How long can I keep them in the box?
We will send your butterflies to arrive either a day or two before your release day. Do not
keep them any longer than this
Do I need to feed them?
No you will not need to feed the butterflies when they arrive. We have fed them prior to
sending and once you release them, they will find their own nectar flowers.
What do I do when I receive them?
Your package will come with full instructions inside. You just need to keep it wrapped up in a cool, dark place and change the icepack as needed.
Should I put them in the fridge?
No. This will kill the butterflies. Changing the ice packed as needed is enough.
Are all Australian weather/eco conditions okay for these butterflies to be released into?
Monarch butterflies have been in Australia for 150 years and thought to be brought here by hurricanes. They took hold in Australia when white people brought the host plant seeds (Asclepias sp), possibly in the new settlers’ mattresses, because the fluffy part of the seeds was used much like cotton. Monarchs are now found in all states of Australia. They overwinter as adults. In warm conditions butterflies feed on ANY nectar producing plants and look for each other to pair. Then they look for their host plants (milkweed), which are common and found in all states of Australia. Monarchs are not considered a pest species or in any way damaging to the environment.
We have a video showing you the packaging and how to release them.
How do I feed my spiny?
Eucalyptus leaves are some of the best and easiest food to find. Use fresh leaves and change them often. Less is more, you don’t need to bring half a tree to your little pets but you do need to change them every 3 days or so or they will dry out and become inedible. If you are not sure if the leaves you are picking are Eucalyptus, be sure to ask someone. A plan B is to substitute Eucalyptus leaves with rose leaves or blackberry leaves. But make sure none of them have been sprayed by insecticides! You can keep the leaves fresh in a bottle with water. Heavy glass bottles are good to ensure you vase is stable enough.
What temperature should I keep them at?
This species will do best at 22 – 26° C, but will tolerate 10 – 20° C and have a slower growth rate. The eggs will hatch at around 20-25 ° C
Mist the branches with water once a day and let the water evaporate before misting to avoid mould and general mess. Its fun watching you stick insect drinking droplets of water by moving their jaws.
How do I clean their enclosure?
Clean you enclosure every few days. This can be done by removing the branches with stickies and then scooping out their dry droppings (they smell of Eucalyptus!) and dry leaves. When your leaf insects grow up and start laying eggs, there will be a fun job of separating their eggs and their frass and starting your own stick insects farm. The eggs will look much more round and shiny and with little effort you will soon recognise them from miles away.
Can I hold them?
One of the beauties of keeping Spiny Leaf Insects is that they are really easy to handle and they are completely harmless yet interactive. Their legs are equipped with small hooks and suckers so they can handle any surface including the palm of your hand. The easiest way to handle them is to offer your hand as a walking surface, let them crawl on it and when you done, present a branch as the next crawling option. They will happily walk home.
What enclosure should I keep them in?
It is generally recommended to have enclosure around 3 times longer than the adult Leaf Insect and with females reaching generous 13-15cm, you need to have the height of enclosure at least 45cm. Anything smaller could result in your “spinies’ being to close to each other or not having enough room to shed their skin.
Will they reproduce?
With a bit of luck, in a few months your spinies will reach maturity. The mature female adults can be recognised by having small wing pads, while males are much slender and with a pair of fully developed wings. Spiny leaf insects lay shiny round eggs with a tiny fleshy lobe. The eggs resemble seeds of acacia collected by ants and the tasty lobe entices ants to take the eggs deep into their nest. After a few months, depending on humidity and temperature, and environmental cues, juveniles hatch deep inside ants nest. They look and move much like an ant and their goal is to quickly leave the nest and get up to a nearest tree as quickly as possible. Spiniest have an extraordinary ability to reproduce without the need for male fertilisation.
When females live on their own or when conditions are particularly good, they lay unfertilised eggs that develop into genetically identical clones of the mother. This reproductive strategy, called parthenogenesis, offers significant advantages, especially in stable environments where adaptation to changing conditions is less critical.
Presence of more delicate winged males gives you a chance to observe mating behaviour. After mating that can last for hours you may observe a small gelatinous ball mass at the tip of female abdomen, a storage of male reproductive cells. Females can use this material for a few months and lay fertilised eggs, both males and female type. Her offspring with more diverse genetic make up will be stronger and better adapted to their changing environment.
