"Funny Sherry I was wondering the same thing about inbreeding, never have seen any mention of it when reading about captive breeding." When I showed up here almost 7 years ago, I took some people to task about the way they were releasing large numbers of inbred giant silk moths. That went over like a lead weight so I have pretty much kept my mouth shut since then. Ladobe criticized one of our members about it last year but no one followed up on it. The quote was "Besides weakening the gene pool, forced inbreeding produces low egg viability, high malformation risk and so therefore high mortality. Not a good practice." One consequence of moth inbreeding helped cause a shift in USDA policy last month. The USDA no longer regulates interstate shipments of Bombyx mori. Those moths are so inbred they can no longer survive in the wild. I raise relatively large numbers (up to 400 of one type) of Saturniidae every year. I go to great lengths to try to make sure the wild males that my girls mate with are not the brothers or the male first cousins that I released. I also try to make sure my released males and females do not mate with each other. I do this by doing releases at least 10 miles (usually more) from my house and releasing the females and males at least 10 miles (usually more) away from each other. I used to mark my males to make sure they were not finding their way home but quit being that paranoid after years of never getting one back. I release at least 10 miles away because 7 miles seems to be the generally accepted maximum distance that a male Saturniidae can follow a female's pheromones. That said, I have seen a claim that male giant silk moths can follow female pheromones for "nearly 30" miles. YMMV I preface my next statement by saying I have no clue how this guy operates. There is a guy in Ohio that raises 3k-4k cecropias each year. I read that he has been raising them since '86. Something wiped out his cats in 2008 and he had to start over in 2009. I'm real curious if inbreeding affected his setup and I'd like to know what happens to all the moths he doesn't sell (IOW, do they get let go). As for inbreeding butterflies and affecting the gene pool, there is a lot of info/controversy on the net about it because of people raising butterflies for mass release at weddings. One related article I have posted before is linked at the end of this post. Last thought: I know of one inbred butterfly that has been studied a lot: monarchs on Hawaii. I believe around 20% of them are white now. My guess is they do alright because the favorable weather conditions don't put a lot of stress on them. They would probably have trouble with migrating to Mexico and surviving the winters there. Anyway, there is a lot of research out there about them. KC Here is a link that might be useful: All Aflutter

Kran, same story here. No BS cats the past couple years; even though I keep adding more Apiaceae species. I have seen small groups of BS cats that were minute; and the next day when I would come to collect them to put in the tent; they were gone. I don't know if it's yellow jackets doing it? I am getting interested in growing more species of Milkweed for the Monarchs,but I think growing more nectar plants and getting the government to totally ban nicotinicide herbisides ( which are harming bees and butterflies everywhere ) is just as important as growing more Milkweed. Scientists now can tell that the availability of Asclepius species doesn't account for the sharp decline in Monarch populations, ( over the last few decades ). Nasturtiums put out so many leaves, at such a fast rate, that a small CW cat won't be able to spoil any potential salad greens. Which part of the cornflower do you eat? You are talking about Centauria cyanus, the blue flowered one? As far as I know; no kind of caterpillars eat the blue cornflower. I suppose maybe Painted Ladies could? Butterflies love nectaring on it though. Happy 4th !!!

Sherry, will describe this better, but when I see a bright blue on the top of the wings when fully extended it is a male. Females are more of a dull metallic blue. I can tell that they are Pipevines by their flight patterns, which is generally very fast and erratic. They seldom stay on a flower for any period of time. Every once and a while I will see them stay on a flower or branch for a while in the morning when they are drying out their wings. Also, they are smaller than most other swallowtails.

I know!!! What is up with all that running around by Pipevine cats before they pupate??? Maybe they are genetically programed to go on a long journey before pupation. Keeping them in an enclosure disrupts the programing, so they ramble around the enclosure for days, who knows? I want to see photos when they emerge!! Taking some to the country is great idea. I can't believe this but I am actually removing butterfly eggs!!! Ughhh!! But the A. tomentosa vines just can't handle the munching right now. I moved what was left of the potted A. macrophylla vines to a sunnier spot and, by george, they are looking better and might even grow this time!! None of these got to flower this first year, so no seeds to play with but when they grow back out, I'll try cuttings with leaves and "stapling" some vines to the dirt in the pot. There's next year to consider. :) Anna