Help with Brimstone Foodplants (1 Viewer)

Hi Folks
We recently caught a female Brimstone that laid 46 eggs before release (I thought we only had 14 but loads were hidden on a sprig I couldn't see). To get the Brimstone to lay, a nursery kindly sold us 3 small whips of Alder Buckthorn at a knock-down price. Problem now is, the plants have no-where near enough foliage to support 46 larvae and, as we got the plants so cheap, I don't like to go back and ask for more (also don't think they've got many).

Despite many trips into the local wilderness I've been unable to locate any wild Buckthorn. They're obviously around here somewhere due to the number of Brimstones, but I can't find them and neither can friends who work on nature reserves.

The books say foodplants are limited to Alder Buckthorn and Common Buckthorn, but I'm just wondering if someone has discovered an alternative. Does anyone know of another (reasonably common) foodplant, or is there anything else that might be worth trying? If I can't find one I'll have to destroy half the eggs, but that seems an awful waste.

Thanks in anticipation
Gary

Unfortunately Buckthorn (Rhamnus) is the only foodplant. I have also some small plants but not enough to support that many larvae. I have looked everywhere in the locality but cannot find any buckthorn although it is supposed to be relativly common. I have pm'd you with a part solution to your problem though.

Dare I ask why you'd want to rare them in this way? As seems to me the Brimstone are much better at finding Buckthorn for themselves!

Wildwood said:

Dare I ask why you'd want to rare them in this way? As seems to me the Brimstone are much better at finding Buckthorn for themselves!

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You dare :hi: Dare I ask what is wrong with 'raring' them in this way? :hi:
I can of course answer you're question. Not least the predation that occurs in the wild. Brimstone's are not rare and enjoy rearing butterflies and moths.

sphinx said:

You dare :hi: Dare I ask what is wrong with 'raring' them in this way? :hi:

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Didn’t say anything was wrong with it. Although the possibility of destroying half the eggs doesn’t seem such a good outcome.

Hence maybe better to let them find their own food plants. Anything wrong with that?

edit: seems you answered the question while I was posting, so I guess you can forget the above.

Apologies for derailing your thread Gary. Just thinking out loud (as usual)!

Wildwood said:

Dare I ask why you'd want to rare them in this way? As seems to me the Brimstone are much better at finding Buckthorn for themselves!

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As an education for the children (and often myself) and it is something I have strong feelings about.

When my daughter, 7 at the time, took cinnabar caterpillars into school to show a friend her teacher tipped them onto the school field, saying it was cruel to keep them in jars. My daughter came home in tears saying she’d tried to explain that they needed ragwort to survive, but the teacher insisted they would do just fine on grass. What a pity that the person responsible for my childrens’ education knew so little about the natural world.

We are very fortunate in that the countryside around here is breathtakingly beautiful and full of wildlife - and I want my children to grow-up appreciating and understanding it. You will not do this just by asking kids to sit and look at things, they have to be hands-on. Rearing moths, butterflies and other bugs is a great way of holding their interest, and they get to learn all about wildflowers, plants and trees as they collect food for larvae. I also encourage them to catch and keep, until they get bored with them, all sorts of other things - including “Daniel” the minnow that turned into a big brown trout and “Terminator”, the barely-weaned weasel that they hand reared and released (loved savaging trouser legs lol). I make sure that these creatures are cared for properly, and when interest wanes they are always released where originally found. No one will ever convince me that there is a better way to educate children on how the countryside works.

Frankly, if that education costs a few brimstone eggs then it’s an insignificant price to pay.

Lance – have just posted the eggs. You should get them tomorrow, although our local post office sometimes operates in a different time zone lol.

Gary

Wildwood said:

Didn’t say anything was wrong with it. Although the possibility of destroying half the eggs doesn’t seem such a good outcome.

Hence maybe better to let them find their own food plants. Anything wrong with that?

edit: seems you answered the question while I was posting, so I guess you can forget the above.

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No problem and thanks Gary. |;|