CURRENT PUPAE - Chrysalides and cocoons
If you are a beginner and need information on rearing from small caterpillars, or hatching out pupae, please order the All Colour Paperback BUTTERFLIES. INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT SENT WITH EACH SPECIES, you need to acquire basic skills and this book is a simple way of doing so.
Giant Birdwing Ornithoptera priamus PUPA
These have been bred for us in limited numbers. There is hardly anything more exotic than having these magnificent giants emerge in your own home!
Pupae are difficult to sex so we cannot guarantee the sexes. To breed Ornithoptera priamus you need to be set up with growing Aristolochia tagala, and to have a tropical greenhouse, but you can hatch the adults from the pupa in the same cages as you ordinarily use, kept rather warmer than normal indoor temperature. 30 degrees C is ideal.
The adults need nectar flowers, which need regular changing. Buddliea at this time of year is ideal. In the wild the butterflies live for weeks on end. In captivity, they need fresh nectar flowers daily and some misting in the cage. They may live quite a few days but not several weks.
The pupae are very large indeed, many times the size of other Papilionidae pupae. Hang them pinned against netting sides of a cage and keep misted daily until the butterflies emerge.
We cannot send outside
Pupae of Ornithoptera priamus £16.50 each. Available NOW. Only very few left right now. Then we will book orders for the next consignment late winter.
English Swallowtail Papilio machaon britannicus 3 pupae
Pupae of English Swallowtail are seldom available.
This unique race, unlike its European counterpart, lives only in fenland and it now occurs only on certain Norfolk Broads. The butterfly's markings are distinctly darker and the colouring richer. Larvae are easy to rear on Fennel, Carrot tops, the flowers of Parsnip (wild and cultivated) or on its fenland food plant Milk Parsley Peucedanum palustre. There is a partial second brood in late summer. Winter is passed in the pupal stage. This is one of the most beautiful of our butterflies, certainly
3 pupae English Swallowtail £30.00
The Festoon Zerynthia polyxena
A delicate spring butterfly in the Swallowtail family Papilionidae. The larvae (which are like minatures of Birdwing larvae) feed on Birthwort Aristolochia clematitis.
Spicebush Swallowtail Papilio troilus
A large swallowtail from the Eastern parts of
Papilio machaon hippocrates
Few people outside the far east have bred this oriental subspecies of machaon. It breeds much like the European species. It will feed on Rue, as well as Fennel, Parsnip and Carrot tops and flowers, and certain other Umbelliferae.
These are dormant pupae which can be hatched out immediately, or refrigerated until required.
There are two broods. Summer brood butterflies are considerably larger.
Papilio maackii
A very exotic pupa and one of the most beautiful moss-green Swallowtails in the world. These pupae are dormant and can be stored refrigerated until required, or they can be put into the emerging cage immediately.
The larvae feed on Citrus leaves. There are two broods. The summer brood produces even larger butterflies!
Even for those who do not breed such species, Papilio maackii is a real joy to behold!
WORLD SWALLOWTAIL PUPA COLLECTION 10 pupae
These are very varied in shape, size, colour and pattern. They are mostly tropical or sub-tropical and for emergence they need a warm, moist temperature in the region of 30 degrees.
The pupae are best suspended from a stick, but the butterflies will usually emerge even if the pupae are laid flat, as long as they are on a rough and clean surface. To suspend, apply a very small amount of contact adhesive to the stick - excess glue can kill the pupa, so be careful. As the glue is setting, on a horizontal surface, apply the tail of the pupa to the glue, and leave to dry, before allowing the pupae to hang. A warm greenhouse, containing nectar plants is not only the best environment for the adult butterflies, but provides the ideal atmosphere for emergence from the pupa. The emerging cage must be in the shade - direct sunlight is too harsh.
These are some of the loveliest butterflies of all butterflies. They come, unlabelled, ready to emerge and surprise you. Some may form up and emerge within a few days, others may take a month or more. When possible ten different species will be supplied.
Photos on this site are representative and, as there are so many species, your collection may have any of the possible species, not necessarily those illustrated.
