Thursday, August 27, 2009

Gulf Fritillary Life Cycle


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After saving my money, I was able to buy the Gulf Fritillary’s host plant, Passionvine. I can now raise the caterpillars and watch them transform into butterflies . The passionvine I purchased is Passionvine Inspiration. It has a wonderful aroma. Passionvines do tend to grow without boundaries and pop up in various places in the yard. I’ve had them sprout several feet from the actual plant! Planting them in a pot with a tomato cage for support is a better choice, but they will not grow as large since they are confined to a smaller area.

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Most red Passionvines are toxic for caterpillars.  Gulf Fritillaries can mistake them for good host plants and lay eggs on them. When the caterpillars hatch, they soon will die after consuming the toxic leaves.

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This Gulf Fritillary quickly discovered my new host plant. Gulf Fritillaries often hang upside down to delicately lay eggs on the tendrils of Passionvines.

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The butterfly eggs are so tiny and easy to miss! This Gulf Fritillary egg was laid on the tip of a tendril. When they are first laid, they are bright orange, but before hatching they begin to turn a darker shade.

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This Gulf Fritillary caterpillar is newly hatched.

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With so much eating it quickly outgrows its exoskeleton and goes through a molting phase which reveals a new exoskeleton . After shedding the old exoskeleton, the caterpillar must wait for hours for it to harden.

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Now that it’s bigger, the spikes are clearly visible. The spikes look sharp and pointy, but actually they are smooth and can easily be broken. Predators of these caterpillars are easily fooled by the spikes.

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These caterpillars keep eating and then shed off their skin again when it becomes to tight.

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This big caterpillar is in its fifth instar. An instar is the stage between each molt. When they are this big, not only will that eat the leaves, but also the flowers.

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It has reached its maximum size and is now searching for a place to make a chrysalis.

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It found the perfect spot! Look how its starting to turn white. That means it will begin shedding its exoskeleton soon for the last time.

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The chrysalis is complete. Doesn’t it resemble a dead leaf? Some chrysalises are slightly twisted to further trick sneaky predators.

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Death is sad, but it is part of the natural cycle.

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It took about a week for this Gulf Fritillary to emerge. I love the silver on its wings. When the lights hits it, the silver will shimmer.

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Ready to be released! This butterfly is fully dry and ready to fly. Soon it will return to lay eggs so I can raise its caterpillars again.

In May, I discovered a Gulf Fritillary egg that had been laid on the wrong host plant. My mom took me to a nursery who owned the correct host plant and we safely deposited it there. Please go to http://elizabethssecretgarden.blogspot.com/2009/05/story-of-lost-caterpillar.html to read the story.

Also check out my book on butterflies!

It includes all about how to raise butterflies, their life cycles, and butterfly gardens/conservatories I have visited. The life cycles of ten butterflies are in my book including the Gulf Fritillary. Happy Butterfly Gardening!

Please purchase my book here to support my work:  https://www.createspace.com/4083202

book cover

74 comments:

  1. What a wonderful "butterfly journal"! I thoroughly enjoyed the story and pictures. Thank you for documenting it!

    Cindy

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  2. This was so educational. I have a purple passion plant in my yard. And I oould not help noticing all the butterflys in my yard and on the plant. So I went "googling". Thank you so much for the journal, I learned so much and will be a frequent visitor to my plant. I live in Bradenton Florida. Fran M.

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  3. So thats where they are coming from to distroy my passion flora, if you are intrested in any that I find, or a host plant, you can contact me via text message at 763-221-6167 e-mail Luckypiercer@hotmail.com these things are a long way from home, I'm not a big fan of killing butterflys but I can not let them eat my plants down to nothing, including the buds. I live in Albuquerque, NM

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    1. The butterflies are more important
      The plant will come back

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    2. Also the butterflies are a Miracle of creation. Changing of seasons of life Go buy more plants

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  4. We have a bumper crop and have been growing them in a fishtank with some fresh passion vine every day or so. Waiting for them to start emerging from the coccoons!

    Great journal! Was trying to figure how long I needed to wait.

