www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Blimey Pauline, Well done at finding the WA larva and thanks for your comments on my PD. It is great finding these beasties and the WA larva is very odd!! Good to see our interest expanding isn't it!!

badgerbob wrote:Good to see our interest expanding isn't it!!

Dead right. Immature stages is "where it's at"

Cheers,

- Pete

Thank you Bob. What is the next challenge you intend to set me

Pete Eeles wrote:
Dead right. Immature stages is "where it's at"

Cheers,

- Pete

Speaking of which, friends who have recently returned to their home in Crete purchased some larva for me as a leaving gift, some Black Hairstreak larva. I am not sure how I feel about this (especially given my lack of success with the other cats) but they are indeed pretty little cats and most interesting, changing significantly with each moult. My main concern is will I be allowed to release them in Hants as obviously they are not local?

Back to Purple and Brown. The Purple are definitely changing colour and it will be a delight and a relief when/if they finally emerge:
The Brown have been more problematical with a number of losses which at the moment I am attributing to slugs in the base of the plant pots which I assume have been picking them off overnight. Unfortunately the cats have chosen the drainage holes in the base of the pot to pupate rather than the moss and leaf litter which is what alerted me to the problem - too late sadly. I have managed to save a couple but only have 3 remaining in total:
I have been mulling over what I could have done differently/better and have come up with the following:

I’ve no doubt that there are many publications on the subject of hand-rearing butterflies and I now wish I had read some of them. ‘How hard can it be?’ I thought, feeling good at the thought of rescuing and ‘saving’ otherwise doomed Hairstreaks. I have made an awful lot of mistakes and to be honest it isn’t an experience I would rush to repeat. If ever there were a next time then hopefully I would be wiser and better prepared and perhaps more successful. For anyone thinking of embarking on this activity I have documented a few ‘lessons learnt’.

Number 1 – Know what the food plant is and be sure you can identify it correctly

Sounds obvious but having mistaken Hawthorn for Blackthorn I was lucky that Vince picked up on this from a photo. I thought I knew the difference but dissecting a bud proved conclusively that I had the wrong food plant.

Number 2 – Be sure that you have a ready supply of the food plant to hand.

It is surprising how a few hungry cats can decimate whole plants which may need to be replaced.

Number 3 – keep the cats secure

Even little cats can stray and can be the most difficult to relocate. Those cats looking to pupate might not find the prepared leaf litter to their taste and look for an alternative site. One PH cat found his way down a table leg and wedged himself into some ornate metalwork causing some consternation and a tricky little operation to get him out.

Number 4 – keep the temperature, light and humidity as natural as possible

I have kept my cats indoors mostly for my own convenience in watching them, photographing them and monitoring. However, it was not until Pete commented on the rate of their development that I realised that this was probably detrimental as they would be ‘out of step’ with their external cousins.

Number 5 – protect the cats from predators

This probably seems obvious but there seems to be a lot of risk from spiders, earwigs, slugs etc. Be aware that in some stages some cats are also cannibalistic.

Number 6 – Prepare the food plants properly before use

There is a lot of advice around on how to do this but I was unaware of the necessity, its importance and how to do it. The purpose is to ensure that there are no nasties lurking on the plant or in the soil waiting to consume the young cats. This is something I had entirely overlooked. I had long suspected that something was happening to my BH cats as their numbers continued to decrease. I convinced myself that they were just well camouflaged (even tho’ I spent hours inspecting every leaf) but I now believe there is a strong possibility that slugs (or similar) concealed in the drainage holes of the pots have been eating my cats overnight (only 3 left now).

Number 7 – ask, listen, take advice

There are folk out there who are very experienced and willing to help. My advice would be to use them to try to avoid some of the pitfalls and hopefully achieve a good result.

I am sure that there are other pitfalls which I have overlooked or have been lucky enough to avoid but I would urge anyone considering embarking on hand-rearing to consider carefully whether they are properly prepared.

Wise words, Pauline!

Even if only 3 of your BH survive to adulthood, that would stil beat the odds in the wild. I wonder if they can be artificially delayed, either in the pupal stage or after emergence (by keeping the adults torpid in a fridge for a week or two). I'm not recommending this, as I have no experience, but someone else might know. It would be a shame if their genes didn't go back into the pool - and not nearly so much fun for them, either!

Guy

Hi Pauline,

With reference to your comments about releasing Black Hairstreak in Hants, I would strongly discourage you. Releasing species that are not endemic to your area and which are of unknown genetic pedigree isn't a good idea. Next time I see you I'll explain why, to avoid having to write too much here. Do you have a conservatory or greenhouse you could keep them in? Retaining them in such a manner would give them the chance to be Black Hairstreaks without having to consider the only other responsible option, which I suspect you would find unpalatable. It's always a good idea to consider carefully, in advance, what you would do with any 'alien' (to region or country) species you either purchase or are given. Pathogens etc. are invisible.

Captive breeding does have its wider pitfalls and problems, including 'forcing' emergence times well in advance of the wild population, as many are experiencing at the moment. This means that the well meaning intention to save individual insects doesn't usually benefit the species. Of course there are many other reasons to breed Lepidoptera and I've personally got absolutely nothing against it, as long as it's done responsibly. I used to gain huge enjoyment from breeding hawk-moths as a kid. All kids should be encouraged to breed a few common species and marvel at the butterfly life-cycle. Apart from being an enthralling hobby there are also scientific lessons to be learned.

For those who are more concerned about 'saving butterflies', it will always be more effective to try and help species rather than individual insects. Time can be valuably invested during the winter months by joining work parties run by BC, the Wildlife Trusts and other conservation bodies. Those that do so will testify to the increased enjoyment provided by butterfly-watching when you've had a personal hand in their wellbeing.

