Hi tipolony,

If it were me, I think I would rescue them, and feed them parsley from the grocery, that has not been sprayed. I raised a little over a hundred BST since July and have three left in chrysalides. They ate mostly my fennel and Parsley from Whole Foods. Two are going to overwinter as they have been in their chrysalides for over a month. One is turning pretty dark today and if he emerges, I can release him tomorrow. We have no frost in our forecast for the next week, so hopefully he will live for at least that long. It has been a fun new hobby for me. I also have 6 GF cats, two that are about to form a chrysalis and 4 that hatched a few days ago. Hopefully all of these will overwinter and not emerge until spring.

Good luck and let us know what you do with the BST cats.

Betty

Thanks for your reply. I had no replies before I went to the park today, so I left them there and am hoping for the best. I didn't want to take them if I wasn't sure I could "provide" for them (plus there were LOTS of people milling about, too risky!). The temps are not supposed to go below 34, if even that low, so I think there's a good chance they'll make it.

That said, this park cuts all of the plants in the butterfly garden in the late fall, so if they try to overwinter, they will not make it. So maybe I'll get them anyway, now that I know they will eat Whole Foods parsley. I saw both "curly" and "flat" parsley offered there, do you know if they have a preference? It's organic, so I assume I don't have to worry about them being sprayed. It would be fun to try a new species, I've only done Monarchs so far.

Any way to strongly encourage them to overwinter, like putting the chrysalides outside a couple hours a day to give them the hint that it's better to wait until spring? By now, they won't have much warmth or many flowers left.

Thank you!

T

Hi again,

I would go back to the park and get them, and feed them curly parsley from Whole Foods. After they form a chrysalis, I would put them outside to overwinter. If you keep them inside after they form a chrysalis, they may eclose in the winter months--not good. I have 2 BST chrysalides already outside on my porch that is covered and protected from wind. I have one BST that just emerged and he will be released in a few hours. I live in Louisville, Ky. and there is no forecast for frost through next weekend. Let us know what you decide to do. Where do you live?

Betty

Ditto what Betty said.
I have 5 chyrsalids that will overwinter outside on my deck in the butterfly cage. It's not protected, just a piece of plexiglass on top, but I'll cover 3 sides with a sheet, and will cover the last side when the windchill gets too brutal.

I rescued the 2 cats a couple of days ago. One of them is looking for a place to pupate now. I have about 8 sticks in the enclosure set up at various angles, but he still doesn't seem satisifed, I keep finding him on the netting on top. I hope he picks a stick, because I wanted to move him out of the current enclosure when he's done (it's not very portable). I don't know how I could move him if he attaches himself to the side netting. I know with monarchs they wander around a lot before settling, so I'm hoping he's just doing that and will settle on one of the sticks. I haven't done BSTs before so this is all new to me.

I live in the Washington, DC area. What is the cold tolerance of the chrysalides? I can put them on my deck, which is not protected, but I can figure out something to take the bite off on really cold days. I also heard that you can put them in the refrigerator (??), but not sure if you can do that for really long periods. Obviously, a different container would be needed, and then they might absorb nasty refrigerator odors!

Thanks.
Tara

Ugh, they never pupate where you want them to. I put more twigs & stakes in my potted parsley plant inside the cage and they always pupated on the cage, either on the wood or the screen. I overwintered my first BST outside on my deck last year (pupated in Sept, eclosed in June). I covered the top of my cage with a sheet, just to eliminated any direct deep wind chill. This year I have 5 BST's, 2 are on the screen atop the cage, 2 are on the wood atop the cage, and one is on the lip of the potted plant, obviously alot lower. I'll be doing the same this year, only I'll cover entirely, probably with sheets and a piece of plexiglass on top.

Glad you rescued the cats. I raised around 100 BST this past summer and only 3 pupated on sticks. Mine pupated on the sides but mostly at the top, and one pupated right on top of another chrysalis. I have two pavilions with chrysalides on my carport and as it gets colder, I am planning to cover it with burlap to prevent the cold winds. This is my first experience with overwintering them. I recall reading that one member said she had one to eclose in February, and she released him. I am hoping I do not have to deal with that.

BEtty

My BST cats have pupated on the sticks I put in their enclosure. YAY! However, I need to move the sticks to another enclosure, one that is portable enough to put outside. How careful do I have to be that the sticks retain the same general angle they had when the cats pupated? I don't want to screw up their development.

And is a mesh/cloth butterfly canopy (like you get through the Discovery store for raising Painted Lady butterflies) OK to overwinter them in? Or should I buy something more sturdy, like a small fish tank? I was planning on putting something protective around the general area they will be in, but at the moment the mesh/cloth thing is all I have to actually put them in.

And can they tolerate really code temps, or should they be brought inside on really cold days (whatever temp that would be)?

Thanks.
Tara

tpolony,

I would not be concerned about the position of the chrysalis. I had several of the chrysalides that fell from the top of the pavilion and I was told to just leave them at the bottom and they would eclose fine, and they did. They just need a place to hang until their wings dry.

I am putting my netted pavilions outside on my carport and not bringing them in at all. They might eclose in January if you bring them in, and you do not want that to happen. I am securing my pavilions with rocks or bricks to prevent them from blowing away if it gets windy. I also plan to cover them with burlap when it gets colder. This is my first time overwintering them and others may have more suggestions.

I would not get a fish tank. The glass could freeze and break.

Betty

Now I noticed a few ants on my deck. I hope they won't get into the canopy somehow. Of course, in winter this shouldn't be a problem, but for now they are still around. Maybe I can put the pavilion inside another layer of tulle just to create an extra barrier.

Hmmm...good point about the wind. It's just a cloth cylinder thing with nothing to anchor it. Maybe I can sew in some velcro and add flaps that can be weighted down.

It gets down to the teens and sometimes even the single digits here in winter. That should be OK?

hi tpolony,

They should be fine in the middle of winter with the colder temperatures. My last 4 Gulf Frit Cats are still doing fine inside. Hopefully, they will be in chrysalides in a few days.

Betty

tpolony, how exciting for you!

I raised a few BSTs this year (first time raising any kind) and they were incredibly beautiful.

I'm so glad you rescued them. Your heart just soars when you see them eclose and spread their wings they're so magnificent.

I fretted over every little thing when I got the little cats and was like an overprotective mother with them. I got through with the kindness and patience of so many on this forum.

Good luck overwintering them!

Thanks, everyone, for all of the advice. Crossing my fingers that they wait until spring, after a bunch of warm weather!

Tara