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  5. Love your journal!!! I have a huge purple passion flower and this month I enjoyed watching this life cycle!!! Once they are butterflies, I have read that they immediately mate, then what? Will they stick around? Do they migrate? How long until they lay eggs? How long do they live as a butterfly? I would really enjoy if you continued your journal to complete the cycle!!!

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  6. how long after it forms a chrysalis will it become a butterfly?

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  7. A butterfly usually stays in a chrysalis 7-14 days depending on the weather. Good luck on whatever butterfly adventures you may have!

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  8. Hey Elizabeth,

    Thank you for sharing your experience with moving the GF. We found one on our corkie stem plant (actually the host plant for the Zebra Longwing). I will be moving him to our passion vine for sure!

    Thanks again for sharing!
    Wanda

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  9. We have (some other species of) fritillary all over our yard in Wisconsin right now, which is full of violets and dandelions. I got curious about the butterfly life cycle and came to your wonderful account. Enjoyed the great documentation and thanks for sharing.

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  10. I found a gulf fritillary caterpillar today, and saw it start its chrysalis. I dont have any passion vine but it seemed quite comfortable on a different purple flower that i have. Should i just see how well it can work with its resources?

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  11. i found a gulf fritillary caterpilar today. It watched it get cozy and start its chrysalis. But im a little worried because i have no passion vine, yet it seems quite comfortable on a different purple flower that i have. Should i just see how well it can use its resources?

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    1. Try going to your local plant nursery and see if you can purchase a plant. Gulf Fritillary caterpillars are voracious eaters and can devour a vine quickly. My passiflora though bounces back quickly. Make sure you get the purple flowered variety and not the red.

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    2. WARNING: ALL new plants bought at plant nurseries MAY have been sprayed with a systemic insecticide which will kill caterpillars or bees. This poison has a staying power of at least 2 months, so DO NOT TAKE the nurseries' word that their plants are safe. Contact Master Gardeners in your area (via your local Ag Extension office). If they're not organic, maybe they know of someone who is.

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  12. My yard is full of Gulf Fritillary butterflies and I have a very invasive Passion vine that has taken over a fair amount of my white picket fence. The plant also sends up shoots all over my yard so you were wise to recommend the potted method to enjoy this vine.

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    1. I have the same problem with the Passion vine growing on our fence. It is a never ending battle!

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  13. My grandsons and I learned quite a bit from your story. We have started a caterpillar habitat and planted more passion flower vines. Thank your for sharing. Haves a butterfly day! Mommo.

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  14. Thank you for the pictures,because I have one, now I will know what it will look like.

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  15. Our Passion vine in Sacramento, CA is being devoured for the third year now (at least a dozen caterpillars at work as I write) and it's fine with us.... the butterfly activity is wonderful and the regrowth each year has been strong. We appreciate your photos and explanations of the caterpillar life cycle. I've now spotted my first spent chrysalis and will start the search for more... how far will they crawl to fine a location??
    Peter

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    1. They will climb several feet away to make a chrysalis. Sometimes I find Monarch chrysalises all the way on the ceiling underneath our porch!

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  16. Do you know how long an Gulf Fritillary butterfly will live?

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  17. Elizabeth, You are an inspiration! I was looking for info on Ladybugs, and one site led me to another butterfly site, and that one lead me to you. Often Iget on the computer to look up one thing and end up going from on site to anothe r for hours. Today was one of those days.
    Yet most of all I was proud-it sounds strange to say I'm proud of someone I've never met yet I am-proud of you. I've been reading over a dozen of your postings, and will read many more but for now i need to get out to my garden.
    Many blessings to you-and your family!
    Kimmie (Nana) to 6-grandchildren

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  18. Love your info on the gulf... My daughter and I are currently raising Monarchs and want to do the same with the Fritillary; they are so beautiful. Off to buy a Pasiflora incarnata. thanks

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  19. Hello. I don't have Passion Flower, but these critters are eating a vine in my yard. Looks the same and we do have a lot of these flying about. My neighbor has Passion Flower. These leaves don't match. Any idea what it might be? Thanks.

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    1. To correctly identify it a picture would be most helpful. You can e-mail me questions or pictures at elizabeth@flmann.com. Please include Butterfly for the subject of the e-mail.