In summary, I wouldn't for a moment try to discourage anyone from captive breeding, for whatever reason, but there are some quite tricky issues which may arise from doing so, which are always worth thinking about in advance.

BWs, Neil

Padfield wrote:I wonder if they can be artificially delayed, either in the pupal stage or after emergence (by keeping the adults torpid in a fridge for a week or two).

Good idea! However, I fear that cooling either the pupa or adult for an extensive period of time will ultimately cause the butterfly to perish. I'm unaware of any studies that have attempted this and drawn conclusions. Of the two (pupa or adult), I'd favour keeping the pupa in the fridge - although Brown Hairstreak really isn't designed for this (of course!). And given where we are (start of May), keeping them hanging on until the end of July is, I think, unrealistic.

Cheers,

- Pete

Neil raises some interesting points - many of which have been debated on these forums in the past. Given the number of "rescues" taking place each year (and members undertaking captive rearing in general) I'm intending to pull an article together that answers the many questions that members have (we can discuss on these forums before publishing anything) - both in terms of rearing tips as well as ethics. Vince has made a great start in putting across his advice in the past. But I think it's the latter (ethics) where we probably have as many opinions as members (!). There are at least 6 different themes in Neil's note alone that could be debated:

Releasing species that are not endemic to that area (and there's a relationship to coordinated introductions here)
Releasing species that are of unknown genetic pedigree
Captive rearing and pathogens (bacteria, viruses, disease in general etc.)
Keeping development times in sync with wild populations
The benefits of captive rearing
Captive rearing and its contribution (or not) to conservation

Cheers,

- Pete

Thank you all for your comments and ideas. I think pulling together some guidance is an excellent idea Pete as you must all get tired of being asked the same things over again. The 'care' section should not present a problem with all your combined experience and expertise but I wish you the best of luck with the 'ethics' debate. I was talking to a chap at Noar Hill a couple of weeks ago who regularly releases into the wild and last year released a dozen each of Large Tortoiseshell and European Swallowtail on the South coast! As you say, I expect you will encounter many views.

I wish I had been encouraged to do this half a century ago Neil but I have certainly got it out of my system now and am clear that I would rather be out in the wild with my camera. I have a selection of eggs in the garden (Orange Tip, Peacock) which I am monitoring but there they shall stay and will have to take their chance. Perhaps with time my views might change but I have found the experience a bit stressful.

I am astonished at the rate of development of my Black Hairstreak which I have only had for just over a week and they are already pupating. Of all my Hairstreaks they have been the most active - or perhaps it just seems that way as they feed during the day. A few shots from this morning:

Pauline wrote:Perhaps with time my views might change but I have found the experience a bit stressful.

I find that too, now and again ... because I treat everything I rear through as my "children" in that I have a responsibility for their welfare. As a result, it sometimes feels that the livestock gets more attention than my actual children

Cheers,

- Pete

Pity I missed the birth by about 5 mins

Fantastic! You have excelled yourself, Pauline.

I love the ones on plain grey background, especially the second, but they're all wonderful!

Mike

Hi Pauline

Well done on seeing the fruits of your first experience of rearing in captivity Excellent pictures especially the fifth one down for me However, I cant help but feel slightly sorry for this individual being born so prematurely (that is not meant as a criticism )

What joy, even if it is out of sync with its natural cousins.

Well done. You've followed it through from beginning to end and you must feel tremendously satisfied.

Fantastic images and huge congrats on the birth I hope the 'mother' is doing as well as the new born

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Lovely photos Pauline. Is that a male or female, and do you have others about to hatch? One question comes to mind on this subject; If you were able to release a male and female together, and they mated, I wonder what difference the additional two months would make, i.e. would the developing larvae be able to 'stretch it out' and still overwinter in the eggs as usual, or would they develop faster and hatch out at the wrong time? As you know we also have Purple Hairstreak pupae, a couple of which will hatch in about two weeks, and others to follow in about a month's time, and so would be interested to know if anyone has any thoughts on this?

Mike

I doubt that releasing just 2 adults into the wild will result in them finding each other! But assuming they do somehow mate, then any egg-lay would still occur as normal I suspect, but the ova would be prone to predation for a much longer period than normal.

I have 2 larvae at the mo, and the first has just emerged from the oak bud it had borrowed into, so it seems to be in sync with the wild populations.

Cheers,

- Pete

Thank you so much Mike. I am still trying to improve on my photography and in rearing these cats I have learned the importance of the timer on my camera (thanks Maximus) and the importance of good natural light. I now appreciate how annoying that slight breeze is that gently blows the back wings out of focus and that in the calm of indoors there is no way to capture that beautiful sheen and irridescence of brand new wings that look like they have been scattered with gold dust. I realise that I am lacking in imagination which means my composition is not always as good as it should be so I resort to using plants etc that I have previously seen the butterfly on in my garden to add interest and context. Even when presented with a steady, captive insect I am still not quick enough with the camera controls to get the shots I would like. In summary, I am sure I am learning but not sure the end result is improving

Thank you for the comments and compliments Paul/Wurzel/David. It is a relief that at least one has made it to adulthood, tho' I, too, regret that I didn't get the timing right.

If you hadn't asked that question Mike then I would have done as it was exactly what I was wondering. Thank you for your response to this Pete. This butterfly I believe is a male Mike and I have several others that look like they are ready to emerge. I shall keep in touch on this. I took a few more shots early this morning as I was determined to get an open-winged shot so as the early morning sun streamed through the window .......

More fantastic shots Pauline, especially the open wing - it's really tricky to get those in the wild

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Congrats from me Pauline. Purple Hairstreaks are not an easy 'starter' rearing species and,although a little out of sinc with wild PH,you have given them the chance to go through their life-cycle,which they would never have had otherwise. I think you can be proud of a jolly good job done.