MissSherry

That is cool. What kind of plant is that? Don't they like the nettle family?

randy

Yep,he looks full grown to me.How long did it take from the time it hatched from the egg? The RA eggs I found in my yard hatched yesterday.BTW,I'm seeing tons of adults all over NE Ohio.Not sure if they're migrating from down south or perhaps local ones from last year that spent the winter as chrysalids.

Randy, it's false nettle/boehmeria cylindrica, which is basically a nettle without the stingers - I tried stinging nettles, but they all died. Stinging nettles may not have thrived here, but false nettles are native, as a matter of fact, most of my plants originate from a couple of cuttings I made off some that was growing in the slow moving part of a creek that's close to my house. They're VERY easy to root, so once a rooted cutting has grown several feet tall and established itself, I make more cuttings from that plant, and so on and so on.
This is the biggest and obviously the first cat to hatch, which was on April 27th, Dan - I can't believe I can give you a definite date, but I actually have some records! So it's only taken 15 days for it to get to this size, very similar to the fast life cycle of its cousins the American ladies.
Dan, do you want me to root you some false nettles? They're a lot easier on the skin! :) You sure were good to send me seeds and plant in years past.
Or you can order some from Edith at Shady Oaks Butterfly Farm in Florida. She has the most reasonable prices on plants I've ever seen - IMHO, everybody should order from her.
MissSherry

Randy, Marilyn at Wild Things has false nettle. I just got 4 huge pots of it from her today. I think she's going to be back in Norman next weekend?

Susan

Wow,are you organized MissSherry! Wish I were more like that but I rarely keep track of when eggs hatch or how long the cats take to mature.
Would love some False Nettles if it isn't too much trouble.I can send you some stinging ones if you want to try again.I think the previous ones I sent were Wood Nettles,which are probably less inclined to grow in your climate.

I don't think I want to try any of those nettles with stingers, Dan, but thanks for the offer. I'll take a few cuttings for you today.
I was wondering how a newly emerged butterfly could get out of the nest, so I looked at the latest one the RA in the picture has made, and it's just basically a rolled up leaf with a hole in the bottom - good thinking! :)
MissSherry

Chalk me up as NOT inclined to do that either, MissSherry! Are you gonna post pics of the chrysalis?

Susan

Another one of the cats has made the same sort of leaf roll as the first one, so I assume that two of them are pupating. I don't think I'll try to make a picture of the chrysalid, Susan, because I'd have to unwrap the leaf, and in the process, I might detach the chrysalid. I'll certainly post a picture of the adult butterfly, though!
I moved them, their leaves, and their leftovers container to a small reptarian cage - the little plastic, vented container they were in wouldn't have given a newly emerged butterfly a good grip, plus there wouldn't be any room to exercise their wings. I can't wait to see the RA adults!
MissSherry

Well, they just have to make things difficult, don't they? I had them last year, but didn't bother mine either. Too afraid of interfering with the process. Funny thing, though, I didn't see ANY RAs that summer - not even the ones that emerged. And I was outside much of the time last year since I was home.

Looking forward to seeing the adults eclose, MissSherry.

Susan

Great photo MissSherry!!! I haven't raised RAs yet...but will put that on my list of cats-to-do. :o)

Good to know False Nettle works...I got four plant liners from Edith at Shady Oaks Farm a few months ago. I planted all four in a large pot since they were small liners...but had no idea they'd grow so well. They are huge! Am going to have to separate them or transplant them into the ground.

Matter of fact, all the plants I've bought from Shady Oaks Farm are doing wonderfully. Recently ordered some passiflora liners and they too are growing quickly. Am so please with their prices.

I have a small stinging nettle vine...vicious little thing!!! I have it in a pot and keep it separated from the other plants. Too often brushed up agains it and owie!!!

Thanks for sharing!

~ Cat

Awesome!

I've got 17 RA cats either in chrysalis or still eating. I had to dig up false nettle from the back berm and pot it indoors to keep the feeding frenzy going. One of my cats was almost 2" before it pupated. I've got about 5 cats to go, the rest are in their pupal stage! I should have taken more pics, and I have a few. This is my first time raising them, and they do usually hide in their sleeping bags.

I should expect to see some adults any day now.

PS....releasing about 4 monarchs a day. HAve about 15 to go on this batch, only 1 cat right now. Still growing and planting more milkweed! Not going to run out this year!

