It's been since May 26 when it went into it's chrysalis. It's been 7 days now. I love the look of this chrysalis. It even has some green coloring that shimmers on the side of it to make it look like moss or something growing on a piece of a branch from a citrus plant. They are amazing. Not sure when it will emerge. I'll keep y'all posted.
2 on this leaf>>
Deb - What is that plant? Is it a Hercules Club? It looks a bit different than mine. I had to cut tips off mine to feed to my hungry cat before he went into a chrysalis. I now think I may have stunted the growth of my HC. Same thing happened to my Privet Cassia. It's never gotten any bigger nor put out additional branches. Just keeps re-growing leaves on the same branches. Eek! Be careful what you do. Take cuttings from the bottom of the plant if you can.
What an awesome looking chrysalis Becky!! I would guess in FL, about 12 days to eclose...
Here are the 2 eggs on 1 leaf> Easy to keep track, oviposited June 1.
:-Deb
Awesome photos Deb! Congrats on your new babies! Ya got it going on in your yard, Lady!!!! You did your research and now it is all paying off beautifully!!! Congrats and do keep us posted on everything!!! I want to see a photo of your gardens now. I bet they are really filling in nicely and blooming like crazy!!!
Yes it is a Hercules Club.. I am beginning to get quite a few eggs now that she has loacated me. Thinking I could net the HC when it has so many eggs, and not bring them in. About 6 eggs were laid in one day. Since they are all the same clutch, do you think they will eat each other? Does the canible thing happen when a big one runs into a smaller one? I am thinking to leave them on the plant and see what happens. Then I have to watch out for a new preditor. a tiny egg and cat eating nymph I haven't identiified yet. They mainly go for STs. One got my 3 day old TST yesterday. Not sure how to handle this problem yet.... :-
Deb
The GST are definitely aggressive and will attack each other. Though I am more concerned about the cat killing mystery bug. That would alarm me! Could you try raising one or two in captivity and leave the rest with a net covering? It would be a real bummer to lose all of them should something happen. I'm all about helping butterflies beat the odds of survival. Your call!
Thx Becky! It is a huge problem.. This goofball nymph is about 1/4"... They have a veritable smorgasboard here... pfft!! It really ruined my day yesterday to see that.. I went through all the stages of grief in one day. Ya know, some people purchase this 'sort' of bug to destroy foliage eating cats and eggs in their beautiful unchewed yards.. *sigh* (I saw soldier nymphs for sale on a site,) :-( I think the ones I have are something like them, don't know the exact name, still working on it in Bug ID and sent a pic to Bug guide.
Deb,
Bring em in! Bring em in! :)
Adrienne
Yep Adrienne,
I have taken some tighter measures now.
:-Deb
Whoo Hoo! This little beauty finally emerged from it's chrysalis (20 days from May 26th). And let's see..... it hatched from it's egg on May 1st. So it has been 46 days from hatchling to butterfly! That's quite a long time compared to most butterflies I have raised. I wonder how long they live? Anyone know or have a good link about them?
How gorgeous Becky, Congrats!! 46 days sounds about right. A longer time for a bigger butterfly.
From the pic there it looks just like Cat's Ornythion ST in her post.. I know they are 2 different STs, but have a remarkable likeness> http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/735391/
Tell me what you think.
:-Deb
This message was edited Jun 15, 2007 11:09 AM
Deb - That's interesting! What the difference between the Ornythion ST and the Papilio cresphonte ST? Or are they one and the same?
Here's the link I compared mine to:
http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/lepidopt/papilio/cresphontes.htm
Here's a few more photos ..... cause ya know I just have to get y'all as excited as I am! My one and only GST!!! I sure hope I get to raise more in the future! So easy after I separated them. lol
It went all over the house with me and finally decided it liked the front of my shirt! :-)
And of course some taken outside in a more natural setting.
Another one. (You know what they say ..... a photo is worth a thousand words.)
Last one. He's in with me for the day. Not ready to fly away yet, so he's back in the cage to rest and prepare for life in the big world. I will release him later today.
Ah what a beauty Becky!!! Wonderful pics!!
Yeah the similarity is something! But I studied both here in the pics I could find and the ventral view is the big teller with more black for the Ornythion. Also the dorsal view the GST has white centers on the tails.
Compare and open both of these species side by side >
http://www.dallasbutterflies.com/
And of course the other matter of Ornythions not coming even close to FL. I have never seen them here is FWorth either
Deb - That is fascinating! Who would've known???!!! But I see what you are talking about. Mine has the little spots on the tails and Cat's doesn't. Close isn't the word for it! Unless you know exactly what to look for ..... you'd never know! Thanks for passing along that interesting info! FASCINATING!!!
Becky, Congratulations!!!! Your GST is totally beautiful!
Josephine.
I'm glad Cat started a thread about the differences too, she sure has some great pic comparisons didn't she?
In case anyone else wants to see:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/735732/
:-Deb
Cat checks things out pretty thoroughly when she is photographing critters. I'm glad she noticed the difference because otherwise I would probably never have known. Very interesting indeed!!! Thanks, Cat! :-)
yes, I was going to ask what the differences were, but now I don,t have to.
Thank you for the great pictures and explanations.
Josephine.
