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daveandtara · Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:59 pm Post subject: the caterpillar project.

Cabbage whites lurve my garden Confused

Naughty little pests they may be, but sooooo beautiful!
what to do?

Why, share of course Very Happy

So we collected the leaves with eggs on, and put them in a bucket. We fed the resultant caterpillars on 'spare' brassica leaves and took them on daytrips to school Laughing

They were VERY hungry caterpillars...shed their skins....and now we have crysalises (or whatever the word is Embarassed

) 42 of them to be exact Shocked

erm...how long do they take to hatch please....and is the woods a good release site? not a lot of cabbage there I'll grant you but will they be okay with stinging nettles and such?

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redimp · Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 9:57 pm Post subject:

Take them to Southend and they can eat sea kale.

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wardy · Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 10:34 pm Post subject:

Have you picked a release site yet then Very Happy

Remember to take pics Very Happy

daveandtara · Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 10:55 pm Post subject:

they're still crysalisisissisisisisi Laughing

no clue how long they take to hatch Confused

and I'm not driving all the way to blimmin southend either Rolling Eyes

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PennyB · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 7:11 am Post subject:

According to my butterfly book - both the large white and small white hibernate as a chrysalis - so they prolly won't hatch 'til next April Shocked

Lots of time to choose a release site then Very Happy

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daveandtara · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 2:05 pm Post subject:

well, that's f*#%ed it Rolling Eyes

the last generation of the season it says, overwinter as crys.....you know what I mean Rolling Eyes

but, they also say first generation in may/june second generation august/september but mine are the july generation so they don't actually exist Confused

......

I need a lie down Shocked

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daveandtara · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 1:49 pm Post subject:

and so (as mentioned on another thread) the flutterbys fluttered off, but not before thanking Sophie for her help Wink

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....and we've found a whole load more creepies (Sophie goes hunting in the mornings) so the whole cycle has begun again Laughing

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lily · Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 7:12 am Post subject:

Awwww

Looks like Sophie could be the next David Attenborough Very Happy

Flowerlady · Joined: 15 Jan 2006 Posts: 3361 Location: Herts

But I bet if it fluttered into her face she would scream!! Laughing

Wonderful to see that you were able to keep the cycle going T ! Razz

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I love my vegetable garden. So here is my sad ballad: I nurtured it for months, And ate it in one salad!

wardy · Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:27 pm Post subject:

She'll be able to do a "hot spot" at school all about it Very Happy

Looks like she's really into all that sorta stuff. The garden is as good a place as any to learn

SeedQueen · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 604

Bless her. I love all that sort of thing Very Happy

loobytoo · Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:35 pm Post subject:

Awwww, I bet she loved that that butterfly landed on her hand! What a lovely project with a happy ending Very Happy

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daveandtara · Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 4:08 pm Post subject:

they nearly ALL landed on her hand Shocked

she's weird like that, our Sophie Confused

we just got back from a fete where she held a couple of owls. the big barn owl was playing up but she got hold of him and he calmed right down straight away. The bloke on the stall said she was a 'natural'. He seemed very surprised at the effect she had Confused

I reckon it's cos animals can sense the awesome power of her dark side Twisted Evil

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loobytoo · Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 8:04 pm Post subject:

Looks a bit damp there Confused

Tis persisting down here, still - that's a solid 10 hours now Evil or Very Mad

Someone said she's abudding David (Davina?) Attenborough and I reckon they're right Very Happy

Josh has that affinity with animals too, mind you I am realising 13yo boys can be quite simian in their habits so that's hardly surprising really Laughing

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I'm not big on high maintenance - when it's time to bow out, I'll skid in sideways, in a wrecked, wrinkly and burned out body, wine in one hand, chocolate in the other, yelling "Woooohoooo, what a ride that was!!!!"