I noticed that one of them was smart by forming it’s chrysalis on the south side of the house…where most of the sun is.  Unfortunately, we received a notice from our homeowners association that we need to have our roof pressure cleaned.  When they clean the roof, the gook gets all over the house and then they need to clean the house as well.  I am VERY stressed out and sad about all of the caterpillars that will be killed by the pressure cleaner.  I guess I will be out there hunting for them so that I can protect them.  I read once that you can remove it by attaching a string to the top, but I don’t know if that works.  If anyone knows how to successfully remove a chrysalis from a house without disturbing the butterfly inside, please let me know!

http://butterflywebsite.com/atlas/constructtable.cfm

It is so exciting to know that I have played an important role in keeping the Monarchs alive in this area.

I can not justify the cost just for my butterfly garden hobby but the real reason for these systems is for home surveillance and security. I think that I can justify the cost for that and I am considering to add the following equipment to my house:

• 4 camera home surveillance system
• PTZ security camera

The link to the PTZ camera has a video demonstration. I would really like to be able to move the camera around remotely and be able to zoom in to possible catch some action.

If anyone has any any experience with these systems, please post comments.

6 Released

1 butterfly in nursery still, and unable to fly.  This butterfly’s wings didn’t open up and he is still in my care.  I have been feeding it a store bought solution of hummingbird nectar and boy, does he love it!    I called The Butterfly Place and they recommended that I place it on the milkweed plant in hopes that it will feed and mate.  However, it has a hard time holding onto the plant for more than 10-20 minutes, so I have not been able to let it free.  I rolled a paper towel into a tube and set it inside a pot so that it would be able to hang on better.  It seems to be working well.  I hope he can survive for a few weeks.  Maybe the butterfly inside the chrysalis will mate with it. 

1 in chrysalis

1 chunky caterpillar released onto outside milkweed plant (gone the next day)

Our current count is:

• 6 released

• 1 inside chrysalis

• 2 chunky caterpillars

• one baby caterpillar

My butterfly nursery has been very successful so far. Our current count is:

• 5 released

• 1 inside chrysalis

• no more caterpillars… I need to bring some from the milkweed plants.

• We also have 3 Gulf Fritillary chrysalises on our Passion Vine plant.

Unfortunately, I found one of the two large caterpillars laying in the dirt of the milkweed plant inside the nursery. He was in his J shape and moving his front feet, so I picked him up and put him on a safe surface (I didn’t want him to drown when I watered the plants). I figured he probably fell of the branch and would be fine, hopefully forming his chrysalis soon. This morning he was black and very lifeless. I guess even the best “safe house” doesn’t protect them all.

They gave me a list of plants to use for butterfly gardening. The following are larval plants for South Florida yards:

Dutchman’s Pipe (Any Aristolochia spp.) for the Polydamas Swallowtail

Wild Lime (Zanthoxylum fagara) and Citris (Ruta spp.) for the Giant Swallowtail

Passion Vine (Passiflora spp.—Suberosa, Incense, Incarnata) for the Zebra Longwing, Julia, and Gulf Fritillary

Wild Senna (Cassia spp.—Shrubs: Alata, Didymobotrya, Coluteoides; Trees: Surratensis, Fistula) for the Orange-barred Sulphur butterfly and the Cloudless Sulphur butterfly

Milkweed (Asclepias Curassavica) for the Monarch and the Queen butterflies

Their recommendations for nectar plants are as follows (plant in abundance): Buddleia (Butterfly Bush), Heliotrope, Lantana, Milkweed, Mint, Pentas, Porterweed, Verbena, and Zinnias.