Help!! Raising a butterfly

[BigDevil]

Aiyoh maid...no need to kowtow lah. :oops:


This one even simpler than animating a still picture. Just highlight and search. :lol:

[corneyAmber]

BigDevil:

Aiyoh maid...no need to kowtow lah. :oops:


This one even simpler than animating a still picture. Just highlight and search. :lol:

:thankyou: :rotflmao:

[jtoh]

maki:

jtoh:

Where would I go to get a caterpillar? This is so interesting.

You can get one of the most commonest breed ie the lime butterflies from the kumquat plant (especially during CNY).

http://butterflycircle.blogspot.com/2008/04/life-history-of-lime-butterfly_01.html

These butterflies are attracted by the strong citrus smell of the plant. You will find many butterflies laying eggs on the underside of the leaves. The birds will also be your common visitors which can be a nuisance. So after about a week or so, before they are eaten up by the birds and when it's easier to breed them when its bigger, you should transfer these caterpillars to a transparent plastic container & poke some holes on the lid for ventilation. Place some leaves with twigs as these crawlies love lazing on the twigs. Their consumption is small initially but once it sheds it skin from brown to green, their consumption became enormous, so just make sure you have enough leaves overnight during this period.

Cleaning is needed daily but once it's about to be a pupa, then just leave it alone.

Thanks!

[3Boys]

Here is my update.....




I must say I never thought I could feel so moved by a 6-legged creature, but.....

Long story short....the pupa had been a precarious position on the side of the plastic container, and 2 days prior to shedding, the pupa had finally fallen off its perch onto the bottom of the container. I was getting concerned, but was simply too busy these few days to post a question for help. Finally, last night, when it emerged unseen by any of us, it was on its side.....with predictably disastrous results. The wings are malformed and the poor guy can't fly

Sigh....

I brought him out to my garden and he is now clinging on to the side of an orchid plant. He is doomed, unfortunately......

Why did the vendor put he in a clear plastic container with no twigs for him to mount securely?

Why were there no instructions to do the above?

I heard subsequently that if the pupa falls off, you could use a small piece of scotch tape to gingerly tape the base of the pupa back to the side of the container or perch, is this true?

It's just a small butterfly, but I am feeling a BIG loss.

[Funz]

We reared quite a few butterflies last year and we had the necessary stuff for them to anchor themselves but some still went and anchored themselves on the smooth sides of the tank that we were rearing them in and yup, they slid down the side and ended up at the bottom.


Of those that anchored properly, some still emerged with malformed wings. Some are frozen in their chrysalis state and do not emerge at all. In their natural environment, some do not even have a chance to hatch and others become bird food along the way. We released the first few in our garden too early and their wings were still not strong enough. So before they can even flex their wings to fly, a bird swooped down and made of with one of them. Darn, wanted to shoot the bird.

Sometimes, despite our best intentions, nature decides otherwise. I guess such is the way of life.

[3Boys]

Funz:

We reared quite a few butterflies last year and we had the necessary stuff for them to anchor themselves but some still went and anchored themselves on the smooth sides of the tank that we were rearing them in and yup, they slid down the side and ended up at the bottom.


Of those that anchored properly, some still emerged with malformed wings. Some are frozen in their chrysalis state and do not emerge at all. In their natural environment, some do not even have a chance to hatch and others become bird food along the way. We released the first few in our garden too early and their wings were still not strong enough. So before they can even flex their wings to fly, a bird swooped down and made of with one of them. Darn, wanted to shoot the bird.

Sometimes, despite our best intentions, nature decides otherwise. I guess such is the way of life.

Thanks!

I guess you're right, does make me feel a little better

[Picolo]

3Boys:

Here is my update.....




I must say I never thought I could feel so moved by a 6-legged creature, but.....

Long story short....the pupa had been a precarious position on the side of the plastic container, and 2 days prior to shedding, the pupa had finally fallen off its perch onto the bottom of the container. I was getting concerned, but was simply too busy these few days to post a question for help. Finally, last night, when it emerged unseen by any of us, it was on its side.....with predictably disastrous results. The wings are malformed and the poor guy can't fly

Sigh....

I brought him out to my garden and he is now clinging on to the side of an orchid plant. He is doomed, unfortunately......

Why did the vendor put he in a clear plastic container with no twigs for him to mount securely?

Why were there no instructions to do the above?

I heard subsequently that if the pupa falls off, you could use a small piece of scotch tape to gingerly tape the base of the pupa back to the side of the container or perch, is this true?

It's just a small butterfly, but I am feeling a BIG loss.

