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« on: July 19, 2017, 1720 UTC »
I would like to share this with the idea that it may inspire others, and brag. Wildlife is on the run these days, so my wife and I do hands on activist projects instead of just moaning about it.
I chose to raise butterflies after reading about the demise of the Monarch due to loss of wintering habitat and poisoning of host plants made available by chem giants Monsanto and others ( whole nuther story)
Anyway, I documented Polyxenes " Johnny Walker" ( #4 this year , brothers Black and Red and Snorky Jr since July 15) . In 2016 I released a total of 22.
Eggs hatched 7/18/17 and there are 13 in this gen 2
In the wild predators consume 90% Rearing increases to 80_ 100%survival
I keep them in specialized equipment - a Chinese food tray and later a hermit crab cage.
You have to gather the anise every day . The 22 I raised last year consumed the entire plant, causing a shortage with the 4 th gen. I have 2 additional food plants this year
Black Swallowtails aren't threatened and we have planted Milkweed for Monarchs, so it would have a more direct effect, but sadly their numbers are low and we've only seen 2 in the area this year. In the future and this year we still hope one will find our plants and glorify our efforts.
This page edited 6/21/18 for videos that no longer exist
Thanks for reading
Davep
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