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firegurl

look who hatched on my desk!!

firegurl
17 years ago

A week ago I was cleaning all of the old leaves from my garden. I found a little green spiky coccoon on the underside of some dead leaves on my clary sage. So I put the coccoon on a tray with some leaves and brought it inside and placed it in a cool place near my desk. Well a few days later I could see the yellow wings through the coccoon and then one night I came home and there was this guy or girl hanging out crawling around. it has spots on the wings like a cabbage butterfly...can anyone identify. Well I'm really excited, this is the first butterfly I've seen hatch, and when I let him go he flew straight to the garden. Yeah!!

:) Firegurl

Danielle

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Comments (10)

  • susanlynne48
    17 years ago

    Awwwww. Looks like Larry_Gene's favorite butterfly, firegurl! The Cabbage White! I never find cocoons just by looking thru the leaves. What up?

    Susan

  • firegurl
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Isn't he cute! I thought he was a cabbage white, I just didn't think they were so yellow. I found him attached to the underside of the leaf, I never would have seen it if I hadn't been cleaning out the gardens for winter sowing.
    :) Danielle
    Firegurl

  • emmayct
    17 years ago

    Danielle,

    I've noticed that some of the later season cabbage white here are somewhat yellow with very minimal markings. In fact, I have a picture of one from last year, looking very similar.

    Right now, I have about 30 cabbage white cats on a few ornamental cabbage. They have totally eaten the leaves and are desperately trying to eat the stems. Every day I check to see whats's happening. Today, many started moving off the plants (what little is left) and are wandering around that small part of the garden.
    I have never once seen a cabbbage white chrysalis even though they are probably the most common butterfly in CT.

  • firegurl
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Hi Emma,

    It's funny because I thought it was going to be a sulfur. The butterfly started showing yellow through the chrysalis b4 hatching. I am from CT too. I just moved to Los Angeles a year or so ago...small world. I bet they are all on the undersides of the leaves. It looked like it had attached itself to the leaf midvein and it was pretty small too. I wouldn't have even noticed it unless I had been cleaning out the dead leaves.
    :) Danielle
    Firegurl

  • butterfly_pixie
    17 years ago

    What a cutie pie! Cabbage farmers would probably hate me, but I raise host plants for these guys....I grow spider flowers (Cleome) and they lay eggs all over the leaves, but they leave the flowers alone for me to enjoy. I used to grow cabbage for them, but they get stinky as they age in the garden and attract big wasps that eat my baby caterpillars :(
    Last fall I found two cabbage white chrysalises attached to the posts on my car port. I brought them in the house and they emerged a week later. So cute!

    Judy
    www.ButterflyNature.com

  • emmayct
    17 years ago

    Wow, Judy, that's great. Maybe I'll bring in a few of my cats just to watch. I'll be going through winter butterfly withdrawal soon. Maybe raising a white or two will help.

    Danielle, happy to meet you. Keep posting here it's a fun forum. You can listen to me whine about it being winter here in CT and having no butterflies for the next four or five months!

    I'll keep looking for them to form chrysalises, but there are no more leaves on the cabbage now, they ate 'em all.

    How do you like LA?

    Maryann

  • firegurl
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Judy-That's really funny, those little guys will latch on anywhere I guess. The cabbage farmers will never know, it's your little secret ;)

    Maryann-Don't mind me calling you Emma, just assumed it was your name. Nice to meet you too. I really like this forum so far its one of my favorites. Everyone is really friendly and excited here. Hopefull I have more pictures soon to hold you over through your winter. So far I have a love-hate relationship with LA. But I'm not complaining there are definite positives and the weather is great. but I am a northern new england girl at heart.
    :) Firegurl
    Danielle

  • emmayct
    17 years ago

    Danielle,

    Emma, MA, Maryann...it doesn't matter, I answer to them all.

    At work they call me M.A., so when deciding on a member name I choose emmay. All the easy names starting with MA were taken....

    The weather here has been particularly balmy. Yesterday was 65 today only 55 but still ok. We did loose all our nectar plants to freezes in early Nov, though.

    Only thing blooming in my yard are a few fall pansies and some awesome superbena Verbena.

  • firegurl
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Well that's pretty warm for CT in mid-Nov. I was home in early Oct and it was cold enough for me. it was nice to see the leaves change though. Do you winter sow your butterfly seeds?
    :) Firegurl

  • emmayct
    17 years ago

    Nope, most I start in early march in a sunny window then move to my makeshift hoop/greenhouse when weather permits.

    I've toyed with the idea of winter sowing, I'll have to hit the forum for that one day.

    Our weather has been mild, Never much below 30 at night, but today was cool, only in the 40's. Sometimes, by now, the ground is frozen solid.

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