Also, I find this thread so interesting because I saw some eggs on one of my Baptisia australis last year, and later saw some of the leaves folded over. Being so new to butterfly gardening, I wasn't sure about what to expect. I never actually saw a cat, just the eggs and then the folded leaves. Never saw the adult, either. I will be watching closely for eggs. If I decided to bring the eggs in to try to raise them, can I just bring in the branch the eggs are on, or use a whole plant so the cats can choose which leaf to use? About how long does it take from egg to adult? Thanks for sharing. So much to learn and then share with DH and the grandkids. Betty

Sherry, I'll keep it outside on our back porch. You're so lucky to be raising a Long-tailed Skipper. I think that they are so pretty, but I don't think we get them up here if I remember right. I will keep raising the WID, but I'm not sure about pictures, even though I'd like to show it. My two-yr old Olympus broke down and when I take pics I use our daughter's camera. I'm so mad that I can't get closeup pics with it. I've tried and they all come out blurry. I don't think I'd get pics of the WID anymore anyway because I think it pupated. I'm anxious to see it eclose! I'm just not sure how long that will take. Sandy, Oh, so you're raising a Juvenal's Duskywing on oak leaves! Neat! Wow, it sounds like they take their good old time to develop, huh. After having it with you that long, I guess you'll become attached to it. ;-) Curt, I'm so glad to get your info about them because I like to know what I'm doing before I actually do it. I want to raise this one successfully and maybe I can raise others if I find any. Actually, now that you mentioned that they pupated in the their leaf shelter, I think that's what has happened today. I just peeked in at it and can't see the dark head; the whole thing is green and I was wondering if it was the pupa...I bet it is. It's so hard to see in there. I think it's neat how they put the leaves together and live in there, kind of like the American Ladies do. I'll be watching for it to pupate in about two weeks. Thanks for the info. That would be something to see how they eclose in that closed in space! Cathy

Jeff, I'm going to have to look closer at the duskwings that I see here. I've been assuming that they're all Indigoes, but maybe not. I know for sure that I have the WID because of the eggs being laid on the B. australis. There are a lot of oaks around here, so I could possibly see the other kinds too, although the trees are big and I doubt if I'd ever see any eggs being laid up so high. Hopefully the butterflies would come and nectar on some of the flowers in the garden. Thank you for your observations on the three different kinds of duskywings. That will help me ID them if I ever get the other kinds. Bob, I was concentrating so much on the spots of the duskywings that I neglected to tell you how nice I think your pictures are and I really enjoy looking at them. Cathy

Thanks MissSherry! Thanks Larry (so nice to get a little pat on the back from you)! I didn't even think the little guy survived, so I was surprised when I came home the other day to find him (and a little hijacker moth) fluttering around. I am becoming more appreciative of these little butterflies. 6' of snow! I don't think we get that here up in New Hampshire. How do these creatures deal with the freezing temperatures? Do they have some kind of chemical compound that helps them keep from freezing? Some of the cats around here seem to hang out in hibernaculums too, so they don't have the benefit of the snow. It's something I just keyed into last year with the discovery of the admiral (Limentis) and Harris' Checkerspot (Chlosyne harrisii)cats. Maryann, I didn't do too much...I just kept giving it new aspen twigs and leaves until it seemed to have stopped feeding; I kept watching for activity, and one day I went in and checked it, and it formed a chrysalis in the leaf. Then I just left the dried up aspen twig on the bottom of the cage under a couple of paper towels. I kept the cage in the garage; there may have been a couple of nights when it got close to 0 degrees out there. I am a little confused because I thought they needed to keep feeding in the spring before pupating. I really thought it had died (for which I feel bad), and I was going (and still may) give up on these caterpillars that need to overwinter. Thanks to Sandy too who opened up my mind to rearing them! Sandy, did yours overwinter as cats or chrysalids?