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  20. It's nearly impossible to find knowledgeable people on this topic, but you sound like you know what you're talking
    about! Thanks

    My blog post - Australien Sheperd

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  21. Thank you so much for the information that red passion vines are toxic to catepillars. Last year my catepillars began dying and I did not know why. This year the same thing is happening. I have red and purple mixed together. I have just removed the red ones. I feel bad for not finding you website last year. I have lost so many catepillars. Hopefully now this will change. Thanks again.

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    1. I'm so glad my article could be of help to you and save the caterpillars lives. I'm sure things will be good now that you've removed the red passion vine. Red is a warning signal in nature of toxicity. Wish you the best with your caterpillar raising.

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  22. I planted a passion flower vine last year and it took over a bush nearby. I don't mind the coup since the gulf is so beautiful and wee love to watch them. This year we have a 9 year old who is fascinated by the events they provide. She wanted to know how long from chrysalis to butterfly and you had the answer!
    Thanks,

    Susan

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  23. I have a GF that has decided the best place for it to form a chrysalis is on my chain link fence. It is currently forming and I am worried it will be knocked off by a dog or other animal/outside force. Is it possible to move the GF before it is has completed forming its chrysalis? And if so, where can I move the little guy or gal? Is there something in the house I can keep the GF safe on until it has emerged??

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    1. Do not move the GF until after it has formed the chrysalis! Let it harden and then move it. Once it has fully hardened you can gently move it by using your finger nail to lift up the silk where it is attached. I usually use butterfly castles to attach my chrysalises or a container big enough for the butterfly to dry it's wings. http://www.livemonarch.com/index.php

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    2. You can also use a tiny drop of super glue to attach it (same way it was attached) wherever you desire.

      Marge in California

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  24. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge on the Gulf Fritillary. Your site single-handedly allowed me to identify the caterpillars that were crawling on my fence, why they were crawling there, and what they would soon become. As a previous comment stated, I do not have the beautiful passion vine as you do, but some other purplish fuzzy flowered vine. The Fritillarys are beautiful now in my yard and judging by the number of caterpillars still crawling around, there are many more to come! I have plenty of pictures to share if you have any questions! Thanks again!

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  25. Thank you for the information! I was astonished to find my passionflower vine covered in these strange caterpillars last week and moved about 6 of them into a butterfly cage we have and continued to feed them leaves from my vine (fresh of course!). Three of them how now formed their chrysalis and my kids and I are excited to see them emerge as butterflies!

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  26. We have a GF chrysalis attached to the top of a net butterfly habitat. It fell over (wind?) and the chrysalis fell off - but not where it attaches. It broke off a little below that and I noticed brown liquid around it. Is it too late for our GF? I don't really see a way to reattach it (although I could put it on some netting?), but the brown liquid worries me. Thank you!

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    1. Unfortunately, according to your account the GF is most likely dead. I've had that happen before and the brown liquid comes out because caterpillars turn to liquid inside the chrysalis as they rearrange into a butterfly. My book has info about butterfly diseases and injuries as well as pages about the GF among others. I recommend getting it to help you in your journey. It contains some great facts from my research. You can order it online https://www.createspace.com/4083202

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  27. Hi Elizabeth-What a wonderful page you have here. I have just started discovering and raising Monarchs this year-to date I have raised around 25 of them. I to decided that I wanted to get a passionflower for the Fritillary and in no time I have them fluttering around-I have 3 baby caterpillars and a whole lot of eggs now. I cover them with a net to protect them from predators-check them everyday emptying their frass and making sure they have plenty of food-. I live in central Fla. and it is September-am I wrong in raising them at this time of year?? I know my Monarchs have slowed down and I believe thats because they will migrate soon-I just don't want to be doing something wrong?

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    1. Florida's butterfly season is much longer than the weather here in North Carolina. Some Monarchs stay in Florida all year depending on your specific climate. I recall still raising butterflies in December while living in Orlando. Once the frosts come, that will signal the end. I hope that helps. If they are still laying, you are good.

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    2. Thank you so much Elizabeth-you have been very helpful!!!

