Trust me, I am ruthless when it comes to eradicating disease! If even ONE larva has had the disease, then ALL of the others in the same container are goners. Yep, you got THAT right. I look at it this way...the other guys have probably walked through the diseased/infected one's scree so that means they have probably picked up the 'bug' as well, no pun intended. There has definitely been unusually high/low temperature changes here (drives ME nuts! Just when I think I am back to wearing my muumuus I have to go and get out a pair of tights and a velvet dress...sheesh). I wouldn't doubt that the temps have had some effect on my little ones. I never counted the number I had to start with. I still have a substantial number, despite my 'euthanizing' and those that have died from the illness. Experiences with raising the various other lepidoptera have taught me quite a bit about being much more proactive AND ruthless. When I first started raising them I would try to 'save' every single one. NOT anymore! Nope. Now I want ONLY the healthiest specimens. Period. If anyone even looks REMOTELY ill, then euthanize 'em, I say. Yesterday, I was looking at the Monarch larvae and spotted on 2nd instar that looked as if it just MIGHT have a possibility of OE. Can I really tell at that young of an age? Probably not but having raised so many, I am fairly confident in my assumptions. The little one was euthanized and properly disposed of. Susanlynne, you are so right! I have found that there is so much more real world information found on this forum than can often be found elsewhere probably because we 'hobbyists' are intimately engaged in what we do with the little guys. My rearing efforts have helped research scientists in the 'bug field' and things I've learned have been published in scientific journals. I think that more and more true scientists are beginning to see the value in us citizen scientists because they see that we ARE in the trenches and we DO work with a lot of butterflies, raising them through their life-cycles. Sure, we may be somewhat casual in our acronyms and whatnot but it isn't for lack of heart or desire to improve the species or teach others or even promote the rearing of healthy specimens. We live and learn from one another and I think this is one of the most important lessons to be learned. Today, I came home from work (school) and found a few more of my little ones had died or were probably about to. Oh well. S*@$ happens. Temperature? Possible West Nile spraying? Who knows. In the wild, chances are that the majority of these larvae would've died anyway, right? Instead of crying about it (which I don't do anyway) I just keep plugging along and try to see what I can learn from this. Each time something happens, I learn something new. Edna, the 'drying up' of the larva? I had a few of those but not many. I do know what you mean...the 'skin' appears to be dehydrated, right? It loses that shiny and smooth texture. Pamela, the osmeterium is only sticking up a wee bit, sort of a little V, right? I had one or two of those. Weird. I smell each and everything. I look at things carefully. I observe what is going on and what colours of liquids I see. I note how the larva is hanging. I pick up and look at any leftover 'food' to see if there is some clue. Mystery? Sure. But, the learning is there and perhaps I may learn something that can be of help the next go-round. I won't give up, that's for sure! :) CalSherry aka tdogmom

Please forget the tape on the studs. No value there, though it seems intuitively good. Soundboard is a poor attempt at decoupling and the lab data shows this. Foam is the worst thing you can install in a wall or ceiling for soundproofing. That's not what a company that installs it will tell you, of course, but again, lab data doesn't lie. The best solution would be to remove the existing drywall, install competent decoupling, install simple R13 fiberglass, then add back two sheets of 5/8" drywall with the damping compound. Can you accommodate this?

