SUMMER PUPAE You can order these NOW in advance

Large White Butterfly Pieris brassicae

No longer the common butterfly it once was. Pupae are stored cool for the winter and normally hatch in May. The larvae feed on cabbage but also most Cruciferae which can be better and less smelly for captive rearing! Horseradish is ideal for its large leaves and other species include Rape, Mustard, Sweet Rocket, Turnip and Watercress.

Small White  Pieris rapae

Still a common butterfly but nonetheless interesting to rear.

Very easy to breed. Several generations are possible in a season. The pupa hibernates. Keep the pupae cool or in the fridge until April. Lay them out to emerge in May and provide the adults with nectar flowers and stems of the foodplant on which to lay.

The larvae feed on man species of cress, cabbage, mustard and other Cruciferae. This is a species you can breed to enhance the local countryside.

Available from October

10 pupae of Small White £10.00

Marsh Fritillary Eurydryas aurinia

Larvae are immediately available for a limited period. Pupae from late April. Feed on Honeysuckle (wild is best), Snowberry or the natural foodplant Devil’s Bit Scabious. Pupae are formed in late April into May. The butterflies fly from May into June. Eggs are laid in large clusters on the underside of Devil’s Bit Scabious. The larvae live in a tightly formed web, growing only a little before they hibernate in autumn.  An ideal early spring species and very easy to rear.

Marsh Fritillary pupae 10 for £15, 20 for £22

Late April into May

Green-veined White  Pieris napi

A delicate member of the White family, with variable markings and prominent underside veining.  The larvae feed on many Cruficerae with a particular liking for Jack by the Hedge Alliaria, Horseradish Armoracia rusticana, Cresses and Mustards.

Very easy to breed. Several generations are possible in a season. The pupa hibernates. Keep the pupae cool or in the fridge until April. Lay them out to emerge in May and provide the adults with nectar flowers and stems of the foodplant on which to lay.

Harmless to garden plants (they prefer wild plants), this is a species you can breed to enhance the local countryside.

Available from October

10 pupae of Green-veined White £10.00

Black-veined White Aporia crataegi 

Larvae do well sleeved on Hawthorn (their preferred foodplant), Plum, Blackthorn, Plum or Apple. The larvae live in a cluster.

Summer larvae spin a very small and concealed web on the branch, in which they hibernate. Leave the sleeve untouched for the winter. In spring they awake as soon as the buds burst, and begin to grow very quickly. They pupate often collectively, making very brightly coloured, angular pupae which are greenish white, with contrasting markings in black and yellow.

 
 5 Black-veined White pupae £15.00

Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni

The pupa is a remarkable and lovely shape. The butterflies hatch easily. Difficult to hibernate, but you can keep them for a while with fresh nectar flowers, and then release to hibernate and hopefully breed in your area. 

  
May/Jun  5 Brimstone pupae £14.50

Clouded Yellow Butterfly Colias crocea Larvae

A great favourite with entomologists and extremely easy to rear on potted Clover. The larvae grow fast and will produce butterflies very quickly, particularly in warm conditions. These pupae produce butterflies this year.

 5 Clouded Yellow pupae £10.00  Next pupae June

New Clouded Yellow Colias australis  FOUR PUPAE

Almost indistinguishable from the Pale Clouded Yellow hyale. This species was not recognised until 1947 when a Belgian entomologist, M. Berger, found that the larvae not only fed on Horseshoe Vetch Hippocrepis, but are totally different in appearance, having a brilliantly coloured pattern in black, yellow and green. Larvae will produce butterflies again this season. They will also feed on Crown Vetch Coronilla.
 

Four pupae New Clouded Yellow (late June) £10.00

Orange Tip Anthocharis cardamines Europe

Store the pupae in a cool place, even a refrigerator, loose in a plastic box. An early spring butterfly. Depending on locality and season, the butterflies usually begin to fly in May. T mheale has the orange tips. Both sexes have mottled undersides in green which is actually made of microscopic scales of black and yellow, giving the illusion of green. The curious pupae look like thorns. Eggs are laid on Garlic Mustard, Sweet Rocket and Cuckoo Flower or Lady’s Smock. The larvae live singly and canabalistic. Not difficult to breed, particularly on potted foodplant. Camouflage in all stages is remarkable.

Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae

Suddenly this species has become scarce, in just a year or two.

The butterflies can be kept in a cage for a few days, with plenty of flowers for nectar, and then released to help the wild populations. 


  5 Small Tortoiseshell pupae for £10.50

10 Small Tortoiseshell pupae for £16.00


 

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

One of Europe's most colourful and splendid butterflies. The pupae hatch within about 2 weeks.   The butterflies can be kept for a few days in a cage with flowers for nectar, then released into the wild.


  5 Peacock Butterfly pupae £10.95 July
 

Painted Lady Vanessa cardui

In Europe this is a migrant butterfly from N. Africa and it is probably the only butterfly found on every continent of the world. Larval foodplants include Nettle and Thistle but they also take a variety of other herbaceous plants including Mallow and Burdock. Whilst pupae can be slowed down in winter, this is a continuously brooded species that is available at intervals throughout the summer.
 

Available from May
 

  5 Painted Lady pupae £14.50

10 Painted Lady pupae £25.00