Personally I use the same method that you do and I have not had any problems with it so far. Granted I am new to raising butterflies so I have not had a huge number of opportunities to actually screw up and also the fact that I haven't had to force feed yet. One time I had a monarch that absolutely would not get on my finger and so I tried to pull him off of the netting and I could feel that he really had a good grip on the screen. Due to this I find it hard to believe that the quick pluck method is any safer if not more dangerous to the butterfly. But, like I said, I am new to raising butterflies, this is my first year. I have only released like 15 monarchs this year. So I am interested to hear everyone elses opinions and personal experiences on this subject since I am sure we all want to be as gentle as possible to are little babies:)

I've noticed that they are drawn to light. When our back door light is on they fly to it and tend to get into the house. So, if one had a bug zapper I bet they would work on blister beetles. I've always been leery of bug zappers because they seem so... non-selective. Also, last week I went into the garden to find hordes of blister beetles stripping the last surviving tomato plants, my peppers and even a squash plant. In desperation I grabbed a red bottle of fly spray (for horses) it basically consists of oils and pyrethrins. Anyway, it worked. If sprayed fairly heavily, it killed them very quickly. But it also burned the foliage on my plants. But used lightly, especially around the base of the plants, it repels them. I'm stubborn. I still prefer to hand pick. I crush their little heads, doing this almost without thinking, while inspecting the garden. But one has to be super careful not to get anything from their abdomen on their fingers and also not to tough any part of ones own body before washing. They have their name for a good reason! George Tahlequah, OK

I'll try to get a better picture, it could be old scale. The best way to describe it is that it looks like the stems have been fried and have blistered all the way up and down. I think it came on pretty quickly, as well, in the summer. At first I thought maybe the neem oil I use had somehow caught the sun rays and cooked the stems, but I don't apply that much for the stems to get soaked.

I suggest you stop buying more stuff & contact the source of the plant. I'd send them pix of the damaged plant & ask for a refund. It shouldn't be so damaged from a week for shipping. Also I'd be suspicious of any plant company sending plants out in pots w/no drainage holes, they should know better & if they don't, they probably don't do well w/ their plants. Also, I'm sorry to sound so fussy, but pls. use some spacing in your text. Spaces btwn sentences & even break into several paragraphs. The way is it now, it's too hard to read & digest ALL that info you tried to provide. A pic really is necessary to see the issues. Pls make it easier for us to try & help you. KarenS, NYC