Lorquin's Admiral
Finding lorquin's admiral caterpillars is not too difficult if you live in Central and Northern Idaho where host plants are somewhat spotty; but sufficiently available to support this butterfly.
When the caterpillar molts to second instar, it shows a visible white saddle that measures daylength in order to assess whether it will hibernate/build a hibernaculum at third instar or go through to adult. The best way to raise caterpillars is to keep your room light on 24 hours a day so that caterpillars feed through to adult and bypass hibernation. If your larva does construct a hibernaculum, click here for overwintering instructions.
Click on the images below to launch a slide show on how to raise this butterfly. To see a video on how to handle caterpillars, click here.
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Bogus Basin Highway, Boise, Idaho
A pointer for those who live near Boise, Idaho. As you drive up Bogus Basin Highway, and other highways north and east of Boise, sometimes you will find isolated willow trees growing along the side of the road or growing here and there in ravines between 3500 and 5000 feet. Sometimes it is not difficult to find lorquin's admiral eggs and caterpillars between April and September, or hibernacula during the winter months. For everyone else, it is always advisable to look for butterfly eggs and caterpillars on isolated host plants. Click here to watch a video.
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Sandbar Willow
Sandbar willow (Salix exigua) is one of the many species of plants that lorquin's admiral caterpillars will feed upon.
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Collecting Eggs from Live Females
If you perchance capture a live female butterfly, and are interested in caging her with her host plant to get eggs, a setup like this is recommended. Here is a video of a viceroy female laying an egg on cuttings of willows in a similar setup.
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Cage Configuration
When I remove the cage, what I have here is cuttings of willows in water bottles placed flush underneath a cage base made of wood.
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Lorquin's Admiral Egg
Egg laid on the tip of the leaf. Empty eggshell in the center of the leaf came from a western tiger swallowtail female.
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Limenitis egg up close
Here is a magnified photo of the egg; in this case, this egg is that of an arizona viceroy; but, they are very similar in size and shape. Always pay attention to the tips of leaves to find eggs of this butterfly.
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Lorquin's Admiral Rearing Terrarium
While raising lorquin's admiral caterpillars on willows, cottonwoods, aspens, service berries, or choke cherries, one option is to place a "bouquet" of host plant in a glass terrarium and then secure the terrarium with a glass lid. This allows a nearly 100 percent humid environment which is appropriate for any admiral or viceory. Rearing these caterpillars in a 5 or 6 gallon bucket also works fine as long as you raise them in a 100 percent humidity setup.
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Two Double Decker Terrariums
On top of each other. One with willows; the other with cottonwoods. Both hosts work great with lorquin's admirals caterpillars. Make sure that your replace old cuttings with new ones every five days and that you replace caterpillars by cutting around them. Handling these caterpillars should only be done by those with experience.
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First Instar Caterpillar
This young first instar caterpillar had only been feeding for a few hours before it started building a small perch by eating away the leaf and exposing the vein followed by extending that vain with dung pellots. As this larva grows, the perch also grows and becomes conspicuous to the human eye. IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU EXPOSE SECOND INSTAR CATERPILLARS TO 24 HOURS OF LIGHT TO AVOID HIBERNATION! If your caterpillar does build a hibernaculum, see last three slides.
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Lorquin's Admiral Third Instar Caterpillar
on it's perch.
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Lorquin's Admiral Fourth Instar Caterpillar
Resting on a willow branch.
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Attach Chrysalis to Emergence Container Lid
When your lorquin's admiral has formed a chrysalis. Cut around the leaf or twig with which it has attached itself and tape it to the top of an emergence container lid.
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Lorquin's Admiral Adult Butterfly
This is a healthy lorquin's admiral adult that emerged from its chrysalis. It usually takes 2-3 hours for the butterfly to be ready to fly.
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Oh No! Your caterpillar is preparing for hibernation
When raising lorquin's admirals, it is advisable to expose young caterpillars (specifically second instars) to 24 hours of light so that they will feed through to pupation and adult within a month or so. However, if your third instar caterpillar starts to build a rolled-leaf hibernaculum, it is irreversibly committed to hibernate for the winter and resume feeding the next spring. Click here for information on how to care for your hibernaculum during the fall and winter months.
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Winter Hibernaculum Hunting
Even though it's unfortunate to have to care for a hibernaculum through the winter months when all you needed to do to get your caterpillar to bypass hibernation is expose your second instar larva to 24 hours of light, it can still be a fun and enjoyable experience to look for lorquin's admiral hibernacula during the late fall or winter months. When willow trees drop their leaves, hibernacula remain on the tree and can look quite conspicuous; especially on smaller trees.
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