Rearing Phoebis sennae, the cloudless sulpher

These butterflies lay their eggs in the very tender tips of the new growth leaves and on the flower buds of the Cassia tree. I have a Cassia tree in my backyard and I have been watching the activities of the sulphers on my tree. I am always amazed at how quickly the female butterfly deposits an egg on the leaf. A split second is all it takes! The fastest ovipositing for a butterfly I have ever seen. She does it so quick I can't even snap a picture of it. And then she rapidly flies off to the next leaf.

Now I know why...

I have discovered many praying mantids on my Cassia tree, waiting patiently by the sprouts of tender growth, sitting perfectly still. They've been there all along. They have a little community in my tree. They are waiting for a chance to catch the butterfly while she lays an egg. The butterfly, as a defense mechanism, has evolved to be very quick about this in order to avoid disaster. Notice in my pic that the mantis is perfectly camouflaged against the leaves. Those mantids have got it all figured out. Sometimes they hit, sometimes they miss. A balance in nature I suppose.

I experience heavy predation too but from wasps and birds. A squirrel even began eating them. The squirrel is no longer with us... For a time I used individual cups with snips from cassia to rear them separately. I used a screened porch rather than take them inside and risk drying from the AC.

I have several chrysalis mummies! I started misting them inside and that seemed to help a lot.