The morning starts with cleaning the cage...
The caterpillars are very messy, they poop a lot and the cage should be cleaned frequently.
I clean mine every morning.
Removing them and getting them back in is a little "tricky" one might say.
But I have a system, and dangling new fresh dill in front of them certainly helps.
Here we are, all done.
I have a total of 23 right now,
plus 5 small ones the hubs brought in this morning.
A close-up, all clean and spiffy, it does not stay this way long!
I have 6 in chrysalis,
if you look closely, you can see the threads they weave and hang from.
They look so cute when they eat...
and this dill will be gone soon, within a few hours or less.
I had to buy dill at the grocery store
because I had nothing left to feed them from my garden.
I buy organic and wash it well.
The concern with grocery store dill is pesticides,
but so far, with the organic, I have done well!
I have planted more and it is coming up already.
The hubs brought these 5 inside this morning.
The "new batch", I put them to one side,
I hope they stay over there so the big ones don't bother them.
I have 2 other cages but they still have chrysalis from last fall in them.
I am not sure if them will emerge but I would like to give them every opportunity!
I started taking an antibiotic and the toothache from the abscess is just about gone,
as long as I do not chew, soft foods are best!
Mashed potatoes and pasta, I can do that!
Now, I'm off to water the garden!
Now, I'm off to water the garden!
13 comments:
Wow they have multiplied since that first year you raised them. I hope your dill grows fast because your hungry caterpillars sure are. I am glad you are feeling better now.
Hello,
You are amazing taking care of all these caterpillars, soon to be butterflies. they do look cute eating the dill. It's weird I am on an antibiotic too for my toothache. I am glad you are feeling better.. Take care, enjoy your day!
I had no idea how much tending they needed! You are surely dedicated Debbie. I am glad to hear that you are feeling a bit better.
Debbie, I am glad you are feeling better. You are an amazing lady, raising butterflies. I just love it. I can not wait to see your pictures. Blessings, xoxo, Susie
And so the fun begins with your butterfly farm.
My dear friend, I just love this post on your Caterpillars and the process they go through to become beautiful butterflies. It is an amazing process and I enjoy following how you do it all. The photos are stunning. I'm now wondering if you should make a book for chidden. I think people need to see this whole loving process that you go through to care for these lovely creations of our Heavenly Father.
Sending loving thoughts and hugs your way!
Debbie - I have had the privilege of seeing your past posts about this marvelous creatures. You and hubs are such stars for looking after these little ones! Sorry to hear about the abscess ... tooth pain is one the worst things in the world. I just had a crown last week, replacing an old silver filling. I dreaded the process but now I am so glad I did it!
Great series of photographs.
So pleased you are no longer suffering from toothache.
All the best Jan
I always enjoy your info and photos about the caterpillars. Thank you for doing this work and sharing it with us!
Do you ever feed them parsley. Caterpillars are one reason I plant parsley. They strip it in a short time! I believe they are swallowtails.
you are right abut the parsley joyce, i have a good friend that primarily uses parsley. i started with dill, because i love dill, parsley, not as much. it doesn't really matter, they never leave anything for me. swallowtails lay eggs on both and will eat either. my friend ran out of dill and is feeding hers parsley. i ran out of dill and i am buying organic dill, i held my breath - hoping there weren't any pesticides, and i got luck. so far so good!! thanks for the visit, keep coming by!!
so neat to see up close pics of them. Guess you will have to make your dill garden bigger :)
Glad to hear you have had some relief from your sore tooth too!
You definitely take good care of them! Looking forward to seeing the butterflies! Glad you are feeling better!
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