm just in now from letting him loose. He's a bit strange looking, but he's actually not a bad little dude. They eat the fleas and ticks out of your yard.  North America's marsupial.  I let him take a break, gave him some more nuts and become acclimatized to the grass and the outdoors.  He had pulled two of my socks in through the cage wires and was rolled up sleeping on them when i found him.  Then i let him loose behind the house and he climbed up a tree stump like he knew what he was doing.  I hope he does OK.  Lord watch out for Your possum.  And blessed is the man who cares for his animals On a Peaceful Sabbath Day. |
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Post by Natalie on Jul 6, 2019 15:53:08 GMT -6
Thanks for sharing your possom story. Animals are so funny. We only named our 'coon because she decided to use our chimney to raise her babies. Therefore, her name is Ash. She's raised them and is gone now. Until she tries again next year. Although my husband is hoping to figure out how to close off the chimney to keep her out. Our chimney has three shafts. She put them down the shaft that doesn't go anywhere; it stops about mantle level. So, there is no way of getting them out. Silly thing, but what a safe place for babies. I suppose if we actually used our fireplace then she wouldn't use it.
I love animals.
I could do without mosquitoes though.
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Post by Natalie on Aug 16, 2019 21:05:20 GMT -6
I was out checking over the garden and gathering milkweed for the monarchs when I spotted a large, very tattered moth. Female Polyphemus. So amazing.
I was able to show the kids, and she didn't fly away. So, doing some reading, she would probably wait until night to fly away. I put her in one of my pop-ups that were empty, and then put her on my front porch where it was shaded and safe. It ended up being about 9:30 before I could let her go. She was at the top and had laid 7 eggs. I read that it could take 10-15 days for the eggs to hatch if they are fertile....so we are waiting. My only problem is that if they hatch I have none of their host plants; however, I have a very nice neighbor who also homeschools her kids, and she has two of the trees that they supposedly eat. I think I could trade her some caterpillars for her kids to observe for some leaves. That's if they hatch.
(She did fly away just fine even though she looks so tattered.)
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Post by Natalie on Aug 22, 2019 20:10:33 GMT -6
They hatched! I am so excited. Well, 5 of 7 have hatched and 4 of them have finally picked leaves they will eat. I have two that are eating maple leaves from my neighbor's and two are eating on a leaf from our crab apple. I didn't realize they would eat crab apple until I did more reading.
And then this beauty visited my garden yesterday:
These are the things of this world that I love - God's beautiful creations. I have so loved being able to grow flowers and raise butterflies.
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Post by Natalie on Sept 2, 2019 18:58:25 GMT -6
updated picture of the polyphemus. Three of the seven survived. They are still tiny but now have spikes.
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