The Winner of our Butterfly/Moth Contest- how to raise them is MrILoveTheAnts

[MrILoveTheAnts]

And... it died. which is an awful shame because I'd planned to get a side angle of the butterfly looking out at the window as it snowed with the caption "Guhh, snow day."

But the other 7 haven't emerged yet and I've returned them to the cold of the basement. Thanks for the Gatorade tip! I'm sure I'll have to use it in the future.

[KC Clark]

Originally Posted by MrILoveTheAnts

But the other 7 haven't emerged yet and I've returned them to the cold of the basement. Thanks for the Gatorade tip! I'm sure I'll have to use it in the future.

I suggest keeping overwintering butterfly pupae in an environment that is as close to the outside temperatures as possible. Mine are in a detached garage. I want them synced up with their relatives in the wild.

I don't feed butterflies so I've never tried Gatorade but I know many people who do feed Gatorade to butterflies. What I have found interesting about it is different species have favorite flavors of Gatorade, at least according to the people who do this type of thing. BSTs are not a species I've heard about a preference.

One of the advantages of raising almost all the species of moths that I raise is the moths do not eat.

[bridget1964]

Mr. Ants--So sorry your swallowtail died. I don't know how often you check them, but maybe he had emerged several days before you found him. They don't do well without food for very long.

Make sure you put a cover over the remaining chrysalids as its both light and temperature that cause them to eclose.

Monarchs prefer Fierce Melon Gatorade. I use very ripe cantaloupes, cut off most of the flesh (and eat it!) score the rind with a knife and poor on room temperature Gatorade. The monarchs love it!

[MrILoveTheAnts]

So far none of the other ones have hatched. But I have gotten around to spending my winnings.


Missouri Wildflower Nursery They came recommended to me by a friend. Their website is a little clunky, some of the links don't work, there's no place to add billing info when you check out items. I asked them why this is and got back that they work on the honor system (which is a kind of scary business model but apparently they're still in business so something is working).

Solidago drummondii, Passiflora lutea, and some Liatris mucronata will be added to my garden this year.

[bridget1964]

Excellent! Love passionflowers! I don't have any myself, but I love them. Now if it ever warms up in New Jersey...

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Originally Posted by bridget1964

Excellent! Love passionflowers! I don't have any myself, but I love them. Now if it ever warms up in New Jersey...

Actually I know a few people in New Jersey who grow Passiflora incarnata. Their soil tends to be at least loose and easy to dig through or very sandy. Having it in a sunny place is a must, otherwise it won't survive the winter, or won't start growing until after milkweeds have flowered!

That said, they send up root suckers in a very aggressive manner, with shoots occurring every 1' or so. If you do have a nice sunny spot that's nothing but full sun then it is possible to grow it in a small island of sand, either by replacing all the soil there or possibly using a wine barrel that's been lined with weed fabric so the sand doesn't erode out.

I have seen Fritillaries in New Jersey but they're not common at all and more likely the species that use perennial sunflowers and violets as host plants.