Done for 2010

[NickiM]

It's sort of bittersweet, my last butterfly--a lovely female--eclosed this morning and was successfully released. Fortunately, we're having some of the most perfect weather you could imagine. Bright blue skies, with no rain in the forecast, great for butterflies heading south. I'm glad to have had a good success rate, but feeling a bit of "empty nest" syndrome." I was able to release 70 out of 88 this year, so I'm pretty happy. I only found 9 cats last year, and was able to release 6 of them, so having almost 10 times more and releasing more than 10 times more is very nice.

I've already planted more common milkweed for next year, and I'm going to plant some at my aunt's house. She has a large field where I've seen adults eating from her alfalfa, but she doesn't have any host plants. I'm hoping to double my numbers next year. Plus, I'm going to plant more fennel and parsley for the Swallowtails. My Swallowtail chrysalis is still here, I guess he's going to be around until spring. Just hope he doesn't emerge in winter.

[Mona Miller]

As long as you keep your swallowtail cool enough, it shouldn't emerge. The best luck that I have had is to wait until the garage is cool and store them in there, but take care to provide protection from mice.