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  28. Do you know when they typically lay their eggs (what time of the year)?

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  29. Thank you Elizabeth for all you work and dedication! I can't wait to get a copy of your book. I'm just a little concerned in California about a GF chrysalis. It is a very dark almost black color...but I've noticed a lot of movement...one day it will be pointing to the left...and the next day it will be pointing a different direction. Is this normal? She been inside the chrysalis almost two weeks now...hope everything is okay...thank you again for all your work and dedication for butterfly's!

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  30. Is it normal to see a Gulf Frittillary in chrysalis a dark almost black color with a lot of activity? One day the chrysalis is pointing bent toward the left and the next day it's pointing in a different direction...curious in California. And thank you so much Elizabeth for your work and dedication of butterfly's and sharing all your knowledge with us. I love your blog and I'm very eager to get your book :)

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    1. How long has it been black? Is the chrysalis squishy or solid? Knowing these two things will help me determine whether or not it is still alive. I'm so glad that my stories and experiences can encourage others. I hope you enjoy my book.

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    2. Mine is also black in some spots and also bends a lot to one direction. and its hard to the touch?

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    3. When you bend it does it go back to its original place or just stay there? The abdomen should return after bending it if it is alive.

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    4. Hi Elizabeth - thanks for your helpful info. Like the others here on this thread, I too have wondered why the chrysalis of the GF butterfly on my Passiflora MOVES from day to day and hour to hour. As Gabriella described, it bends in different directions ... the bend itself is near the attachment to the vine. To help you picture it, the chrysalis is then virtually HORIZONTAL instead of vertical. Today I actually watched it move very slowly into a new position, pointing in the opposite direction. It first moved downward to vertical and then back up to horizontal on the other side of its attachment. I'm glad to see others have also observed this odd behavior, but am wondering what purpose it serves in the transformation of this beautiful creature? ~Karen~

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    5. P.S. After leaving my first comment here, it suddenly dawned on me that, if the GF in the chrysalis is actively changing its position (as it appears to be doing), then this may be a unique form of CLIMATE CONTROL! Could it be that it's controlling its own "micro-climate" inside the chrysalis by bending into the sunlight when it needs warming or away from it when it needs cooling? If so, that would be AMAZING! I just went out in the dark of night to see what position it's in now ... and it's VERTICAL! That makes sense IF it's bending only to cool or warm itself ... there would then be no purpose to expend energy by bending one way or the other once the sun goes down.

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    6. First I apologize for just now seeing your comment. Thanks for sharing! That is intriguing. It is amazing what you can discover over time when raising butterflies.

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  31. The Gulf Fritillary in my yard (in Sonoma CA) have been doing fine of white passion flower vines. We had a small crop of caterpillars in the spring but now (in October) they are everywhere. Crossing fingers are weather stays warm. Hopefully the El Nino effect will help with that.

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  32. Thank you for your wonderful site! I learned so much here. I was given a plant for my SoCal garden, which contained a small sprout that became a lovely and sprawling passion flower vine. 8 months later, a few Gulf Frittilaria arrived - going strong now since May and now it's November. Do you know how long these charming butterflies will be around? I'm enchanted, and impressed at the length of time they've been here. Thank you.

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  33. I have many Gulf Fritillary chrysalis' hanging off the eaves of my house. Just yesterday one of them emerged...although I didn't actually get to see it coming out of the chrysalis, I did get to watch it pump fluids into its wings and then waited patiently to watch it take its first flight...awesome!!

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  34. My caterpillars have been happily living on red passion flowers, is that good for them?

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    1. No, it is toxic to them! The Gulf Fritillaries can get confused and lay eggs on them and then the caterpillars die once they start eating them.

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  35. I loved your article! I just brought 3 Gulf Fritillary caterpillars around 5-6 days old to my home-grown passion flower plant. I have been growing this plant for 4 months and today I decided to bring the caterpillars to try attract the butterflies to my garden. I can't find one of them. The other two are eating just fine. We're would the other have gone? Would something eat it? Like what? I don't see birds around.

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    1. How big was it? Maybe it went to make a chrysalis. A wasp could have been the culprit.