Congrats on all your cat/butterfly activity Paul!
All my Shady Oaks plants are thriving, too, Cat. I got 2 plantains from Edith that were so root bound they were coming out of their pots. I cut each plant completely in two, planted the 4 pieces and kept them moist - they've all taken, so now I have 4 plantains! :)
MissSherry

I had to go to Hattiesburg today, and when I got home, I found the three cats had eaten almost all their false nettle leaves, and they were climbing around the cage. I immediately went out and got more food for them, and they quickly got back on it and made new nests. The one in the picture has definitely not pupated yet, it's still eating! Two of them were big (for RAs) and one is still small - they must get bigger than American ladies do before pupating. Speaking of ALs, you can't believe how many I've got in cages! A few have pupated (4 of them, I think) and most of the rest are late instar cats.
MissSherry

Well, two of the three RA cats are pupating! The other one is still eating, but judging by its size, it should be in the "J" soon, too.
One of the pupating cats went to the underside of the paper towel where there is a little 'hidey hole' type area to pupate - the other one is doing it in its half opened leaf nest. I took quite a few pictures and most of them were blurry, but I finally got this half way decent one - for whatever reason, pictures of butterflies in the cages on my porch don't turn out well - I don't know if it's the lighting or what.
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I'll make a picture of the chrysalid and post it.
By the way, we've gotten satellite internet service, so I've got a new e-mail address - I guess I should notify the Garden Forum of it. I can't believe how much faster my computer works!
MissSherry

Well, two of the three cats have successfully pupated, and the other one is in the "J"! The chrysalids are very plain - I can't wait to see the adults!
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MissSherry

Good going Misssherry! I see plenty of red admirals around here but have never seen a cat. I'm not even sure I'd know what false nettle looks like either.

But I sure know what stinging nettle looks like. Last year I saw a small patch of at a park established at an old abandoned colonial farm. I brushed it and thought I had been stung by some kind of bee. Ouch!

Just yesterday, I was visiting a friend and saw a vaguely familiar looking plant smack in the middle of his raised bed.

I assumed it was false nettle because when I touched the leaves, no sting!

Then he touched it to get a good look and got zapped real good on the finger.

I dug it up and took it home. I think I'll keep it in a pot and see how much trouble it causes.

I'm not sure if it'll be worth the trouble but I can't seem to find any false nettle.

Maryann

It's really hard to find these native plants that nobody grows but us butterfliers, Maryann! LOL! Did you look at the Prairie Moon website, or Shady Oaks? You might have to get them mail order if you cannot locate them growing naturally somewhere. False nettle likes boggy, filtered sun areas, where it grows naturally. It will grow with less water in the garden, after it is established. I just hope I can winter over the ones I got this year. If not, I think I will chalk it up to being a plant that I will just not be able to grow, or will have to grow as an annual. Hopefully, having more plants this year, I may at least be able to get some seed.

There is another plant in the nettle family that does not have the stinging hairs either, but I don't recall the name right off the top of my head. I'll do some searching again and see if I can figure it out.

Congrats, MissSherry, on your chrysalises!

Susan

Maybe baby's tears, Susan? I think some people out west grow that for RAs, and it might not have stingers.
Well, 1 month and 1 day after the first egg hatched, the adult has emerged from the chrysalid! I just noticed today in the pictures I took of it before I released it that it has a white spot in an orange field in the same area as American ladies do, another indication of their relationship. I think red admirals are some of the prettiest butterflies out there!

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MissSherry

After reading all this thread and seeing all the beautiful RA butterflies-I'm off to the creek near my house to look for some false nettle. I know we have that around here...

Aggie

I took a picture of the plant I thought was False Nettle but, now I think I'm wrong. Can you take a look and let me know? Thanks!

Aggie

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:470674}}

It's definitely not false nettle. I've never seen a leaf quite like that - maybe it's some type of northern wild grape?
MissSherry

Excellent photos!!! Gotta love those Red Admirals!!!

~ Cat

Thanks for taking a look Miss Sherry. Well, now I'm on a quest to find this plant. I am so sure that we have it here in Northeastern PA, I know I've seen it before.
I've seen two Red Admirals so far this year-one flew right up to one of my flowers in my yard as I was looking at it. That was cool~**

Aggie