Saturday, July 30, 2022

Saturday's Critters #450

Today we are going to talk about my love for butterflies and my hobby of raising them.
From egg to caterpillar to butterfly, I love being involved in every stage of their life.
This summer it was kinda' strange...
I had no eggs or caterpillars on either my dill or parsley.
I have been raising caterpillars for years and that has never happened, I always have so many.
Now all of a sudden they have arrived.
The Black Swallowtail Butterflies are visiting my gardens and laying a lot of eggs.
Once the egg opens up and the caterpillars reach a certain size,
I bring them indoors into the netted cages I have which keeps them safe from birds and spiders.
Now the fun really begins.
I enjoy having them indoors and keeping them safe.

I have a lot of eggs and small caterpillars outdoors that I monitor every day.
Once they reach that perfect size, I will bring those inside.






If you look closely, 
in the center of this picture, you can see 2 eggs.
Small, white round eggs...
one day, these will be butterflies.

- you don't just wake up and become a butterfly ~ growth is a process -

Sharing today's images with Eileen at 
for Saturday Critters

15 comments:

Conniecrafter said...

such a fun hobby you have found and to save so many lives, it's a nice thing to have if you don't have pets in the house :)

DrumMajor said...

Stunning! Jolly wonderful! I've never seen little eggs. I did visit the Butterfly pavilion building near FDR's Winter White House, south of Atlanta, within Callaway Gardens. They have the different stages on display and a huge crystal building full of plants and all the butterflies. They land on you and on your hands. The gold cocoons and big blue butterflies are beautiful. Have fun with your nursery. Linda in Kansas

Jim and Barb's Adventures said...

I've always wondered how you did that. Very cool!

Rian said...

Love the pics, Debbie! My group here ignored the dill (which didn't do well anyway) and concentrated on the parsley.

Ruth Hiebert said...

That is awesome. Keep on enjoying and getting those pictures to share.

Lowcarb team member said...

How wonderful to see those little eggs ... great photographs.

All the best Jan

Anonymous said...

So pretty
www.rsrue.blogspot.com

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

What a nice way to help Mother Nature along! Such a good idea. The caterpillars are pretty with their interesting stripes.

Marie Smith said...

You are my favourite butterfly whisperer, Debbie. I have dill this year. I will watch for the eggs.

Changes in the wind said...

A interesting hobby for sure.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I know you are so relieved to finally see them. Some of our birds are late in showing up this summer too. Oh well! I'm happy with whatever I see in nature. Enjoy your Sunday!

DeniseinVA said...

Happy that you got your caterpillars this year. I always enjoy these posts. Thank you Debbie :)

Shiju Sugunan said...

This is the most interesting and vulnerable stage of butterfly life-cycle. The pictures are so pretty!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

You and your camera make them look beautiful in stages where many of us would ignore them; thank you for all you do and for sharing your knowledge! I'm so glad they came back!!!

LeAnn said...

One of my favorite things about you is your nurturing care of Caterpillars and Butterflies. I find the process amazing. What a caring God to give us these beautiful creations to care for. In general, we aren't doing very well with it all. I'm glad you are!!
Thanks for your loving heart, these beautiful photos too.
Big hugs!