Birds will eat butterflies but it is not cost effective for them to do so. Butterflies look like lazy fliers but are actually very difficult to catch. Just head out with a net and see! Butterflies are built to be anti-bird,their 4 wing construction gives them on the dime turning ability. As stated before, some taste horrible (monarchs actually concentrate cardiac glycosides in their wings so a nibble will release them), and some even give off chemicals to ward off would be predators (monarchs do this too). The biggest predator of adult butterfies (as opposed to larva)are spiders. I believe crab spiders are the biggest, as they hide in flowers that bees and butterflies visit. Ever notice how there are pictures everywhere of a crab spider feeding on a butterfly? The birds will eat a lot of caterpillars. They will probably make a major switch from seed to larva in the spring when feeding youngsters. Mostly though, it is probably pest species they will feed on at this time. Many of which are found in large numbers (group feeding). A favorite of small birds are sawflies (not butterflies but the larva get confused with butterflies). So, feed away, but if you want to raise butterflies, best to bring some eggs in the house to watch and raise. Too many other boogie monsters besides birds that get the little ones. Cheers, Elisabeth

Read up on sialis.org...it is full of information on Bluebirds and other cavity nesting birds. Bluebirds typically fledge 16-19 days after hatching. Do not open the nestbox once the babies are 12-13 days old to prevent premature fledging. Please make sure your nestbox is mounted on a slick metal pole with a predator baffle to prevent predators from getting to the nestlings. Houses mounted on trees/fences/wooden posts or un baffled poles are an easy meal for predators like raccoons, squirrels, cats, snakes etc. Good luck Donna

I've read that the large mealworms may be too big for the babies for the first several days--perhaps add some of the smaller white, soft ones for a few days (momma should know what to do) in order to help the adults get a jump on the feeding. We just got a few mealworms last week--I wanted to experiment with keeping just a few alive for a while before ordering a batch of 2000 for my chickens and wild birds.

My nesting box is mounted on a cedar post 5.5-6 feet off the ground, facing the east. No, we didn't put a baffle on it. I am still so sad about my babies. I could barely function last night, and I feel lost. Those babies and their parents were a large part of my daily enjoyment. I cleaned out the box with a paint scraper, hosed it out, sprayed with a 10% bleach solution and took the door off for a day, to hopefully let it dry out. (We have had too much rain over the past week.) We will get a baffle on the post by the weekend, believe me. Thank you for responding to my plea for help.