Hi 3boys ,

Few years back, rearing lime butterflies was my family's favourite activity, and EVERY butterfly was a well-formed one. We reared them in transparent containers- initially we started off using the one that came with the science kit but when we wanted more, we made use of those clear containers with red covers for CNY goodies.

Here's how we did it:
(1) Keep a lime or mandarin orange plant. We usually buy the plants during the Chinese New Year period from the nursery. Note that they would be full of pesticide and so for the first 6 months, no butterflies would want to lay eggs on them. Be patient.

(2) When you do spot a tiny caterpillar on the palnt, you can transfer it with the leaf it's feeding on into a clear container. Make sure the container is big enough to accommodate a well-formed butterfly, so it should be at least 12 cm in diameter. Also make sure that its lid has lots of tiny holes. Caterpillars need to breathe. Make sure there's constant supply of FRESH leaves. The caterpillars loves soft tender leaves, just like us. We supply constant fresh leaves like 8 times a day. When we've no confidence to look after them, we would place the containers near to the mandarin orange plant. When their leave supply in the container run out, they will sure crawl out to look for the right food. Ahh, one thing. Feed only the kind of diet they need. If it's a lime butterfly that you are rearing, only feed them with the lime or mandarin orange leaves. If you can't be sure that your neighbour's lime plant has no chemicals, please do not pluck her leaves. I now remember we did have one casualty - my maid poisoned a poor caterpillar unintentionally when at one stage our plant was going 'botak' as we were feeding too many caterpillars at one go. Not a good idea.

(3) The tiny prickly dark green caterpillar will soon transform into a cute and smooth light green fella. They grow very fast and always hungry. So, their droppings' size increase very quickly. At caterpillar stage, you can clean up the container, but NOT during the pupa stage! This is because there should be minimum movement to the pupa or it would not be able to fasten securely on the wall of the container. We always handle the container with extreme care at this stage. If they are disturbed, sometimes they do go back to caterpillar stage for a short while. At this stage, stop feeding. Do not bother to clean the container at all. LEAVE THE CONTAINER ALONE. Their droppings do not give off foul smell anyway. Be patient for the next 10 days.

(4) One morning, you'll find a beautiful butterfly in the container! It takes a few hours ( I think) to dry and exercise its wings. Make sure you have many pairs of eyes at home to look out for the transformation, so that the butterfly would not be trapped in the container for too long. The butterfly needs to fly away to look for flower nectar to feed on.

Moral of the story: Arm with knowledge before deciding to rear anything. Be it fish, dogs or butterflies. I always forbid my kids to bring back fishes from school's fun fairs or organised trips. Most of the time, the fishes would be tortured - subject to hot sun, insufficient air, extreme movement, etc before they reach home.

[Sun_2010]

3Boys:

Funz:

Sometimes, despite our best intentions, nature decides otherwise. I guess such is the way of life.

Thanks!

I guess you're right, does make me feel a little better

I remember my experiment with DD, the caterpillar which was eating so much suddenly hardly ate and then it died. sigh! Suddenly we felt humble. And though it was not a fairy tale end - it did show the kids a different face of life, responsibility and grief. And then how time heals.

I am sure you started off this with the wish to show your kids and yourself the magical beauty of life. But experienced more than what you bargained for. Life is all about growing up.

I am sure that some days , maybe months later you will redo this more prepared , more cautious and truly happy when the butterfly flies...

Just a quote
Every once in awhile, there will come an especially powerful moment when you can actually feel that an experience has changed who you are. Embrace these, even if they are painful.

[maki]

Funz:

We reared quite a few butterflies last year and we had the necessary stuff for them to anchor themselves but some still went and anchored themselves on the smooth sides of the tank that we were rearing them in and yup, they slid down the side and ended up at the bottom.


Of those that anchored properly, some still emerged with malformed wings. Some are frozen in their chrysalis state and do not emerge at all. In their natural environment, some do not even have a chance to hatch and others become bird food along the way. We released the first few in our garden too early and their wings were still not strong enough. So before they can even flex their wings to fly, a bird swooped down and made of with one of them. Darn, wanted to shoot the bird.

Sometimes, despite our best intentions, nature decides otherwise. I guess such is the way of life.

couldn't agree more....even in the most conducive environment, it is quite often to have malformed wings. As long as you've done your best,.... c'est la vie!!

[Lizzyho]

My girl brought back caterpillars from school. I’ve ran out of leaves for the caterpillar & it still does not look like it is going to pupate anytime soon. I believe her caterpillar only feeds on Passiflora foetida (Stinking passionfruit) and I can’t find these leaves anywhere around my neighbourhood. Her school teacher advices her to get from any shop that sells plants but I’ve no success even finding it from nurseries! I would appreciate it if anyone knows where I can find this plant. Thanks.