100% certain. And many Gulf Fritillary caterpillars (outdoors), many GF adults.

Are you saying the ones outside are OK, but the ones in your house are not?

Saying that, extrapolating from direct experience indoors, the reason for low number of adults outdoors may be large number of caterpillar deaths outdoors.

We don't have zebra longwings here but I have brought in several other varieties of caterpillars to raise. In the ones that I've raised inside, the largest percentage of deaths occur to tachinid fly infestation. It sometimes occurs even in the ones I've brought in as eggs but mostly cats. The cats will attach to something while they're still small and die. There will usually be a white thread hanging from their body and I often find a little brownish capsule that contains the fly larvae.

I think there are many species of tachinids flies and also wasps that lay their eggs in caterpillars or the caterpillar eggs before they hatch.

If I bring cats indoors to raise, I keep them in totes so there won't be anything unwanted flying around the house.

Thanks. Long ago, tachinids wrecked my Monarchs.

If [whatever it is] were getting at ZLws outdoors, then it would get at GFs also, which is not the case if we use relative populations as evidence.

Indoors I will begin to enclose ZLw everything.

Whoops, got that the wrong way around. Sorry. That's sad if you have less butterflies this year.

I don't know enough to know what that means though. Less butterflies making less eggs, less cats going into sleep, less emerging.. more stuff eating them at the wrong time, or weather at wrong time.. or other?

I've seen a few of the big blue and black butterflies so far. And a couple of the little ones with eyes in their wings. None of the flame colors yet. We have had some messy weather, so I don't know how much that impacts it. Do they know to stay inside and not come out yet if it's crappy out?

Update : If we were to say that harmful insects are getting the ZLw caterpillars indoors, then we would have to say that they are selective insects; because recently I have been raising perfectly fine Sulphurs from eggs, in the open on that same table,