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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2016 6:44:54 GMT -8
Nice set up....wish I had one like it.
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Post by timmsyrj on Apr 16, 2016 6:59:48 GMT -8
Cheers Bill, it's taken awhile to get back into breeding again due to work, and back then I wished I'd done things a little differently so hopefully this will amend my mistakes back then. these should form a wall of violets from floor to ridge height (4ft) for my fritillaries The first residents, silver washed fritillary larvae More mixed grass (molehills) seeded with 5 types of grass to breed some British and European satyridae and hesperidae. Wall pouches of nasturtiums are for Pieris species Wych elms for White Letter Hairstreak if I can find some, they are only 2ft tall at the moment so need to establish a bit yet. Rich
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2016 8:06:04 GMT -8
Just a couple of things regarding rearing of these guys. I poke toothpick holes through small styrofoam paper plates just big enough to put a single small violet petiole through. I usually, for first and second instar, just poke three or four holes. Then I cover them w plastic or glass jars as the pic shows. This is a variation of the idea Tom Payne had.....he uses heavy coffee filters instead of plates. It works, but I didn't like the sag that slowly develops. The plates remain firm so the edges of the jar seal the edge from those little stray crawlers. Also, pull the petioles through until the beginning of the leaf (getting larger than the petiole) plugs any gaps thus preventing any tiny larva from crawling down and ddrowning. Next pic shows how I prevent violet petiole curl. It seems that when the petioles are stuck through the toothpick holes, they tend to curl upward and eventually actually out of the water resulting in a no good leaf. So I slip a one inch piece of plastic straw over the pieces that go in the water. This prevents that curl and keeps the petioles in the water. Also, I planted in pots three dozen young Violet's and am growing them outside. This will enable me to put a live planted pot or two in the cage when I'm away from home on a collecting trip. Just wanted to share my thoughts since I'm again rearing several species of Speyeria. Tom's opening posting is indeed spot on and he has had great success with his techniques. Good luck to all who endeavor to rear this group. Time consuming they are, but rewarding they are as well.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2016 8:16:00 GMT -8
Here are my potted plants. I've tried doing this later in the season, but doing it now seems to put less stress on the plants. Doing the cut leaf thing when I'm away is nearly impossible to ask of my wife. She already lets me use a spare bedroom as a rearing room......nice wife she is.
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Post by timmsyrj on Apr 22, 2016 5:43:37 GMT -8
What species of violets are you using Bill, mine are garden bedding plants that the silver washed fritillaries are eating ( Viola tricolour) but I am raising seedlings of Viola odorata which is a perennial violet that gets quite large for this family, our local violets are Viola canina ( dog violets ) but they are small very sparse plants that wouldn't last long with larger larvae, certainly with the numbers I'm hoping to raise each year.
Rich
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2016 7:15:49 GMT -8
Rich,
Near as I can tell, I have narrowed what I have growing in the yard to one of these three. V. papilionacaea V. soroia V. odorata
My gut says they're the first or second one. I'll have to check into this more. My books and even Internet are perplexing for a positive ID.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2016 8:06:52 GMT -8
In the yard, there appear to possibly be two sp. of Viola. The pic shows the types (one marked in red and one in yellow). The differences are subtle. The top ones have not yet started to bloom, but the lower ones are blooming plenty. The lower ones are leaves with a slightly thicker and slightly darker leaf color than the above. It may be the same species growing at different stages. These are all over the yard and spread invasively.....although I don't mind....if u know what I mean.
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Post by mothman27 on Apr 22, 2016 13:28:25 GMT -8
Do the female adults need nectar to breed, or does it just produce more eggs? How many violets are needed approximately per caterpillar?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2016 16:05:07 GMT -8
Yes, the females nectar frequently prior to laying ova. They emerge with a preset number of ova. How many Violet's per larva is nearly impossible to determine......big vs small leaves, how many leaves per plant .....I've never counted, just kept an ample supply available as needed.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2016 16:09:37 GMT -8
My go to guy for Speyeria says my violets are probably V. sororia, but many consider V. sororia to be syn. with V. papilionacaes.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2016 18:16:50 GMT -8
Thought you might like to see some early instar pics of a few S. diana larvae. They are about 3-4 mm in length.
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Post by mothman27 on Apr 28, 2016 10:41:37 GMT -8
Potted a good amount of violets hoping to get some ova this summer. - V. sororia.
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Post by mothman27 on Apr 28, 2016 11:07:35 GMT -8
If anyone gets Diana ova I would be interested because I'm out of their range. I'll most likely be raising S. cybele. Nice larva Bill.
Thank you.
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Post by mothman27 on Apr 28, 2016 11:25:42 GMT -8
Is it true that S. idalia is illegal to collect in Indiana?
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Post by mothman27 on Sept 8, 2016 12:15:27 GMT -8
Well, I am going to give these a try. I received some Speyeria cybele leto ova. I have about 20 potted violet plants. Do you think it would matter if they are different species? I am not sure what species they are. They have pretty large leaves, some are over 2" across. I am guessing they are V. sororida because I have found in the same area some "freckles" variety.
Thanks for this information to get me interested
Tim
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