“It's a boy,” I proudly announced when I saw the newly eclosed butterfly in August 2016.
We had been given a tiny Alder Buckthorn complete with a single Brimstone pupa. Shielded from predators, we watched the pupa change colour as the birth, which of course we missed, approached.
In the spring of 2017, the tiny tree burst into leaf and we waited, daring to hope that Mrs B would pay us a visit.
On 10th May, she arrived, inspected the Alder Buckthorn, found it satisfactory and proceeded to lay about 2 dozen eggs, the whole process filmed and photographed with great excitement.
Over the next 2 weeks, the pale green, pillar shaped eggs darkened and on the 23rd, the minute larvae appeared, leaving empty shells behind.
Despite colouring which closely matched the tender young leaves and the habit of resting along the central vein, the caterpillars fell victim to predation, mostly to Harlequin Ladybird larvae.
Few of the 24 survived but others were brought in from another source, again only to be lost to predators. We took 10 inside, the only way we thought, to ensure survival and of course to make photography easier, hopefully to include eclosion.
Each stage of development was photographed, including the sloughing of old skins, feeding, the angled posture at rest, the frenzy of pupation.
We learnt a lot during the metamorphosis, filming feeding, resting and moults. We saw the weaving of the silken pads to which the larvae attach themselves with the cremaster at the base of their tails. We saw how the larvae carefully create the silken slings, the girdles which support their bodies during pupation. We witnessed prolegs shrinking, thoraxes thickening and bodies curling as they prepared for the changes to come and the astonishingly powerful abdominal contractions during the transformation from caterpillar to pupa. Then the wait, until the pupae lightened revealing the wings and antennae within the chrysalis.
We missed 7 births, despite spending hours pupae watching. But on 8th July, success: 2 eclosions within 10 minutes, a boy followed by a girl.
Then the thrill of watching the wings inflate as blood pumped through the veins, slowly hardening, revealing the glory of the Brimstone imago. Once released, only the empty chrysalises and the cast off crumpled skins of the final, transforming moults remained.
Jim & I have raised and released hundreds of moths & butterflies over the years, but this was special, a wonderful experience. Neither of us had ever seen a Brimstone ovipositing, we had never seen an egg, never even seen a caterpillar.
Penny could not have anticipated the hours of pleasure she brought us when she left that little tree...
Thank you so very much, Penny, for a generous gift and a marvellous adventure
2017
100517
070118
FZ1000
j
Thank you both. A few summers ago we released about 500 Peacock butterflies over a 5 day period. That was brilliant and wonderful, but Brimstones are fussy eaters, no nettles for them, and we didn't have the larval food. It was absolutely magical for 2 months, watching, waiting, stills, video, missing births...and then 2 together, caught on video.
You are right, Rachel, if you don't see Brimstones settle it's very difficult to find them.
Thank you both once again.
j
j
We'd never had Brimstones before so 2017 was very special for us and we really did learn a great deal. Hopefully we'll do even more this year, raising a few more and getting better images. With luck other species too. Read about Cotesia Glomerata, there could be photos - but not for the faint hearted!
j