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Butterfly Garden

And then there were none.

7 years ago

As in Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars. I have two large green fennel plants and two smaller bronze fennels that I purchased this year. It always seems like it's boom or bust with these caterpillars. Last year I think I counted over thirty at one time on one of the green fennels and most of them made it into their chrysalises. Last week I counted 12 on my two bronze fennels. I watched them for three or four days and then went out one morning and there were only four of them. They weren't nearly full grown. The next day there were none. All gone.

There are so many things that eat these cats that I really don't know what ate them. My guess is the anoles or lizards that are numerous here in Central Florida---but it could have been wasps or birds or even mice.

Anyway, I need to get a good butterfly cage and hope that some of you can suggest where to purchase one online. I have already created three or four home-made ones, but they don't seem to work that well. I have also purchased some online in the past, but they haven't turned out so well either.

Suggestions?

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Comments (4)

docmom_gw
7 years ago
Here is what I use to raise Monarchs and Swallowtails:

I remove the tops from the large, round containers, and use a rubber band to secure a small piece of the green tulle fabric over the opening. For the Twizzler containers, I cut out all but the edge of the top, and use the edge to secure a piece of fabric. I find sticks or twigs that fit inside each container in such a way that there are convenient places to pupate. I change the leaves/food daily and clean out the fras. Usually, I just have clean containers that I add fresh food to and transfer the cats into. Then I can just dump the old container and clean it thoroughly. The cookie tin is a container I haven't used yet, but I'm told you can use a loose piece of screen rolled into a tube whose diameter is exactly the same as the cookie tin. Place the tube upright in the tin and place the top of the tin on top of the tube. You could secure the screen to itself with safety pins or wire or even thread.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

Martha
theparsley
7 years ago
tom123, I'm so sorry to hear about your Black Swallowtails. I've had good luck with the few that I've raised indoors after taking the caterpillars from outdoor parsley plants. My little garden here is just full of wasps, and I've even spotted a little snake, so I guess predators are never in short supply, even between the rowhouses!

I haven't done anything special with my black swallowtail caterpillars - except, of course, I fed them lots of store-bought parsley after they devoured my anemic potted plants. I put the little ones in a jar and then moved them up to larger containers, putting them in a pop-up mesh butterfly cage when they got really big. Last time they pupated on twigs, but this time they ignored the twigs I gave them and attached to the top of the cage, except the one weirdo who fastened onto a paper towel in the bottom of the cage. What kind of problems have you been having with yours?
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theparsley
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
This is the kind of butterfly cage that I bought.

https://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Safari-2456004-Butterfly-Habitat/dp/B003E46ER2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468866520&sr=8-1&keywords=butterfly+cage

It works fine, but it's awkward in several ways. It's hard to get a good look (or photo) at the inhabitants through the mesh. Only half of the round "roof" zips open, so it's really a pain to try to get a camera in for a photo. I have not been putting potted plants in with my caterpillars, but I can see that would be difficult also. If I get another in the future, I might opt for a design that zips open on the side, like this:

https://www.amazon.com/EverythingInsects-Butterfly-Cage-terrarium-Pop-up/dp/B00OXEE24E/ref=pd_bxgy_328_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YWSBJGGVMHKWVRNYJ8KG
Jacob Berg
7 years ago
Best cage for Photographing is a black mesh cage.

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?what to do with this little guy?

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