Pet Butterfly

Common Name: Butterfly and moth. Many species, such as Small Tortoise shell Butterfly and Cinnabar Moth.

Scientific Name: Many, such as Aglaia urtica and Callimorpha jacobaeae

Distribution: Worldwide, apart from polar regions

Habitat: Almost everywhere that plants are to be found

Adult Size: 0.5-23 cm(1/4-9 in)

General: There are enormous numbers of species of butterflies and moths though, like many animals, the populations are decreasing, usually as a direct result of the intervention of humans. Moths are usually nocturnal and have antennae of different forms, frequently feathery, and in repose they lay their wings horizontally on the back. Butterflies are generally diurnal, have antennae that look rather like matchsticks, with a knob on the end, and rest with their wings held vertically.

Many species of butterfly and moth can be maintained in captivity. Native species are easier than those from the tropics which need high temperatures and humidity. Life spans of adults vary between a few weeks and several months. Some species hibernate.

Food: Adult butterflies and some moths feed on nectar from flowers. This can be supplied in captivity by soaking a piece of sponge rubber in a sugar solution and letting the pet butterfly stand on it whereupon it will usually feed. Some adult moths do not feed. Larvae feed on the leaves of plants. Each species has its specific food plant, or sometimes a choice of two or three, and they will not eat anything else. The best way of feeding the larvae is to put a potted specimen of the food plant in the cage, but note that you may well need more than one. Do not buy a plant from a garden centre or nursery as they will have been treated with pesticides and your precious caterpillars will die. Grow the food plant yourself without using any chemicals. This may well mean that you have to anticipate the purchase of your larvae by a year Butterflies and moths are usually bought as pupae, or sometimes larvae. It is no use buying live adults - they are just too delicate.

Food plants of some of the common butterflies:

• Brimstone
• Buckthorn
• Chequered Skipper
• Slender false brome grass
• Comma Elm, nettle, hop
• Large White Brassicas
• Orange Tip
• Hedge mustard, sweet rocket
• Peacock Stinging nettle
• Red Admiral Stinging nettle
• Small Tortoiseshell Stinging nettle

Housing: Butterflies and moths are best housed in small cages made of nylon or terylene netting, or in a sleeve on a branch of a suitable tree. Do not keep them in a glass tank, as any moisture on the glass will cause the insects' wings to stick to the tank if they touch it and death will result from this accident.

Breeding: Some species of butterfly and moth breed far more easily than others. However, if you obtain a number of pupae when they emerge as adults in the spring you ought to find some of them mating soon afterwards. Very shortly after that the female will lay her eggs on the food plant, and a week or two later the tiny cater-pillars will hatch. They will probably eat the egg shells and then commence feeding on the edge of a leaf. They continue to grow until in late summer they pupate. Where they do this depends on the species, some bury themselves into peat on the floor of the cage, and others attach themselves to part of the plant or a suitable flat surface. In the spring the adults will emerge from the pupil cases and climb up a vertical twig to hang quietly while they inflate their wings.