Management of late butterflies

[Lyril]

I'm in southern Australia where it is now quite cool, and cold at night. Unfortunately the butterflies kept laying until really late so now I'm finding caterpillars, pupae, dark pupae, emerging butterflies and dying butterflies every day. Not to mention the dozen or so pupae still in a couple of glass tanks inside.

I have a very big, heated, glass-fronted box where I can put the butterflies until a warm day. But I can't get them to feed. I've made artifical feeders like plastic flowers which can hold a piece of sponge or gaudy beads and I've tried melon juice, Gatorade, sugar syrup or diluted honey. But they ignore them, and even when I've put the butterfly on to a feeder it will never return of its own accord. Is this Nature's way of telling me I'm wasting my time? Or am I doing something wrong?

I've read every article or post that I can find and other people don't seem to have this problem. I hate watching these lovely things die of cold outside or refuse to eat inside.

Please help!

[Pat]

They are picky, aren't they? The only thing I ever tried that worked -- once -- was a slice of juicy watermelon, and we had to put their feet in it. The only flowers we could get them to take indoors were fresh buddleias.

[Lyril]

Such a pity. There is a steady supply of them now, emerging into quite cold conditions. They don't live very long.
I did try watermelon once but it seemed to go 'off' rather quickly. When I looked through these posts for an answer I got the impression that people weren't having major problems feeding them, - even school kids managed. So I thought I must have been doing something seriously wrong. I still don't understand how commercial breeders manage to keep them alive long enough to breed and lay!

[Pamela Moresby]

I have found some butterflies like this in NZ. They are picky. I have found success with purple verbena flowers, try a variety of flowers.

Honey works as well. sometimes I put their feet in it and it works. I may yet try the watermellon.

Pam

[Tim from Winnipeg]

On Saturday (September 3) I was looking for seed pods that were ready to split open and I found a bunch of caterpillars! Ahhh! So, I put them in my rearing cage with my chrysalises. Considering that I live at the northern limit of the monarch this is quite late. I was thinking that my chrysalises were a bit late! September can be quite warm, so it might turn out okay, but this is going to be tricky I think. Keep me posted on any tips for keeping them warm.

[Pamela Moresby]

I'm not sure how to keep the Monarchs warm. I tried the hot water cupboard and that did not seem to work well, caterpillars tried to crawl away and sometimes it didn't make any difference to the butterflies, except dry them out.

So put the monarchs in a container and covered them with a paper towel (with air holes in the paper towel). It worked sometimes, but not always.

I've been thinking of getting a fish tank facility or some type of tank you can raise tadpoles in. They are quite costly and so probably try to make an equivalent with whatever you can find in the local rubbish - haven't got around to doing it yet.

Pam
from NZ

[Jacqui_in_NZ]

Hi Pam,

If you look on our website there are a couple of ideas that might work for you, in the June newsletter - also photographs of the method I tried last year, which I'm just about to revive -- a mosquito net over a vase of Swan plant, outdoors but in a warm place, full sun. Worked well!. Also I tried a moat around a vase of Swan plant, i.e. standing a base on a tray with water in it. That kept the things at home.

Let me know if they work for you!

Jacqui

[Pamela Moresby]

Dear Jacqui,

Thanks for the reply, I'll definetly try your method next time winter arrives. Will check out your website.

regards
Pam
NZ

[Megathymus ursus]

In nature, when it gets too cold for monarchs to be reproductively active, the adults hibernate (and come out on warm days). I am not sure what the weather like in winter is in your part of AU, but if things stay above about 35 Fahrenheit at all times, they should be able to make it just outside.

If it gets below freezing, there is no way any stage of the monarch can survive.

Brian