Elisabeth, I got mine from Woodlander's, a mail-order nursery in Aiken, South Carolina. I couldn't bring up your links, so I Googled 'viceroy and red-spotted purples mate' and found the site. Reading the article was interesting, but I didn't understand some of the scientific terms. I read one passage that said something along the lines of they really don't know about 'alleles' in a way that suggests a red-spotted purple might carry recessive genes/alleles for viceroys traits and coloring. From the map, it looks like most of the interbreeding the article described takes place between the 30th and 31st parallels - I live between those two parallels, I'm just west of the Georgia/Florida area they researched. I've found numerous RSP eggs on wild black cherry all over my property, and I'm raising quite a few of them in cages on my porch now. This is the first time this year any RSP has used the willows, but it happens off and on from time to time. I have the willows, because I know that viceroys use it exclusively here, although in other parts of the country they reportedly also use birches. I have one willow in a pot, and the other one is planted in the ground. I cut the ground willow back all the way to the ground late last year, because it was ragged and unhealthy looking. It's come back this year, but it's only about 2' tall. So I put a large, metal dog crate over it, and I'll later cover it with mesh to keep wasps and other predators out. In the meantime, I think I'll use mesh to make little sleeves for the eggs, hatchlings, and small cats. Then I'll move at least some of them to the caged willow. I'd like to use the willows in case a viceroy visited without me knowing it, and some of the eggs are viceroys. If I run out of leaves, there are plenty of willows locally that I can harvest leaves from - I'd finish raising them in a cage on the porch, if that happens. I'm also wondering if the RSP that I saw laying the eggs carries viceroy genes, which is why she'd use willows? I have a nephew with red hair, even though neither of his parents have it. However, his maternal grandmother had red hair, as do his maternal uncles. This is the type of inheritance I'm thinking about here. Anyway, I'd love to see some viceroys, regardless of how they got here. It sounded to me like the writer of the article acknowledges the lack of knowledge about this subject. Sherry

Thanks for all of this info. I am new to the site, so I just now got these replies. I know now to check the box to have the replies e-mailed to me. Well, there was only one egg (that I found) and my yard man or I managed to knock off the leaf today!!!!! (I'M PRETTY SURE IT WAS HIM AND NOT ME!!!!! LOL) So I guess I won't be watching this one grow. Maybe it will come back and do it again. No, I didn't watch it slide down, but you're right--the egg was just on the tip of the leaf. I will know to look for that if I'm lucky enough to witness this again. Good luck with your RSP cats! So...if I'm understanding you correctly....if I try to raise these cats (if I get the chance) I could feed them willow leaves instead of the quince leaves? I have a willow tree. In fact, I have been looking at it, and I see that up in the very top, there seem to be some leaves that have been chewed on. Do they usually lay eggs on the top of the tree? Thanks...Beth

Sounds like 'Swingtime' or 'Snowcap' although there are plenty of others. Wish I could could help out, but it's a 'no no' from this side of the pond. IanS.

When red-spotted purples, viceroys, and white admirals (and their hybrids) lay their eggs, they lay it on the very end of the leaf. When the egg hatches, the tiny hatchling makes a string, or 'perch' if you will. The hatchling will object to being removed from the leaf it started off life on, and if you force it, you'll undoubtedly kill it. You'd be surprised how much they can grow on what looks like a bad leaf. Please, everybody, leave these caterpillars on their original leaf, no matter how bad it looks, at least until the caterpillar gets some size on it. I put a fresh, clean stem of the host plant in the hole in the leftovers container next to the stem the original leaf is in, and the cat will eventually, on its own time, move over to the better leaf. These caterpillars, at the end of the summer/early fall, might make a hibernaculum, so it's a good idea to leave any tree limbs alone if there are leaves on there still. The Goatweed Leafwing also starts out with a frass string. And then as it gets bigger it makes a rolled leaf nest. Here's what hatchling or very early instar RSP cats look like on their 'string' --