I am a teacher and have been raising butterflies for a number of years. Any errors I make are my own and I do my best to include the most up-to-date information available based on my own experience as well as data collected from scientific experts.
Painted Ladies are just one of the many species that I raise in the bathroom of my home. My interest in this particular species arose from having purchased a kit from Insectlore, probably as many others have! I became interested in ways that I would be able to increase their numbers and raise healthy butterflies. Feeding the artificial diet was something I found, based on personal experience, to be one way that the longevity of the butterflies was limited. I also found that the actual size of the adult was smaller and there were fewer that actually made it to adulthood when fed the artificial diet. This is all based on my own experiences and may not necessarily reflect what is found in documentation from the food companies. Since then, I have always fed my Vanessa cardui larvae an organic diet even if I receive the larvae that have already been started on the artificial diet.
I teach butterfly science courses for teachers and students, incorporating a number of species into my presentations. Although I am not a scientist, I try to impart my personal experiences and information learned to help others as they raise not only Painted Ladies but other butterfly species as well.
The environmental impact that butterflies have is tremendous. Through education, we can make a difference. I hope that my website proves to be helpful in spreading information that will help share the love of butterflies to all and to raise an awareness of the importance of pollinators in our world.
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