Painted Lady

[meaganelise9]

Look how fuzzy! It's kinda cute. I got a couple chrysalis from Carolina.com and some larvae. I'm having fun watching them be pretty. Anyone know how long these live? She may end up being a tasty mantis snack too. I am evil.

 

[CoolMantid]

A month is as long as one monarch lived for me. I'd say 2-3 weeks. Feed them sugar water or feed them to your mantis

 

[twolfe]

I had some in the summer but I released them after they eclosed. I have a coupon to get another 7 but will likely wait. A couple of weeks after I released them I saw a painted lady in my yard for the first time (except for when I released mine). It may or may not have been mine. For some reason, there were a lot of different butterfly species around here in the summer that I had never seen in the wild.

 

[CoolMantid]

You cant realease thme now becuase its too cold and he or she would die becuase she is far behind on her migratory patterns unlike the rest of that species

 

[twolfe]

I'm sure she's not considering releasing them as we have snow on the ground here and haven't had any butterflies around since October. Meagan just lives next door in Wisconsin... I was just commenting on my experience with them.

 

[Mvalenz]

Mantis snack...thats great. Lol. It is cute though.

 

[CoolMantid]

I was gonna feed a injured monarch to my mantis, I just couldn't do it. Such a beautiful butterfly

 

[lunarstorm]

Nice pic Meagan. Hrm, I wonder how tricky it will be to get some butterflies or moths this spring...

 

[CoolMantid]

I've had over 50+ monarchs this summer from just 2 milkweed plants and 50+ Gulf Fritilaries from 1 passion vine! Just add new food every other day and change the cage every week! It get easy after a while and your rewarded with beautiful butterflies!!!

 

[Precarious]

Nice photo. Can you hold them or do they fly around afraid?

 

[lancaster1313]

They are cute and fuzzy.

We have raised the species twice and will do it again.

@precarious:

Some will sit on you and some will freak out, some will do a little of both. I suspect that my energetic child's movement is what caused most of the freaking out in a few of ours. I suspect that if someone is calm with slow movements the butterflies will be more calm.

 

[meaganelise9]

Ha they just fly around afraid unfortunately. I was trying to get it to sip some sugar water and was quickly reminded that I'm not dealing with a docile mantis. Plus, my cat has discovered it this morning! He's having a ball terrorizing it.. <_<

 

[meaganelise9]

I was gonna feed a injured monarch to my mantis, I just couldn't do it. Such a beautiful butterfly

There is that. If it was any more beautiful, I think I'd have a hard time. But then the objective/practical mindset kicks in, and I figure I should get the most out of my money by first admiring its beauty for a time, then put its death to good use.

 

[Mvalenz]

I agree. If it is going to die soon at least let it get eaten alive.

 

[agent A]

Load it with food first lol

 

[meaganelise9]

Yeah, might as well. There's an indoor garden nearby here that's pretty much like a rainforest. Once a year, they set a bunch of butterflies loose inside. It's really fun to go in and hang out with them all, even if not many land on me.

 

[agent A]

u should release a few mantises in the butterfly garden...

 

[patrickfraser]

We have a "Butterfly Pavillion" at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles every year in the spring. Around Halloween they make it a "Spider Pavillion". Such a beautiful place with the rose gardens and the architecture of the museum.

 

[meaganelise9]

Well, I have to say, I will not be keeping these again. The cat is absolutely obsessed. It's a constant thing. I finally couldn't take it anymore today and fed one to my B. mendica. He was pretty pleased but not a big eater as adult, so he let my Polyspilota have his leftovers. In the process, the 2nd butterfly was uh.. a casualty. The cat is now pretty darn satisfied. He thinks it was the best cat toy in the world.