I don't usually show up on the conversations side but for some reason, did tonight. Try and tell my dog that homeopathic is placebo or quackery. Its worked on his bladder stones. My experience with classic homeopathy started when I needed an alternative for my thyroid as all conventional medicine that I tried failed. I was unable to tolerate any form of thyroid gland. I tried Synthroid, Armour, Naturethroid. I read extensively about it and found a doctor who used synthroid in drops so that I could use just one watered down drop. I could not tolerate one drop. The tiniest amount of synthroid OR descicated thyroid made me feel thyrotoxic and drove my thyroid stimulating hormone down to hypo levels within only a couple of days on the meds. My finger nails were peeling off and a I had a host of other symptoms. My TSH without being on the hormone at one point, got up to 40. (VERY high). I was miserable. I had tried at that point with Western medicine for many years. I contacted a classic homeopathist. At that time my dog was having blood in his urine upon emptying his bladder when he would mark. Dr. Alan was willing to advise me on my dog. He suggested a particular remedy. My dog had the remedy, and the blood ceased that day. He was symptom free for the next three months. He did need the remedy again, and had more results upon taking it.( It later came back here and there and right now is much better when he takes glucosomine, because that helps with the mucus on the lining of the bladder.) Next I took my assigned remedy. With no other treatment, my TSH went from 40 down to about 5.9, then down to 3.9, then 2.9. It remained there for over a year, and when it went up a bit again, I went back to the doc and we tried another remedy or two. It was better, but not optimum, and so the doc and I agreed that would try Chinese medicine. I switched to an Asian doctor and am taking Chinese tea and getting results there. And as with valinsv, the least amount of money I spent on docs was for the homeopathic one. I have also had full blown flu instantly leave once upon taking a homeopathic remedy. A lot of people find that hard to believe because it is true that the original substance is not in that vial or sugar pill. It is the essence of it or the energy, or vibration that is there. I would totally use Western medicine for certain things that it is good for, but I am not married to it at all. Pharma has a lot at stake and pays big money to disprove vitamin studies and show that vite e is "bad for you", etc. They have PR men that figure out how to promote diseases so that you will except the "cure" that they are selling. My brother is a pathologist and does not believe in homeopathic, chiropractic, or most natural cures. He would not even try one chiropractic adjustment for his trigeminal neuralgia which had become excruciating. So he elected to have a risky surgery that went behind his brain. Thank God it was successful. But my chiropractor who practices Upper Cervical adjustments using a technique called Advanced Orthogonal, cured a patient of the excruciating pain associated with the ailment. The pain disappeared six weeks after the patient received his adjustment. My brother felt if would not work on him because he does not believe in that. However, when my mom fell on her face (86 years old) I took her to this chiro, and she is doing better than ever, and we put the walker away. Here is a link that might be useful: How to brand a disease and sell a cure

Coconut oil isn't a "new" thing. It was commonly used in commercial baked goods prior to the late 1960's because the shelved goods stayed fresh longer and resisted mold without the need for chemicals they use now for preservatives. If you want homemade enriched breads to keep fresh longer than a couple days, use coconut oil in the recipe. It will also help prevent mold. Movie theaters and sports stadiums used coconut oil for making popcorn because they could make large quantities of it several days in advance and store it in large plastic tubs or bags; and the popcorn would remain fresh due to the coconut oil. You will find North America and European cookbooks from the late 19th century often included coconut oil (or Copha) in recipes. Copha (a solidified coconut oil) in Australia is used like we use Crisco in the U.S., and Copha is a common ingredient in Australian recipes. Coconut oil went out of favor due to erroneous "scientific" information and political propaganda by the American Soybean Association and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. ------------- OT comment to dcarch's OT comment: People in their 90's grew up in a day and time where agriculture was more "natural", the soil still contained nutrients and micro-organisms that are long gone today. We have seen the ash content (the minerals) in wheat drop as farmers went from traditional farming methods to the modern "chemical warfare" it is today where it's all about larger yields. For their formative years, food the 90's something folks ate actually was nutritious, locally-grown, and was enjoyed in-season. The majority of these 90-something people were raised in more rural than urban areas where they grew much of their own food in gardens and got it from local sources in-season (orchards, truck farms, etc.). Even I can remember my complete surprise the first time I saw "fresh" strawberries and watermelon in the stores in the middle of winter. Farmers let ground lay fallow every few years to rest and restore the nutrients (or grew "green" crops that would add nutrients), rather than the double-cropping they do now (winter wheat is harvested in late June and row crops are planted soon thereafter and harvested in the fall, when winter wheat is once again planted. Ground and crops were dressed with "natural" fertilizers (manure) containing important microbes as well as nutrients, and now are they are fertilized with large injections of chemicals - and then only a few "select" things are added back to the soil. -Grainlady