The box from Boreal arrived as scheduled. The mailman didn't leave it at the door though & I had to go pick it up at the post office. Watching the guy handing it over, emblazoned with LIVE SPECIMENS sticker, and struggling with his curiosity about the contents pretty much made it worth while for me.
The little caterpillars went into their little plastic houses, one by one at first, and then they had to double bunk as Boreal helpfully sends you extras. Oh and yes, you can buy kits with 5 or with 30. Guess which we got? No really, how can I get just 5 when for double the price we could have 30??
They ate and ate and ate and then the chrysali (chrysalises?) hung themselves from the lids and were transferred into the big tank.
About a week later, the first butterflies started hatching out!
Red liquid must be indelibly imprinted on our brains as a BAD thing because no matter that we intellectually know that it's not blood, but just some 'waste product' squeezed out when the butterfly emerges, it still icks everyone out.
These two are just beyond the screen door. Look at Daisy. She knows there's something in that cage but can't quite figure out what. She thinks it might be a rat as we sometimes keep one there while we clean the big cage. Can I have rat? Is rat there? Let me in so I can look closer.
The big white guy definitely has to be kept away when we finally release the butterflies as he's a dedicated insect hunter. It's like living with a 130lb cat, obsessed with chasing flies and mosquitoes. Dude, I appreciate you keeping our home free of flying insects but hey, watch where you're leaping!
5 comments:
Those butterflies are so lovely! I hope they all make it out into the wide world and no special categories are required for them to participate.
Priceless expressions on the dogs' faces! We'll gear up for this experiment next year.
Gillian
I'm dying to do this! Thanks for the push. Urban Dad is trying to put me off. We might be too late for this year (we're planning to skip town for part of the summer), but Next Year! (visualize fist shaking in the air) Next Year, I Tell You!!!!
=-)
wishing you well with your critters. We loved doing this last year.
Did you release them all yet? How did it go?
We had the butterflies for the first time (just five, which turned out to be seven, thanks to Boreal, with which I'm mighty impressed, poster and all), and had very good luck with the project despite a few hitches. For one, we covered the little container with cheesecloth thinking a few pinholes wouldn't be enough, and then after being away for a few days found their "nutrient" supply had dried rock hard. So we moved everyone into an old mayonnaise jar and, after checking to see what the caterpillars ate, gave them lots of hollyhock leaves and baby thistles. It worked! Next year, though, I'd like to get a big tank (possibly landscaped?!) so we can watch them properly and keep them a bit longer.
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