Vines and Climbers: Aristolochia fan with a rather odd ethical question..., 0 by LouisianaMark

LouisianaMark wrote:
Hi Erick,

I've got to agree with the replies above. A good photograph is much better than a mounted specimen, and watching butterflies in your own garden is much better than looking at a photo.
Last year, I noticed a giant swallowtail laying eggs on a lemon tree I had in the back yard. When I checked out this forum, I found posts from several people who raised the catepillars inside of screen cages, then released the butterflies after they hatched. It sounded quite interesting, so I built a cage myself, and raised several giant and black swallowtails, and a couple of gulf fritillaries as well. The whole process of watching the catepillars grow and pupate, then emerge is fascinating. And you have a great opportunity to take pics when they emerge. To top it all off, this increases the local population, since most catepillars in the wild are eaten by birds and wasps. Here's a pic of a giant swallowtail I took last summer right after releasing it.

Mark