May the wings of a butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on,
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
Irish Blessing
In late July, I went out to the garden to get some parsley and got quite a delightful surprise.There were 10 Eastern Black Swallowtail (EBS) Butterfly cats on the parsley. A while before, I'd joined a butterfly page on Facebook and was planning to raise Monarchs if I could find any.
Because butterfly caterpillars are so yummy, by the time I got a container and managed to bring them in the house, there were 7 left and it was the same day.
Why bring butterfly eggs and cats inside and raise them(on your dining room table)? The reason is because it increases their chance of survival a lot. Most of them are eaten by predators and the continued use of poisons on lawns and gardens is killing them, as well. It's important to be sure the host plants are free of pesticides and herbicides. I know a couple of people who lost cats because of poisoned plants.
Why bring butterfly eggs and cats inside and raise them(on your dining room table)? The reason is because it increases their chance of survival a lot. Most of them are eaten by predators and the continued use of poisons on lawns and gardens is killing them, as well. It's important to be sure the host plants are free of pesticides and herbicides. I know a couple of people who lost cats because of poisoned plants.
When ready to lay eggs, the female butterfly looks for a host plant to lay eggs on. In the case of EBS, there are several hosts, parsley, Queen Anne's Lace and fennel to name a few. Because EBS and any other caterpillars are voracious little eaters, it wasn't long before we were running out of parsley. So late in the season, I was lucky to find 6 plants at a local nursery. When they found out what I was getting it for, they gave me a good discount.
The little buggers eat and poop, eat and poop and just when you think they can't get any bigger, they get sluggish and the next thing you know, they start to hang in a "J" formation and become a chrysalis.I thought, for sure, I had a picture of them in chrysalis but, no....sorry.
EBS cats are unpredictable. They can emerge in 2 weeks or 6 weeks! The ones I had emerged in a little over two weeks.
They emerge so fast I didn't get pics but, this guy is drying out.
After around 2 hours they can be released. You'll know because they start moving around.
I can't think of anything more perfect and beautiful on God's green earth than a newly emerged butterfly. The colors are so vibrant.
That's it, I'm hooked!
EBS cats are unpredictable. They can emerge in 2 weeks or 6 weeks! The ones I had emerged in a little over two weeks.
They emerge so fast I didn't get pics but, this guy is drying out.
After around 2 hours they can be released. You'll know because they start moving around.
I can't think of anything more perfect and beautiful on God's green earth than a newly emerged butterfly. The colors are so vibrant.
What an awesome informational post! I too am hooked! This year I discovered about a dozen EBS on my dill plants. There wasn't enough food so I carefully moved them to a big carrot that was going to seed. The next morning I checked on them first thing and an armadillo had found them during the night. It had dug up the carrot and enjoyed his midnight snack (the EBS, not the carrot which it left broken on the ground).
ReplyDeleteI will definitely do this when I find them next year. Unusually I only see one or two but if I bring them in where they are safe, it should increase them in my garden.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry