Released after hurricane past

[terrifly]

After the weekend past and the hurricane was gone I released the last of my Monarch on Monday morning. I ended up with 12 butterflies by the end of the weekend so I kept them quiet and fed them.
They were very happy to go on Monday.

[Mona Miller]

I keep forgetting where you all are located. Maybe when you have time put a signature on your post. A state is helpful in answering posts. This is how to do it:

faq.php#f2r2

Great to hear every thing went fine. Your babies are beautiful!

[blazing star]

What a great idea using a QTip! Did you have to wash their feet afterwards and is there anymore maintenance involved? What did you feed them?

[terrifly]

Hi,
I used crushed watermelon juice. It was the only thing they all would drink. I had a few like the juicy juice but not all. The q-tip idea worked for the 2 skitish ones and ended up working great for all of them and they really enjoyed it. Almost like a bottle for a baby
Their feet did not seem to get very sticky from the watermelon juice but would prob. from that juicy juice.
They did not seem to have any issues or problems. The juice gave them a nice jolt of energy before flying away monday morning. They were more than ready to hit the skies. This was the first time I was able to get any of mine to feed...So q-tip idea and watermelon juice gets a thumbs up !

Terri

[blazing star]

I love the pic. Thanks for the info. I'm sure I'll have to use it in the future. I just was asking Mona about this very same thing last night. Thanks!

[Mona Miller]

I just remembered this photo from the University of Florida on feeding with the Q-tip.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/2005 ... /207100311

[terrifly]

I knew that others out there had to have used the idea. I just am not that brilliant to have been the only one Still raising 5 cats from eggs I collected from my milkweed in my yard before the storms. So far they are looking very healthy. Nice and fat.
Terri

[Mona Miller]

Others who are scientists are using the Q-tips. Great minds think alike. Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing with us.

[blazing star]

Will gatorade work with monarchs? This would be a lot easier than watermelon.

[Mona Miller]

Yes gatorade will work with Monarchs, do not use the new low calorie version.

[blazing star]

Good point.

[Mona Miller]

Matter of fact, the University of Florida article that I posted talks about them using Watermelon flavored gatorade.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/2005 ... /207100311
I posted the article again.

I don't know if they still make watermelon favor. I shy away from very red colors. It makes the Monarchs pee red. I use Fierce favors like melon, grape, or strawberry (much lighter red).

[NickiM]

Watermelon juice is the only thing I've been able to get adult butterflies to drink. I never thought of the Q-Tip, though, I'll have to try that next time.

The only time I've had to feed any is if they seemed to weak to fly after they eclose.

Would hummingbird "nectar"--purchased stuff--work for butterflies? I would think it would, since it's supposed to mimic plant nectar.

[Mona Miller]

I've never tried the hummingbird nectar. Adults usually don't want to eat until they are 2-3 days old. But, they do need water. I spray the net containers with water, but don't spray the butterflies.