My Butterfly greenhouse.

[limenitis78]

Hello.

If you are interested, this is my greenhouse. insecterra.forumactif.com/t21951-serre-a-papillons


It is populated only with French butterflies. Some around my home near Paris, some from Vendee.


I'm not using too difficult species to breed there (although I'm really tempted Nymphalis antiopa and Limenitis populi). But see what butterflies may arise in confined spaces.



In butterfly species there are :

Melanargia galathea (test)

Pyronia tithonus (happened after the introduction of adult individuals last year)

Pararge aegeria (Same as Pyronia tyithonus) two generations now!

Anthocharis cardamines (released a few to test)

Aglais io and Aglais urticae

Polygonia c-album

Papilio machaon (2 generations now!)



To be tested

Apatura sp (from Meudon but you will have to find female and male)

Nymphalis antiopa (my dream)

Limenitis populi.



Tested successfully (but no reproduction.)

Melitaea cinxia (from caterpillars)

Lycaena phlaeas (adults)

Vanessa atalanta (caterpillars and adults)



See pictures here, it is however in French but if the thread wins the success I will try to make a follow-up here also in English.
insecterra.forumactif.com/t21951-serre-a-papillons

[timmsyrj]

Excellent set up, I'll post a couple of photos of my newly set up greenhouse flight cage, I was going to split it into individual cages inside the greenhouse each with a self contained species environment, but decided on a flight area like this one, more mating area and less nectar plants required.
I have used "wall pouches" to grow violets in (will also use them for grass species, sorrel, plantain and nasturtium) as these increase the volume of larval foodplants by growing them up the indside wall of the greenhouse.

Rich

[jhyatt]

My wife and I keep a greenhouse (ca. 12 feet tall at peak; about 16X32 feet) full mostly of cattleya orchids.
On the odd occasion when a local butterfly finds it's way into the GH, it always spends all it's time fluttering against the roof glass, and quickly tears itself to tatters. Is this a problem in your GH/flight cage? I've often thought about raising Heliconians or something in the GH, but this behavior of the butterflies has kept me from even trying.

[timmsyrj]

Nice size greenhouse, both of mine are lined with netting, one I've had for a few years and I have passiflora growing like mad, I have had a few heliconius in there before and they do great fluttering from lantana flowers and heliotrope, I've had idea leuconoe, parthenos, caligo and morpho, the last two don't fly a lot but they didn't flutter around the roof all the time, I suppose because the passiflora covers the roof giving partial shade it's rather like there natural habitat at ground level in the jungle, they also tend to go lower during the hottest part of the day as the heat rises, I've found the same with some British species I've raised, they come done for the nectar plants as well when they need to feed.
When they do congregate in the roof, early morning and late evening sun, the sexes can't avoid each other and hopefully a pairing or two will result, some species need a little more room than a cage, whilst some won't pair at all in any enclosure so they need to be hand paired.

Rich

[jhyatt]

Rich, maybe vines over the roof do make the difference... I have 50% shade cloth over my house in the summer, but not fall-spring. If we ever have a winter power-outage freeze disaster and lose the orchids, I might try doing butterflies, along with some dwarf tropical fruit trees. But we've had the Cattleyas for about 30 years and they're kind of pets now, and I don't want to give them up until forced to!
The big commercial butterfly houses don't seem to have things flapping against the glass even if it's open and clear, but they are usually huge houses - maybe 20-30 feet high - which I had imagined might make a difference.
Thanks,
jh

[timmsyrj]

I've uploaded some photo's of my greenhouse on insectnet in the Lepidoptera section under rearing Speyeria from ova to adult, rather than reproduce them here I thought I would just inform you all.

Rich