They only have the exhibit vivero; larvae are reared in cages near the house I lived in. The breeders I have visited all have had greater numbers of species and specimens. Within the vivero, plants were labeled and there was an interpretive panel discussing butterfly ecology. As with the other breeders, eggs are collected daily, to be reared elsewhere. Miguel, a 5-year veteran of Danaus, takes care of the butterflies. The staff has been discussing increasing their production, getting into the export business as a means of generating revenue. I strongly encouraged them to export through CRES rather than attempting to do it on their own since CRES has long-established relationships with a large clientele and with shipping companies and airlines. Permits on both ends are another consideration. We looked at locations where they might build another vivero and the rearing needs to expand to that level. I suspect that Miguel discussed it with Xinia and OCOCHE folks soon after I left.
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Bugwatching outside the vivero was better. Near the house I found this wasp nest under construction. These two images were taken less than 24 hours apart but you can see they made considerable progress on the outer shell, composed of wood fibers cemented together with saliva.
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On a canna lily, I found a tent of a Brazilian skipper, Calpodes ethlius. We frequently find a related species in Sonora that occasionally shows up in Tucson. This larva is about half grown.
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Here are some of the others arthropods I encountered when I had camera in hand.
