That simple method may work some of the time with some species, but there is way more to it than that for the best success with the most different species. Like with eveything else in lepidoptera, I did this all the way. So I can tell you exactly how I did it anyway. I made cages specifically for obtaining ova from females. They're buried in storge for pictures, I could detail how I built and used mine I guess, but they are eloborate as they were made to last decades with lots of use and I doubt few here would go to the trouble. So you can figure out something easier if for only ocassional use. A 6"X6"X8" tall cage is large enough for even the biggest Saturnid female for example. Naturally you won't put 10 of the larger species in at once, but you can put as many as seems reasonable for their size together. Maybe 3-4 swallowtails, a half dozen admirals and a dozen or two hairstreaks can go together in this size cage. Important points... some species prefer to lay in the morning, some late in the day and some sporadically all through the middle of the day. You'll soon discover which for each species. You want the cage stuffed to near full with freash plant so that the females have to stay on the plant 100% of the time but can still crawl through it. Mist the plant to start and as often as needed to keep the humidity up in the cage during laying. You want to be able to creat a fairly strong air flow through the cage as that keeps the female(s) active (that means using a screen cage). A small battery powered fan or a boxer fan etc works fine, just blow hard enough to keep the foilage always moving. A strong light near one side of the cage will attract the egg laying to that side, so by moving the light to another side as the eggs pile up gets the most benefit out of the plant before you have to replace it (and some females will stop laying if there are too many eggs present in one place). Before you put the females in the cage, feed them, and feed them on a regular schedule through the egg laying periods. Between laying bouts they need to rest, and all night. A good way to do that is to paper them and keep them on the bottom shelf in your refridgerator. When you take them out lay them on the counter to warm up, feed them and put them back in the laying cage. BTW, papering them not only doesn't hurt them, it's the safest way to handle them as it totally immobilizes them. It's something anybody that does leps ought to know how to make and how to use. You'll soon see that after the first day egg production tapers off and eventually stops (or they start laying infertile eggs). How soon that happens depends on how soon after mating you obtained the female. But when that happens it signals that its time to feed and then release the females.

We've had a blue jay pair in our rhododendron. I've been watching since it's also about 6 feet from our front door, up against our house. I got mama a birdbath and food, which she never used. So her eggs hatched and I watched daddy feed her, and then her feed her babies. This was so precious. But now they're all gone. Could they be renesting? I've had my field cam on them but it's not revealing if daddy or mommy transported the babies. I havent seen any critters either. I was really hoping I would get to see the babies grow. I feel bad bc I am not sure if her babies made it. 😔

Kendra the last time I heard A HOWR was a few weeks ago. Since then nothing. Plus my boxes are in a large field that have never had HOWR using them. The site is so open the chances of another natural cavity being nearby is VERY slim. Donna I can just barely see it from my house. It is in my neighbor's field. My yard is open enough but is too close to woods and would just have problems with HOWR. (Which yes, used to cause me problems) I also saw a Cooper's hawk fly right through and by the boxes today. Another suspect. I think you have it right on the money Donna. And the nest appears the same and undisturbed so I highly doubt they layed more. Again, I never actually saw a 3rd, 4th, or 5th egg. I was away on a trip. So predation is very unlikely.

Patti, we have green eggs in Amarillo because my friend sold me fresh eggs and asked if I have a problem with green eggs. Some of her customers did not want the green ones. I find that funny as the green eggs cooked and tasted like the brown and white ones. :) Brenda, the egg lady, knows the breed names of her chickens, but I don't recall the names she told me.