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Post by mogal on Oct 13, 2023 15:50:33 GMT
I need someone smarter than I or at least more experienced.
I just found a swallowtail larvae on a parsley plant in a movable planter. I have a hoop house where I can keep the planter somewhat protected over winter while the larvae pupates. I have had surprises pupate and become butterflies in the hoop house in mild winters so that much may not be a problem. We don't have the cover on the hoop house for winter so this will spur us on to getting that done.
Anyway, what can I feed this baby if/when it becomes a butterfly next spring? There won't be any nectar producing plants in the HH that early in the season. HELP!!! I have a call to an insect specialist with the Conservation Dept. but no telling when she'll get back to me, this being a Friday. We've already had 2 light frosts affecting plants out in the field but since this planter is near the house, it doesn't seem to have gotten cold enough to kill this larvae.
I'd really appreciate any input to help this baby survive. TIA, ya'll!
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Post by countrymom22 on Oct 14, 2023 0:40:14 GMT
I don't have any info but will be interested in the answer you get from the conservation dept. specialist.
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Post by mogal on Oct 14, 2023 1:38:10 GMT
As I guessed, I didn't hear anything from the insect specialist this afternoon but, yes, countrymom22, if I hear anything next week, I'll be sure to share what she says. That's just the kind of arcane info that could win you a contest some day, right?
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Post by mogal on Oct 17, 2023 15:18:47 GMT
Okay, ya'll are gonna laugh but please make it "with me" not "at me" because I am laughing at myself. I'm sure the insect specialist managed to get her laughter under control before she called me.
Anyway the gist of the conversation was her gently telling me that I need not worry because butterflies and their kin have been around since before humans, that the little caterpillar would do just fine without me right where he was. However, I had taken some compostables to the worm bin in the hoop house to find 6 more larvae chowing down on some lovage plants in a pot I plan to leave in the HH over winter. She suggested that I gently cut the stems (already pretty well denuded of leaves and finer stems) and put them among the leaves of the parsley in that outdoor planter to pupate in the company of their cousin. I did that this morning.
Now the funny part is that I've been around wildlife for most of my life and don't jump right in to rescue a tiny fawn "lost in the woods" or a fledgling if I know its parents are still around. But, I'm here to tell you, I was ready to put on my SUPERWOMAN cape to save a cotton-pickin' worm.
Okay, feel free to laugh now and if you make a comment, keep it kind. My intentions were good...
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Post by Maura on Oct 17, 2023 17:26:55 GMT
Well, I did wonder why a butterfly momma would lie her eggs before the caterpillar could become a butterfly and go south for the winter.
One year I coddled a milkweed so that the monarch butterfly caterpillars could grow up. They weren't monarchs.
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Post by mogal on Oct 17, 2023 17:43:13 GMT
Maura, I've nurtured milkweeds with similar results.
Also, I found it interesting that out in the open where we have birds, there was only one caterpillar. In the relative safety of the hoop houwe where I still have shade cloth suspended over the purlins and birds seldom go, there were 6 worms. I'm planning to monitor the caterpillars and hope I can find their chrysalis(es?) around or in that planter.
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Post by Woodpecker on Oct 17, 2023 18:36:58 GMT
I think you’re awesome wanting to help that Swallowtail butterfly!!! We had plenty of Monarchs this year, yippie! Not many Swallowtails here. 🦋
One year I had to purchase Swallowtails, instead of Monarchs for my girls BD to release. Monarchs were declining that year. The Swallowtails weren’t nearly as pretty or exciting to release, but still felt spiritual! 🦋
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