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    2. I have had assassin ants kill my caterpillars before, and I know they love passion vines. Maybe they took your caterpillars...

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  36. Can someone tell me if the red passion flower in the picture earlier on the blog was poisonous, because I have raised a caterpillar all the way to a healthy chrysalis on that plant's sepals... I'm confused because every where I look it says that that type of passion vine kills gulf caterpillars! So can someone come up with an answer as to why my caterpillars have survived so long?

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    1. Your experience is different. It could be that this passionflower mimics the toxic ones, but isn't actually toxic.

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  37. Here is a piece from http://www.butterflyfunfacts.com/askedith.php that is informative. Hope this helps! "Sadly, red passionflower is poisonous to our butterfly caterpillars in the US. The burgundy 'Lady Margaret' seems to be safe for our native species of butterflies. This doesn't mean not to plant red flowering passsionvine! The blooms are beautiful. But if you wish to help butterflies reproduce in your yard, choose another species to plant either along with or instead of red passionflower."

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    1. Thanks for the info, my gulf fritillary chrysalis hatched two days ago and the other one is due soon... Still puzzled about how they survived though.

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    2. And by the way, the passion vine was not a Burgundy passion vine, it was the middle red one.

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    3. Thanks for the info, I checked the link and the vine I have is not a "Lady Margaret" but the chrysalises both hatched and I released them.

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  38. Hello, im 14y and my neighbor just cut his passion flower plant and while I was looking atvthe pretty flowers I saw alot of caterpillars I didnt want them to die so i put them in a empty fish tank with some of the leaves. Some of the caterpillars are big and some of them are small how do i keep them alive. Thank you.

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    1. For future reference, what you did was good. Change out leaves daily, clean out poop, and add twigs for them to climb up and make chrysalis'. That is great that you took that step to save them.

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  39. how long will a mature GF survive in a netted enclosure during the winter months? i think it is a male, im feeding him an assortment of nectar flowers, hes entering his third week as a butterfly. There are two other chrysalis' in the same enclosure which I am hoping one will be the opposite sex to start another eneration. We are having a harsh, wet and cold winter. I am sure if i set him free outside will be the death of him. I am starting to think the two in chrysalis will overwinter as they are, will the adult butterfly also overwinter as he is?

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    1. In my experience, they live about 2 weeks in captivity. The air conditioning can cause issues. They need sources of moisture so flowers help. My GFs have never overwintered in the butterfly stage. How long did your butterfly end up living?

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  40. Hello, Elizabeth-Can I grow the GFs like the Monarch butterflies? By removing them, put them in a glass jar, feed them w/passionflower leaves & watch them emerge?

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    1. If you do use a glass jar, make sure you use some kind of netting so they can breathe. Also add a stick so the butterfly has something to climb in order to dry it's wings when emerging. Netted enclosures are best after the caterpillar pupates cause emerging butterflies may slip on glass and not get to dry their wings. Great question!

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  41. Hello! I am trying to troubleshoot a problem I am having with one of my gulf fritillary caterpillars. My son and I have been raising them for about a month. So far each caterpillar we've raised to full size has searched for a place to pupate, hung in its j-shape, and then formed a chrysalis within about 12 hours. Our current caterpillar however has been hanging in his j-shape now for about 16 hours and is still just a grayish white with no chrysalis formed. Is this a process that can take longer for some caterpillars? Or has something gone wrong? trying to figure out exactly what happened so I can explain it to a 2-year-old that loves science and caterpillars.

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    1. From my experience, some can take longer. Now if the caterpillar turns black and squishy, bacteria most likely caused it. Please let me know how it goes!

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  42. We have successfully raised three chrysalises this fall, and we've had many more caterpillars which have gone their hidden way. One caterpillar was much smaller that the others when it hung itself upside down on a dead portion of our passion vine. It started to wiggle and squirm for more than a day and turned darker. Then it hung straight down and stopped moving. I've been watching it for eight days and it still looks alive, but it has not formed a chrysalis. Because our temperatures have been dropping at night into the 40's, I cut the dead vine and brought "Itchy" into the house. Today he has begun to form a J. Do you think there is still hope for this little guy?

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