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Um, none of you butterfly lovin' peeps told me that they...
bleed! WTF?!
There is blood on the paper the chrysalis are hanging from. And blood on the mesh to the habitat.
And it makes me queasy when I look at it. Queasy not because of the blood but are they in pain!? *shivers*
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Re: Um, none of you butterfly lovin' peeps told me that they...
We might have some sacrificial butterflies?!
My sister, unknowingly, ordered the caterpillars for Joey for his birthday. Unknowingly meaning = she didn't even think about the darn weather. So off we go.
They are hatching now and it's been in the 60's this past week. It is supposed to get colder (in the 40's during the day) but I think they will be ok. I didn't overly research because I really don't want to know.
I don't know if they will survive in the habitat until spring (otherwise I would keep them until then) but we are going to release them probably sometime this week. We have three so far but there are still 5 or 6 other chrysalis in the habitat that are waiting to transform.
We don't have any flowers but I could get some from the grocery next time I go. It also said they like orange slices so I could do that. Right now, they have paper towel soaked in a sugar water mixture.
Maybe we'll just keep them in there until spring?! I don't know.
Curiosity just got the best of me:
Q: When should I release my butterflies?
A: Release your butterflies outside if the daytime temperature is above 55 degrees.
Q: Can I order butterflies at any time of year?
A: Yes. If you order in Winter, be prepared to keep the butterflies inside for their life cycle.
Q: How long will the butterflies live?
A: Their normal life span is 2 to 4 weeks.
Oh, and this too:
Q: What is the red liquid I see the butterflies excrete?
A: It is called meconium. It is the leftover coloring and tissues from the wing formation. It is not blood.
Wow! They only live 2 to 4 weeks?!
That's crazy! And kind of sad. But I guess we won't be releasing them. Although I'm not sure I want Joey waking up to find dead butterflies in his little habitat either.
So Lion King-ish! Life cycle at its best, right?! LOL
We kept ours for awhile, and one did end up dying in the cage - go figure, my DS thought it was "cool" that he could then keep the darn thing in a jar forever!!!
Yes, he still has it a year later.
Also, they love orange slices and watermelon, and if you do too good a job of keeping them happy, you'll see them start to lay tiny, light blue eggs everywhere. And then just a bit later, if you're "really" doing a *good* job, you'll see teeny-tiny caterpillars ALL OVER THE CAGE!
And then the process begins again - lol. DS was actually able to get two life cycles out of his one set of caterpillars (but we had the correct Mallow tree/plant that they like to eat).
Yeah, their life cycle is so short
I'd keep them for a couple of weeks, and then probably release them on a warm day before you have too many "reproductions" 
Haa haa!
You take my ovaries, I take your yarns.
OMG Hooray - you totally just cracked me up! That is not right...and so funny. And not right! LOL
You are such a good butterfly mommy!
I got oranges yesterday so I could give them a slice or two. I'll take care of them - but not that good. It's turning in to a goddamn zoo around here. And Cam was begging for a ferret at the pet store yesterday. We have two tree frogs, a bearded dragon and a pitbull/lab mix. And now (as of this afternoon) 5 butterflies! No more pets!
Jodi--do NOT do a ferret. We had several, and they're so cute and so much fun, but they smell. Like, SMELL. Bad. No matter how clean you are. And we're both OCD neat freaks. They make your whole house smell, too.
They're cute though. I kinda miss ours. But not the smell.