It was just a joke, naming "my" BST cat and subsequent butterfly "Killer", but the name stuck.

The joke was just, oh, this butterfly is going to be the one who manifests the famous "butterfly effect" and changes global warming back to normal and also cleans up the oceans, etc.

It came about because I was being teased about trying to protect a butterfly that would likely end up a bird's dinner. I said, oh no, this is Killer the Avenging Butterfly and birds better watch out!

That was all while I still hoped Killer would do his butterfly thing while it was still September. Now, it's clear Killer is a hibernating Avenging Butterfly, so I need to find him an outdoor home. (Or her.)

I located a great spot inside the large gardenia next to the shed in the back yard. Gardenias are evergreens so he would continue to be hidden away and somewhat protected in there. Also, it's on the south side of the building and protected by the building's outer wall. Plus, it's right next to my potting area so I can sorta keep an eyeball on Killer's situation there. Birds aren't real likely to be checking that place out, either.

I was looking at the bush today, considering which inner branch would be best, and I found these odd teeny pillowy dough-like things that seem to be cocoons of some kind. I posted these pics in the Bug ID forum too and hope somebody will know what they are!


Not the greatest pictures but worth a try!

I thought I'd post about it here too, when I go ahead and move Killer out there. Probably not until next week. For now he's safe next to my work table in the bedroom.

I hope.

Sounds like you have a good winter home picked out for 'Killer'. (poor butterfly--maybe you can change her name when she hatches )

I'm going to need to move my 4 remaining BST chrysalises onto the front porch area. 2 are stuck to the top of the butterfly habitat, so I'll move the whole habitat out.

Interesting blobs. I hope someone will have an ID for you and that whatever it is, is benign.

I can't see enough detail to guess, Kyla, but have you looked at mantis ootheca (egg case)?

I was wondering about that too, Chelle, but they don't look like the mantis egg cases I've had in the past. Maybe they come in different shapes?

No, I don't think that's it, Chelle and Catmint -- the pictures show those as much larger, for one thing, and this is pure white and kind of doughy looking, reminds me of nothing so much as a teeny dab of biscuit dough stitched to a twig. (There are what look like stitches around the edges!)

Anything look close on these 5 pages? http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

Wow. You'd think so, but, nope. Still, maybe it is spider egg cases of some kind.

Why do I not have an entomologist buddy? (That's the term, right? for people who study bugs?) I could just call up and say "Hey, Maxine, come look at this thing and tell me what the heck you think it is!"

What's really cool about all this, or one thing really cool, is that on another forum I frequent (which has nothing to do with gardening) there's a young guy in the UK who is very intrigued by all this and is asking very protective questions about whether Killer is going to be safe outside, and hopes this white thing I found doesn't have something in it that will be dangerous for Killer, etc. It's quite endearing!

:)

that's quite an assortment of egg sacs, Chelle!

Seems like they would be awfully big spiders, Kyla!

Killer *snort giggle*

Yes! And as one of my friends pointed out, we've had monster spiders and monster grasshoppers (?) but never yet until now! has there been a monster butterfly! (Killer the Avenger, that is.)

I wouldn't know, not being a horror movie afficionado, but, yeah.

Also, I feel, in this world of dire threats to all things innocent and small, having a name like Killer might serve this butterfly quite well.

I once knew a couple who had a cat that was very shy and fearful, so they named her Certain. They said it helped her self-confidence greatly.

Bringing this back to gardening, that couple lived next door to the second place I gardened. They had a delightful maybe 3 or 4 year old son whom I remember standing next to me in my garden and letting me feed him sugar snap peas off the vine.

That was long enough ago the butterflies, if threatened, had not yet made the news. Monarchs were everywhere.

This morning there was a (very late!) Monarch flying around the back yard. Didn't land on anything, so Ihope it finds what it needs. Every time I see a butterfly I promise "I'll have more for you next year!"

For the curious, @JRsbugs identified this for me: https://www.google.co.uk/searc...

Eww. For the serious bug lover I see! Can't tell what it is on my cell. Is it a spider?

Catmint20906 said:Eww. For the serious bug lover I see! Can't tell what it is on my cell. Is it a spider?

It's a 'scale insect'.

fun! :-D

Okay. I think tomorrow is the day Killer moves outdoors. We turned the heat on briefly today and I don't want Killer inside a heated room! So, out he goes!

And, today is the day!

Here is Killer in a beautiful, woody-looking chrysalis, sitting outside next to his winter home. Now you see him:


Now you don't:


There is a little white spot in that picture that is one of the twist ties holding his stick to the branch. But in this picture you can't even see that:


I did try for a close up with the twist ties, but it was too out of focus. And I decided that white was still too visible, so I took some extra strength plastic garden tie and wrapped the white:


And here is a decent closeup of Killer in his (or her, sorry!) new home:


This is right next to my potting area and work space, the gardenia is an evergreen, it's on the south side of the shed there, so it's as safe a place as I could come up with! I'll be keeping an eye on the li'l guy.

Nice home! Killer should do very well there for the winter

I hope so! It feels different in here, with him gone, too. I look up and, no Killer! and then I remember, oh yeah!

Killer is gone. I don't know if he made it to butterfly-hood, or if something ate the chrysallis. All I know is, yesterday it was still there, attached to its branch, and today it is gone and no sign of it.

I suppose it's possible that late yesterday afternoon when the sun was warm, he made it out. If so I hope there are enough flowers open to feed him!