Red-Spotted Purple Eggs!

9 years ago

The red-spotted purple that's been flying all around the house for the past few days finally left some eggs on the lower branches of cherry trees. I tried to get a picture of one of the eggs, but I couldn't get the camera to focus right - I'll try again tomorrow. So, I got out another cage to raise these in, although I'll probably leave them on the trees until they hatch. I can't recall any RSP eggs ever being eaten or disappearing.

One of the spicebush swallowtail eggs in my garden has hatched, so I brought it in to raise, but put it in another cage. The bigger ones might wander over to its leaves and eat the little bitty caterpillar right along with the leaf - I've seen it happen. I also found eggs on sassafras where they weren't there a few days ago, so this stealth spicebush swallowtail is still at it!

The red admirals are growing rapidly,

although some are smaller than this one.

The cudweed has finally gotten to a decent size, so I'm hoping for some American ladies in the near future.

The pipevine swallowtails in the cages have all either made their chrysalis or are in the process.

And the luna moth cats are growing rapidly, by their standards at least. There are SO many of them, I'm running water in a big bucket to put the sweetgum in after I cut it for them - my regular small container won't do!

Sherry

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Comments (7)

KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH
9 years ago
RSPs have been stingy with me. It has been a few years since I've gotten to raise one. :( Does not help that my crabapples are getting the rust. Few leaves in decent shape. For a few years, I raised most of my cecropias on them but very few the last two years. There is stuff I can spray on the trees to stop the problem but I have no clue what its affect would be on caterpillars.

I finally had a Webb black willow survive transplanting and a winter. I was so happy to see it leaf out this week. RSPs have liked my potted ones in the past so they should like this one in the ground.
MissSherry
Original Author
9 years ago
That's great that you got your Webb willow to survive in the ground! Mine has gotten so root bound, I'm going to be forced to plant it out, but I don't know if I can pick it up. 'Guess I'll get somebody to help me!

Sherry
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Yes, Cathy, they always lay their eggs on the very end of the leaf, as do viceroys. I watched one laying eggs last year, and it was so interesting! She landed around the center of the leaf, then slid downward before depositing an egg - a couple of times, she must not have been pleased with her positioning, because she'd go back and do it over before laying the egg. It seems to be real important to RSPs to get that egg right on the very tip! RSPs don't eat much in relation to the size of the caterpillar or the butterfly - gulf frits eat more. Red-spotted purple eggs are easy to find, bernergrrl. I can't recall ever seeing one laying her eggs up real high - I'd say 15' is about as high as I've ever seen them laid. Tiger swallowtails must lay a lot of eggs up high in the cherry trees, though, because I see them up high all the time. Sherry
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Thanks Mary and Siam! I got another surprise this morning. There are two chrysalides left from the willow caterpillar group, the first three having been viceroys. I expected the next two to be viceroys, also, but a red-spotted purple emerged this morning from one of the two remaining chrysalides! So now I'm wondering if the three tiny cats (I found another one) I'm raising from one of the willows are viceroys or red-spotted purples. There's a surprise a minute! Sherry
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You can't take a red-spotted purple off the leaf it was laid on. They make a string of frass from their original leaf, they rest on the end of it and go back and forth to eat at their leaf. Offering it food won't work, it needs its original leaf. It's a good idea to do research on a particular caterpillar before trying to raise it. They each have their peculiarities. Sherry
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MissSherry
Original Author
9 years ago
'Found the first two red-spotted purple hatchlings yesterday, so I brought them in to raise - I'll be checking other eggs today.

'Also found the first American lady nests of the spring on some cudweed. I'd like to raise some of them also, so I'll undoubtedly be bringing some in to raise pretty soon.

I've got two red admiral chrysalides, and another cat is in the 'J' - I'm looking forward to releasing these beauties!

'Found a few more little bitty spicebush swallowtail cats, brought them in, and now I'm up to seven. The biggest one has gotten to about the ?4th instar.

In another thread, we were discussing pink-spotted hawkmoths, and it gave me the idea to plant morning glories along my road. I'll probably sow some of the seeds in pots and scatter some along the roadside - it would be so much easier if they'd just come up on their own! I also got some moonflower seeds, which I haven't planted in a few years. Morning glories and moonflowers are all beautiful, and the big moths are worth the trouble anyway!

The luna cats are eating a lot and getting really big and fat, more fat than long in typical luna fashion.

'Won't be too long before the pipevine swallowtails should be emerging!

I've got a sea of mock bishop's weed growing in my garden, plus rue and my wafer ash trees are growing nicely. 'Still no black or giant swallowtails, though. :( There's plenty of time for the rue and wafer ash to be used, but the mock bishop's weed doesn't fare too well in the heat of summer, so I wish they'd come on! :)

My ears tell me the migrant spring birds are all here! I've been hearing great crested flycatchers, summer tanagers, orchard orioles, yellow-billed cuckoos, vireos, warblers, especially hooded warblers, chuck-will's-widows at night, and this morning I heard my first Mississippi kite of the season! Here's a picture I made last year of a Mississippi kite with the zoom lens of my camera -

Sherry
MissSherry
Original Author
8 years ago
Red-spotted purple caterpillars seem to stay tiny for so long, then BAM! they're big! There are six big red-spotted purple caterpillars and one little bitty one in my cages.

You can see three of the big ones in this picture -

And here's a close-up of one of them -

It's amazing how such ugly caterpillars make such beautiful butterflies!

Sherry
Jacob Berg
8 years ago
Miss Sherry, is there any way to tell if the Caterpillar is a RSP or a Viceroy?

Thanks
MissSherry
Original Author
8 years ago
Yes, but you'll need a good magnifying glass to tell the difference, at least my old eyes do. Actually, if it's on cherry (or occasionally crabapple) then I know it's a red-spotted purple. It's only the caterpillars that show up on willow that could be either.

Here's a link showing the difference -

RSP and Viceroy Caterpillar Differences

Sherry
MissSherry
Original Author
8 years ago
P.S. Four of the big RSP cats have made their chrysalis, the other two big ones are in the "J" and the little one is eating away!

Sherry

Red-Spotted Purple Eggs!

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KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH

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KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH

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