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At 21h00 this evening I cycled down to the woods to check on Plotina, my purple emperor chrysalis. I have to do this every day until she colours up, so I don't miss her big moment. Disaster has struck. The woodmen have cut down her copse. They have been along the ride, indiscriminately destroying everything in their way, including almost all the sallow where she lives, leaving just huge piles of brushwood. No more will female purple emperors strike there ... However, by a mercy or miracle, the branch she is on was missed and she is apparently still healthy. The copse is gone around her and she is inches from cut and fallen trees - so very vulnerable. I suspect the balance of shade she struck when pupating is now broken. SO, I think I have to bring her home and let her complete her metamorphosis in my house. This is where I need advice.

Should I take just her leaf, placing it carefully in a protective box for transport, or should I take the whole branch and try to keep it alive?

If I take just the leaf, can I then stick it to some vertical surface, like card, and not worry that it will wilt (she is at least 10 days old, so will emerge before it actually rots)?

I have nothing appropriate to keep her in. One possibility, so she can experience diurnal photoperiods, is to put her in a large glass jar, kept out of any direct sunlight and so at room temperature. When she was ready to emerge I would let her do so into my room, then take her back down to the woods.

If I take the whole branch, can I 'plant' it in my living room and just keep an eye on it every day?

Of course, I have a proper butterfly net and can safely catch her without harm if she takes off into my house.

Advice sought now as I have to act at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning, before any more work is done in the woods...

Guy

Guy,
As a vet,not trained in such matters!,I would try and mimic nature as much as possible.In other words take the whole branch,plant in a large pot in your room and keep moist.The leaf and branch should last sometime then,and keep the humidity o.k.,with dampness around the base.Make sure the room is kept free from dogs and cats,and dark at night.
That I feel is a start in these urgent times,but on butterfly farms I have seen large numbers of chrysalises pinned up but they are kept in a controlled environment.
Best of luck.
P.J.

Guy, I would just take a small sprig, including a woody piece of stem. It should be fine if put in a vase and should easily last until she hatches. When the pupa starts to colour-up you then have the option of removing the leaf and pinning it to a vertical surface. Mist the pupa with pure water every other day and keep it in a naturally-lit room, but out of direct sunlight. Try to avoid keeping it in container, but if it needs to be protected then a net curtain-type material would be good. Netting would also prevent her escaping into the house if she hatches when you at not at home. Pete may have some more advice.

Good luck and keep us advised

Vince

Thank you both. It will be easier to transport a smaller cutting so that's what I'll do.

I'll keep you posted - and please keep any advice coming!

Guy

All good advice. Here's my reply to an email from Guy:

My advice would be to take the twig or branch (not just the leaf) so that you can easily fix this in place so that the pupa can remain hanging down (this is important!) and emerge naturally. You don't need the sallow to stay alive since the leaf will be "green" and, even if the leaf dies, I can't imagine it would dry out enough for it to fall from the twig. Any supporting mechanism will be fine so long as the pupa is dangling down, and she has enough space below her to fully-inflate her wings. But I wouldn't place the twig over a jar for the simple reason that the sides are too slippy for her to crawl up if she falls off the pupal case/leaf while inflating her wings. I think a cardboard box with netting (or an old shirt, or whatever can be used for her to climb up) would be a better bet as a supporting structure.

Also - make sure she's in a shaded area away from direct sunlight, since any overheating could kill ker.

In my experience, most iris emerge early morning and here's another tip - don't disturb her for at least 2 hours after her wings have been fully inflated or until she's flying of her own accord. Accidentally disturbing her before her wings have fully dried can result in her flapping her damp wings in a frenzied manner, which might result in severe wing damage, such as a broken vein.

Cheers,

- Pete

Thank you for this, Pete.

I got down to the woods first thing this morning, hoping I could convince myself it wouldn't be necessary to move her. Unfortunately, there was no choice. All the leaves and branches protecting her from the early morning sun had gone so she would be exposed to direct sunlight for about an hour or maybe more (I got there before the sun reached her). Her branch looked very naked and vulnerable, right next to the felled branches and trees. So I took her.

Here is what used to be her home:



In fact, the destruction is not so extensive as I remembered and there are sallows left off the path, in the shade, so in a year or two this might become a striking place again.

This is the last picture I will take of her in her natural environment. I had to use flash:



And in her new home:



The packing tape all over the brandy bottle is to hold the branch horizontal, as in nature, so she can hang just as she did before.



It looks as though she is against the wall but in fact she is well away from it.

We will see if all this has damaged her in any way. She has survived violent thunderstorms and winds in the wild, so if she wasn't actually struck during the felling she should be OK.

