Gorgeous!!!

Hi Sherry!

That Datana cat is really cool.I don't think they occur up here in Ohio.

I don't have any pipevine cats so my vines are huge and climbing all over the trees and shrubs in my yard.The only thing that eats them is the pesky rabbit that seems to think my yard is his salad bar. Actually I'm surprised it hasn't hurt him,as Aristolochia is supposed to be poisonous.

If rabbits eat Milkweed (which really shocked me), they'll eat just about anything. Try dog hair around your plants and that will repel them. Most dog grooming salons will gladly give you their sweepings. I'm also experimenting with planting Marigolds around everything new. That is supposed to repel them as well.

John

Hi Dan, long time no hear from!

My vines climb on the chain link fence around my garden, and, so far, that's kept the rabbits off them. They eat a lot of my other prized plants in the woods, though, so I think I'll put some dog hair around plants I want saved - I have three long haired dogs. I never knew that would work, but I'll try anything. Maybe it'll keep the deer off, too?

Do you still raise caterpillars, Dan, I mean, other than pipevine swallowtails?

Sherry

Congratulations on the abundance of Pipevine Swallowtails Sherry. I think I have an abundance of predators, I've only seen a few PVSTs since the initial visit a while back. Do you have any idea what these guys are? There are a lot of them and they don't seem to be looking for nectar.

I don't know, Rick. It looks like some type of wasp, but it's not the regular type with the red/yellow legs. Probably somebody will know on the Insect Forum or somebody on Name that Bug or What's that Bug, whatever the site is.

If you want some pipevine swallowtail eggs in the future, let me know, and if I get more than I can handle, I'll give you some of the eggs or caterpillars.

Sherry

Thanks for the offer, hopefully one the few that made it to adulthood will come back and lay some eggs. I'm just not seeng many butterflies of any type yet. I have plenty to feed them when they show up. I did find out that Pipevines are not poisonous to horses since one of my miniature mares ate two small vines to the ground.

That is an incredible looking caterpillar!

I don't have a dog but can get dog hair from a relative who has a German Shepherd that's shedding now.

Yes,Sherry,I still raise various lep species,though last year was kinda slow and this year isn't much better so far.Right now I've got a bunch of third instar cecropias,some lunas,a spicebush and three monarchs.Already raised and released some red admirals and only one was parasitized.

If you get more pipevine eggs than you can handle,feel free to send some up here.Will trade for whatever I have but you probably already have it.

Dan

Isn't it interesting that the caterpillar is much more dramatic
looking than the butterfly.
Sherry you are the butterfly queen. So many varieties there in Mississippi.

I'm glad you're still raising cats, Dan!

There are a good many moths whose caterpillars are beautiful, while the adult moths are plain brown things, roper. Some of the slug caterpillars, like the stinging rose cats, are quite beautiful - the adults aren't.

Here's a picture I made several years ago of a dagger moth cat that I thought was quite fetching -

{{gwi:461311}}

The little pipevine swallowtail caterpillars are growly rapidly, and I released my first adult PVS from the second batch of 2014 today, a female. This will be my third batch! We've had a lot of rain lately, so maybe the pipevines will be able to keep up.

Sherry