Well, That Was Quick

[TortoiseshellJenny]

I said in this post:

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=8327

that I would give an update on how my 41 chrysalises are doing, and thought it belonged here, rather in the Identification section.

To be honest, I thought it would be at least another couple of days before I needed to even give an update, but almost exactly a week after they turned into chrysalises, the first one has hatched out, with another 3 looking like they will hatch in the next 24 hours. Can they really hatch in just 7 days? It has been less than an hour since the first one hatched so I'm just keeping an eye on it and not disturbing it, but it is upside down and it's wings look like they're drying quite nicely, and all the rest look fine, so I'm a bit more optimistic that all 41 of them could actually hatch.

I also had a walk round the local field that I go to to watch butterflies, and saw loads of other caterpillars and butterflies - all of them Small Tortoiseshell. I won't be raising any more this year, but if I find some Painted Ladies, I might not be able to say no.

[TortoiseshellJenny]

When I said I had 41 chrysalises, I was discounting 2 that I didn't think would hatch, so I actually had 43. One didn't hatch, but over Monday and Tuesday this week, 42 Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies have hatched in my house, and 42 Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies have flown out of my garden.

I've also made a decision. I'm going to stop raising butterflies. I much prefer watching butterflies outside than raising caterpillars. The only ones I will ever raise in the future are Painted Ladies and Red Admirals, and since the caterpillars are a little bit harder to find, I should never get to the stage where I have 47 of them again.

[David M]

That's a bloody impressive success rate, Jenny!

Don't reproach yourself - these butterflies are a wider habitat species so no ecological damage will have been done.