Guy

She is definitely still alive. I misted her, as Vince suggested, and when a puff of mist caught her from a bit too close she wriggled violently, as they do when you touch them.

Guy

Looks perfect to me, Guy! Nice job!

One other thing - iris pupae don't "colour up" like other species, and you'll barely notice the wings through the pupal case, but the markings are just about discernible to give you an indication of impending emergence. Here's a male pupa the day before it emerged:
Cheers,

- Pete

Guy,
I am so glad that you spotted her and have rescued her. She has been so lucky not to have been chopped down and now she is in good hands. I look forward to hearing how she gets on.

Thanks, Nick.

I've given her the best chance, I think, though it remains to be seen whether she will emerge alive ...

I do hope she does soon, as I'm living without lights until she does!

Guy

I think tomorrow will be the day. I got up at 06h00 today, intending to go off to Geneva for admirals and emperors, but found Plotina looked very like Pete's picture, with white spots just visible through the wing cases. She didn't look like that last night, so I suspected it wouldn't be this morning - nevertheless I cancelled the day trip and decided to work at home. It wouldn't do to come back from Geneva to find a battered purple emperor flapping against the windows ...

Even as I sit and watch, the colours seem to be changing, though the day is lightening and shadows are moving so it could be an illusion. What miraculous things are going on in there ...

Guy

I stayed at home all day, noticing 'Plotina' gradually turn a deeper and deeper hue, and seem to be straining at the seams. Then, at about 14h00 I decided to make use of the sunshine and go looking for lesser marbled fritillaries - which I duly found. Just to be on the safe side, I left the video camera running, pointed at 'Plotina'. I left it covering a fairly wide angle, in case 'she' emerged and moved around - I didn't want her wandering off picture!

This is what I came home to:



That picture was taken from some distance, with flash, as Pete had advised me against disturbing the emergee before about two hours had elapsed.

The video shows the whole thing. It begins with the sound of me leaving and closing the door. Then, 15 mins 30 secs later, the package swells and a great blue, hairy thing pushes out of the bottom. It turns, climbs up onto the pupal case, then pumps up its wings, and before long is hanging, drying its wings. Brilliant! The video itself is not high quality - I took it with my old Sony Handycam - but the content is everything I could have hoped for!

And it's definitely Trajan, not his wife! Here's a frame from the video:


(I stuck a photo of his woods, where he had lived and pupated, onto the wall behind - I thought it would make better video)

I'm off to church shortly, when I will put Trajan into a dark box in the fridge (Pete's suggestion). He will have had over two hours hanging, wings fully expanded. Tomorrow, at sunrise,I will take him to the woods, where he can worship Phoebus an hour or two and then take to the air!

Guy

Quick update: Trajan started getting restless and walking all over my desk so as it was still warm outside, and as I'm the minister in church tonight, so can get there late if I want (!), I cycled him down to the woods and liberated him in a suitable place. Bye bye Trajan. Pictures and video will follow.

Guy

Congratulations! Is that the first you have released as an adult? Must be a fantastic feeling

Mike

Congrats on the birth - nice job I hope you enjoy having lighting tonight

Cheers,

- Pete

Just had to log in again Guy to say great job and looking forward to more pictures. You must be well chuffed and rightly so

Thanks Mike, Pete and Pauline (sorry Pauline - I hadn't seen your message for some reason when I wrote this up)! It is wonderful to know I saved Trajan but the happiness is clouded by the sight of all the fallen sallow in the woods. And yes - he's the first emperor that hasn't died on me or disappeared!

For technical reasons it's taking longer than I had hoped to publish the video clip so here are some photos of Trajan in the meantime:


(First steps)




(Trajan begins to get restless...)


(Preparing for release)


(Neither of us really wants to say goodbye)


(He looks terribly vulnerable)


(Now I have to turn my back and walk away. If I didn't have a sermon to preach I would have stayed there until nightfall)

Guy

Nice story Guy. You did the right thing.

Although the wings can be fully expanded within minutes of leaving the pupa, larger Butterflies like these need about 24 hours to fully harden off. If they take flight before the wings have dried out, the wings can fracture near the base and they can never recover.

Time and again I have seen large areas of habitat destroyed and if they ever recover, it takes decades. Some never do.

Congratulations Guy!
It must be a nice feeling knowing that he may sire future generations of butterflies. When you see Purple Emperors in those woodlands in future years they may be the progeny of Trajan!

Thank you, CC and Nick. He's fit, strong and beautiful, so I'm sure he will find himself a mate and pass his genes on to posterity!

Mind you, so am I, and I haven't ...

Guy