World Collection of Exotic Butterflies
From several world regions and families. Un-labelled, selected for beauty and interest.
Provide warmth and humidity that the pupae normally experience in the tropics and sub tropics. About 30°C is ideal, and humidity above 70%. The butterflies like a warm greenhouse containing nectar plants, and this is the best place also for the emerging cage for the pupae. Shade the cage from direct sun which is too harsh.
It’s a good idea to suspend the pupae. To do this, use a stick or wooden rod held horizontally. Apply a very thin line of contact adhesive eg Evostick along the rod. Lay the rod on a table and, when it is tacky but not yet set hard, touch the tails of the pupae on the line of glue. Warning: excess glue actually kills the pupa, so use just a very thin line. When the glue has set you can pick up the stick, with all the pupae hanging vertically from it.
If you don’t wish to suspend the pupae they can be laid on corrugated card. The surface must remain clean and rough. For hygiene the corrugated card needs to be replaced every few days.
Illustrations are representative: yours may not be these species as there are so many to choose from - good value is always assured. When possible 10 different species will be sent.
Monarch Butterfly (Milkweed) Danaus plexippus
Pupae are due this spring, the first for some years. This butterfly is officially on the British List, migrating to Britain on rare occasions, from islands off North Africa, and reportedly even from North America. Much larger than any other species on the list, this striking butterfly has powerful, yet graceful flight. The butterflies will emerge from the pupa in warm, moist conditions. This can be done at little over normal room temperature. They like 25-30 degrees C and will breed at these temperatures. The only foodplant are Milkweeds Asclepias and Silkweed Gomphocarpa, both of which grow well from seed. Beware: don't under-estimate the voracious appetite of larvae! Grow plenty of foodplant. The larvae and adults are strikingly marked with warning colours to deter predators, and they contain toxins from the foodplant that reinforce the warning! Several generations are produced each summer. In the wild, the adults migrate south to warmer climate, where they hibernate in huge numbers, covering whole trees, like autumn leaves. The pupa is like a miniature Christmas tree bauble! Even if you do not have the foodplants to raise larvae, the emergence of the butterflies in your own emerging cage is a great experience.
Owl Butterfly Caligo atreus pupae
This is one of the largest South American butterflies and magnificently coloured, on a par with Morphs for impressiveness and beauty.
The underside not only has the characteristic huge owl eye markings, but it is uniquely patterned with complicated cream areas.
Like Morpho butterflies, the Owl species are crepuscular, flying mainly at dusk and dawn. They feed avidly from rotting fruit.
Owl Butterfly pupae are vast - at least the size of the Birdwing pupae - and they resemble folded decaying leaves of the Banana tree, on which the larvae have been feeding. Suspend the pupae from the tail, in suitably warm, shaded and moist conditions, sit back and await one of the greatest experiences of nature!
Owl Butterfly Caligo pupae South America
By any standards, these are huge butterflies, with impressive colouring and markings, both on the upperside and with the owl-like underside. The pupae will be unspecified species but will all produce magnificent and breath-taking butterflies.
Owl Butterflies fly at dusk and dawn in particular, so they like low light conditions.
The pupae are massive, pretty well as big as any other in the world. They are naturally formed on Banana trees, which are the foodplant of the larvae, and they resemble the spent and decaying banana fronds around the trunk. Hang the pupae in an emerging cage, out of the sun, but in warm and moist conditions. A greenhouse is ideal. Let the butterflies feed on dishes of rotting fruit and do include banana, which they really love.
Morpho peleides pupae
One of the world's greatest beauties - the iridescnet blue of the Morpho butterflies is famous. The wingspan is very large, over 10cm. The butterflies are active at dusk and dawn. They like to sip from rotting fruit, but also take nectar from flowers. The pupa is like a small green Christmas bauble and is large for a butterfly pupa. It is best to suspend the pupae as described in the exotic butterfly pupa section. Please provide the same warm and moist conditions described there.
Few people get to experience one of these South American beauties. You can be one of them!