B- fly rearing, was b-fly releases at events

[Anne Kilmer]

I think the best thing for the butterflies ... and the rest of us ... is
to preserve and restore habitat wherever possible. 
If you're gardening anyway, planting nectar and larval host plants is
highly desirable. Planting host plants for uncommon butterflies, in
areas where they might come hunting for them, is also desirable. 
If, however, you take all eggs and larvae into your house, lab or
whatever, feed the larvae, and then release them in your garden, you may
be disabling the mechanism that selects bright, careful caterpillars. 
We are talking, here, not of one person doing this, but many thousands. 
You are also removing a major source of food for predators which you
need in your garden. 
If your neighbors are using insecticides, herbicides etc., the bugs you
release won't go far, will they. 
What I'm doing, in my neck of the woods, is persuading the schools,
hospitals, churches, parks etc. to grow butterfly plants, quit spraying,
all that sort of stuff. We have kid-gardeners in the state parks. 
It hasn't solved the problem of overdevelopment. It hasn't solved the
asphaltization of Florida. But a few condominiums are planting to
attract wildlife, and I was recently asked to help a developer design an
acre of butterfly garden (Don't touch it till I have a look at it, I
said, for there may be good stuff there already). 
We find that, when you plant the right things, the butterflies come find
you. 
We're planting green corridors of larval hosts connecting small
populations of endangered critters, so that they can spread naturally. 
School children can see the miracle of metamorphosis in their own
gardens,  from the moment that  the butterfly lays her eggs to the
moment that the next generation flies.
Amd they're outside, where they belong. 
My granddaughter's second grade class released their Painted Ladies in
November, in Maryland ... ecologically sound, but perhaps a bit
hard-hearted? 

The reason that there are strict laws about transporting and releasing
butterflies in the U.S. is that we demanded them, planned them with the
USDA and discussed their application. Paul Cherubini will recall, for
instance, the summer when he provided The Butterfly Guy with wild-caught
Texas butterflies to release ... was it in Washington State on July 4? 
That move, objected to by many subscribers to this list, triggered a
revision of the federal laws. 

Too many people are free to despoil the country I love. I don't want the
government to do it, and I don't want you, my friends, to do it. We can
freely express our love of wildlife, teach children, excite the public
without risking further ecological disaster. 



starlight1005 at webtv.net wrote:
> 
> Where I live in Wisconsin there were once acres of habitat for the
> butterflies but,that is quickly being replaced by housing developments.
> So wouldn't the raise & release of butterflies be benefitial? There is
> less and less milkweed around here for the Monarchs to lay eggs on
> so,isn't raising them helping them? What happens as the food for the
> caterpillars diminishes?
> 
> Teresa
A short answer: plant larval host plants and let nature take it from
there. Not just milkweed, but plants for all the butterflies that might
come your way. Your ag agent has a list. If not, take care of that. 
 Cheers
Anne Kilmer
South Florida