If she put it in her mouth, I'm guessing that she spit it out, since it has to have tasted terrible, Trisha! Unless your dog is a very small toy breed, she's undoubtedly big enough that it wouldn't hurt her, even if she ingested it. I think I read somewhere that eating a pipevine swallowtail or monarch caterpillar will make a bird vomit, and birds are much smaller than your dog. Your dog will be okay, but I'm sorry you lost the chrysalis! Sherry

Literally 99.999% of my rearing since the mid 60's was done from either wild collected livestock, from wild collected gravid females or from hand pairings of adults in the lab. Finding wild ovum and larvae can not only be very productive, it is also huge fun and can be quite thrilling when you find what you are looking for. Pupae, while possible with some species, are quite hard to find in the wild with most species. They usually are colored to blend in with what they are attached to, are camouflaged to look like something else, are wrapped in plant material or buried in leaf litter, soil or under rocks. You will have far more success going for ovum and larvae. Luckily, some species are so easy to find a blind man could find them. They have very conspicuous eggs and/or larva that sharply contrasts the color of their preferred larval food plant, and those that remain gregarious in the early instars can be easily seen for a very long ways away. While livestock may be where you find them, knowing a lot about the environmental requirements and habits of the species you are after greatly increases your odds of finding their livestock. Their temperature, humidity and elevation requirements, and of course within the range the species is known to fly in. You have to be looking at the right time of the season (or times for multiple brooded species), in the right habitat that has the preferred larval food plants and nectar sources for the particular species, and know the flight habits of that species within that habitat. IOW, it doesn't do much good to look for a desert species in a riparian habitat, or an arctic/alpine species on a high grass prairie for example, or any species on a mountain side covered in food plant without some idea of the species flight habits. With enough experience observing each species and their habits, learning from both your successes and your failures, eventually you can arrive at a likely looking spot and almost walk right to the plants that will have eggs or larva on them. As for your example, Everes comyntas, they are typical of many of the Lycaenidae with small, stocky larva that are usually the same color as the stems, leaves or blooms of their larval food plant, look very similar to the plant part, often hide very well deep in the plant or even off from it when not feeding which makes them quite easy to miss, and they also use plants that commonly grow in large stands of endless plant. Generally, the most productive way to obtain Lycaenidae livestock is to get fresh gravid females and setup a micro habitat designed to get eggs from them. That cage too requires species specific requirements, but they are easy to simulate. Many here have great fun on the hunt for livestock in thier own home gardens. But it is even more fun, satisfying and can be more productive to hunt in the wilds, especially if made into a family outing/picnic. L.

Thanks everybody, I appreciate the pointers. We moved everybody into the sun porch. I have a huge brass planter out there. It's about 2 feet high with a 24" diameter. I placed the plastic milk crate down inside of it. There was also plenty of room for several small tree brances with nylon screen covering the top to keep them inside. The cat that I'm concerned about was also moved there. Honestly, last night I thought for sure the big cat was dead. Well, this morning he was still moving around. I did put some tender leaves inside for him but he wasn't interested in them. I also misted a few leaves with water in case he was thirsty. Should I be concerned about that? I thought about putting him back on the tree. He's not as big as he was when he left the tree...he looks shorter. Anyway, for the past 2 or 3 hours, he's been in the same spot. Keep your fingers crossed! I wish that our lime tree was huge. Unfortunately, we just purchased it this year. It's less than 5 feet tall. The inverted wire basket is a great idea (thanks for the photo). I have a couple of them in the garage. I also have some plastic broadcloth. I use it in the pond to keep the fish away from my plants. Honey, honey hush, Texaxpuddyprint, I never would have thought of that one! I'll certainly give it a try. I know that I need a better place to keep my cats. I'd sure like to see some pictures of your cat/butterfly homes. Perhaps you know of a website that tells you how to build a good, safe place to raise your cats. I'll let you all know what happens with Mr. On-The-Move. Thanks again, everybody. B

Don't freak out yet. They're not that bad sometimes. :) Are you in the country or city? In the city it can be harder. Every time you open up a wall or hole, put in large amounts of boric acid. You can puff it through cracks with a turkey baster. They get their toes in it and wash themselves and get sick and die. It lasts forever and if you put it behind walls and under cabinets, nobody who is supposed to be in your house will get into it. Also, check with your local ag extension service--they may have suggestions for your particular area. And remember, those egg cases could be 50 years old and the cockroaches may be long gone.