I've never heard of that either, Mary Ann. Plantain IS their spring host plant isn't it? If they're in a critter keeper where they can't get out, then I assume they'll eventually stay on their food plant and eat it.
Keep us posted.
MissSherry

Perhaps they have this urge to wander, like a cat when it's ready to molt?

I'll just have to make a set up where their wanderings don't take them to a spot where they can't make it back to the host plant....

Sounds like that could be true, Maryann. Butterfly and caterpillar behavior is hit and miss at best, isn't it? Perhaps we need a lepedopterist psychologist to help us out???

I wanted to tell you that I have put my humminbird clearwings out on the porch. I had a really big plastic jar (over a gallon size) that I saved (it had spring water in it), that I washed and cut out a portion of the top. I put the crumpled pieces of paper towels and the cocoons inside of it, with some shishkabob sticks for them to climb on when they emerge. I will take pictures of them, too. For some reason, I keep missing them in the garden, and all I find are their caterpillars.

Susan

Hi Maryann, I hope that the BCs do okay for you. Although I've never seen one in person, I think they are a simply beautiful butterfly! I think the caterpillars are pretty too; they remind me of little orange and black pipe cleaners. I really hope that I can get them here someday, probably not this year because I doubt if my plants will be big enough to host any cats, but next year would be nice! I will have Chelone glabra, Penstemon hirsutus, and Plantago lanceolata (I hope I got those all right...I did it without looking...so if any look a little funny, that's why. lol) I didn't know which they'd like the best, so I thought I'd try several plants. Oh, and I don't know if they'd go for Agalinus tenuifolia or not. Isn't that false foxglove? Or not? I know that the Common Buckeyes supposedly lay eggs on it, and that's another butterfly I'd like to get here. I don't want to get my expectations too high and then have far less butterflies show up here than I think will, so I'm trying to get the mindset that maybe a lot of these plants will just be here to look pretty, but that's okay too. I used to have a flower garden but back then I wasn't into butterflies and planted things like marigold, pansies...if I did have any butterflies drop by, it wasn't because I knew what they liked.

Keep us updated on the progress of the BCs at your place and elsewhere. I love to hear about them.
Cathy

Never fear, Cathy..

I'll always keep you posted because I think I'm semi-obsessed...
I think I've given up on my hopes to establish them here in suburbia...I've come to the conclusion that they prefer wet marshy areas...but i still am fascinated by observing their life cycle.

If I ever feel like I'm endangering their chance to survive, I'll take them back to the habit I found them in, and release them in an appropriate spot.

But i've still learned so much from the little guys so far...

Maryann, There's nothing wrong with being obsessed about something that's so nice as Baltimore Checkerspots! :) I hope they would like the habitat that we have here. It's rural but not real rural. We live along a road that gets pretty much traffic and our neighbors are just on the other side of our driveway, so even though it's considered rural it doesn't always feel that way, especially when the neighbor's dog barks almost all the time. :(

I'm really sorry that you don't think you can transplant the BCs there at your place. So you bring the cats home to raise and then release the butterflies there at your place, right? Do you mean that they don't stick around after you release them? I don't know how big your backyard is, so it's hard to tell if you could keep them there or not. Well, besides, it's not like I'm an expert. I sure wish it would work out for you though.

I think you might have said before, but could you describe what the area is like where you go to collect the BC cats? You say they like a marshy area. Isn't that where a lot of water stands? Now I'm wondering what the different is between a marsh and a swamp? Is there standing water where you go for the cats? Is the vegetation real soggy that you sink into mud? Is it an area that gets mowed or is it let natural? I'm just trying to decide if our little 1/8 acre field would suit the BCs. It borders a creek and is wet in the spring that you can't walk in it without sinking into the mud and losing your shoes. lol When summer comes along, though, the field dries up. So I don't know if the butterflies would like it there or not. I plan on planting the plants there that I mentioned above, and I also want to plant some Swamp Milkweed there for the Monarchs.

I can't wait to see pictures of your cats and butterflies again this year! :)

Cathy

Cathy, from what I gather, when they feed on the turtlehead, it is usually in a wet meadow situation. Probably because that's where turtlehead grows. Wet meadows can have standing water, especially in the wet months, but they are usually not marshy with standing water all year.

Where I collected mine was a dry, sunny meadow. Although it was an area between two ponds, it was sloped, so I doubt it would ever be too wet there. I don't know why this particular area had so many checkerspots, but it sure did.

