Decoy for luring butterflies that like to mate and fight
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 1:56 pm
Some butterflies don't nectar much, some stay in the canopy, others are hard to catch.
In Solomon Islands, Papilio ullysses males stay in the canopy but come down to attack lower males and sometimes other butterflies. I tried foil that matched them exactly, but they showed no interest in it. However, I did see one attacking a crushed, old, pale blue beer can, and that worked well from then on.
Recently, I've tried to secure "Spring Form" Tiger Swallowtails, which seldom nectar and stay some 4 meters up around trees. Urine, gatoraide, and other baits were ineffective.
These Spring Form are fond of attacking each other though. So I made a decoy.
It's rubbermaid with a rubber gasket. That should keep out any pests for the 11 months it's not in use. The "dome" protects the real (thus fragile) decoy specimens while in transit.
I suspect that the plastic will filter UV, and that UV is an important part of the lure. So, the "dome" can be quickly unsnapped to expose the lures.
The lures are secured to a slab of balsa which itself is held in place both by screw tension and being keyed. Technically, I could make another such slab w/ lures to swap in for other species.
As you can see, it's screwed to a 3ft/ 1 meter long stake. We use these to mark driveways so the snow plows don't dig up the lawn. However, the snow plow drivers knock them over during the first plow, so it's a rather useless mission. You may use them to stake your tomato plants. But anyway I digress. The bottom is pointed so it can be pushed into the ground and be self-standing. Having carried it, a round stake would have been better.
I do need to add a lanyard between the dome and the handle so it all stays together.
In Solomon Islands, Papilio ullysses males stay in the canopy but come down to attack lower males and sometimes other butterflies. I tried foil that matched them exactly, but they showed no interest in it. However, I did see one attacking a crushed, old, pale blue beer can, and that worked well from then on.
Recently, I've tried to secure "Spring Form" Tiger Swallowtails, which seldom nectar and stay some 4 meters up around trees. Urine, gatoraide, and other baits were ineffective.
These Spring Form are fond of attacking each other though. So I made a decoy.
It's rubbermaid with a rubber gasket. That should keep out any pests for the 11 months it's not in use. The "dome" protects the real (thus fragile) decoy specimens while in transit.
I suspect that the plastic will filter UV, and that UV is an important part of the lure. So, the "dome" can be quickly unsnapped to expose the lures.
The lures are secured to a slab of balsa which itself is held in place both by screw tension and being keyed. Technically, I could make another such slab w/ lures to swap in for other species.
As you can see, it's screwed to a 3ft/ 1 meter long stake. We use these to mark driveways so the snow plows don't dig up the lawn. However, the snow plow drivers knock them over during the first plow, so it's a rather useless mission. You may use them to stake your tomato plants. But anyway I digress. The bottom is pointed so it can be pushed into the ground and be self-standing. Having carried it, a round stake would have been better.
I do need to add a lanyard between the dome and the handle so it all stays together.