While my original hope was to reintroduce them to my area, I've come to the conclusion that this is much too developed here. The few adults that I released last year were never to be seen again.

I've since learned that releasing them after 7 pm allows them to settle into the area better. Otherwise they just take off.

I am glad to have undertaken this project because I've learned a lot about the life cycle. Those overwintering cats are tiny, but quite tough. Many of the one's I overwintered outside in the garden, have made it through.

Your area sounds like you'd have a good chance for success. Most of the meadows here get mowed in the fall. I guess it's the right time for preserving bird species, but I don't know how it works for butterflies.

Maryann

Thanks, Maryann! Yes, it does kind of sound like I might be able to get BCs here! :) I like the area I'm in but liked it better years ago. It's sad to see so much farmland being turned into developments. I'm trying to do my little part in saving things, but I'd imagine things will get to the point of no return. It seems nobody wants to take drastic measures. I guess I'll just enjoy what I have today and not worry about tomorrow. It seems to work for a lot of other people.
I admire you for trying to get the Baltimore Checkerspots to suburbia. I just wish that it would work for you because I know how much you like them. Like I said in another post, I might just be planting a lot of my plants for pretty if I don't attract the butterflies that I want to attract here, but at least I can say that I tried, and so can you.
Cathy

Cathy, I know what you mean about development. I would expect it here, right on the coast of LI sound...Real estate prices are unaffordable. The only reason I can (almost) afford it is because my family has had this house since 1947. And the taxes, oh my!

The last time I saw pictures of Catawissa, I was surprised at all the new houses. We used to roam the farms there when I was a kid...now it's just houses.

Well all our doing our little part here. That's one reason I love this forum.

Cathy, since the turtlehead really likes moist/wet meadows, do you have an outside A/C unit or window unit? These usually evaporate the water that collects from operating them, and there's always a puddle by mine. That's where I planted my ludwigii seeds (water primrose), because it always stays bog-like.

Just a suggestion.

Susan

Maryann, I don't think I was in Catawissa ever since I was in college many years ago, but if it's like most other places, I can imagine that it got built up since you saw it before. Goodness, I know I'd never be able to afford to live up where you are; we're struggling just here. Pay isn't much around here; the average household income in my county is right around $30,000, I remember reading. With gas prices, our heating oil, and everything else going up in price all the time while wages stay about the same, it's very difficult. Most people say they are going backwards financially, so we aren't alone. Well anyway, yes, I agree that we are doing our little part here. At least when I croak, I won't have a guilty conscience. I try to do things with conservation in mind like gardening for the butterflies, feeding the birds, recycling, etc. It's just too bad that there are people in the world who don't give a rat's behind about the earth and how it will look 100 years from now if mankind is even around then. I kind of hate to think about it. I'll try to think about butterflies. :)

Susan,
Well, we do have one but with the gas prices so high, we have to cut back on things, so we quit using our air conditioner and believe me, it gets humid here in the summer. Ugh! That's a good idea, though, about planting something there that likes those conditions. Do you think Baltimore Checkerspots would come right up to our house if their host plants would be there? It's not like I can provide that much wetness there but I was just wondering if you thought that BCs would go that close to a building? I wonder if any butterfly thinks much of a building or if they're just interested in their host plant no matter where it's at.
Cathy

I don't know, Cathy, but you could try, unless you have a place already picked out for your plants.

There are a lot of butterflies that are supposedly just "meadow" or "woods" butterflies, but I still get them in my yard. So funny, you guys. Yesterday Kenna and I were outside when the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail came to visit again. It's a male and I think he is still searching for a female. I know there is a cottonwood nearby, because I always have to clean my outdoor A/C vents that are clogged with the cotton from them. Anyway, he actually let Kenna pet him when he landed on several shrubs in the backyard. Very friendly butterfly. And she just loved the fact that it would let her touch it.

Susan

Susan, I was considering putting most of them down in the field and maybe try a few in some other places. My problem is the already existing weeds. It would be a huge task to get them out of some places before I plant the plants for the BSTs. I'm afraid if I'd just plant them without removing all the weeds that the good plants would be smothered. I'm also worried that they might get mown off by accident in some places where I'm thinking of putting a few. We have a stream and I thought that would be a nice moist area, but that's where all of these weeds are.

I think that's really cute how the butterfly let Kenna pet it! Yes, I can just imagine that she really liked that. I think you have a young person there who just might be into planting for the butterflies when she grows up. :)

Cathy