Once I bought organic fennel or parsley at the grocery store to feed a slew of Swallowtails when I had run out of fresh host. In our hot Texas summers, I find dill expires early in the season but that Swallowtails will easily transition to the more abundant and heat-hardy rue or fennel.Īt the ranch we have wild parsley and I have brought that home for feeding. Throughout the process these boys eat voraciously–lots of fresh host plant. What’s amazing is how different they look at each stage.Īs they move through their instars, they completely transform, going from the unremarkable black cat with a white band to a prickly orange, white and black form, then to a black, green, yellow and white-striped creature often confused with Monarch caterpillars. The caterpillars will continue to eat and morph for about 10 days. (Yes, I’ve been known to take caterpillars to work.) Generally I will set such a vase in a highly trafficked place in my home or office so I won’t miss the action in the course of any day. The small, black odorless pellet-like droppings may seem gross, but they’re actually not. The newspaper catches the frass, or caterpillar poop, that the caterpillars produce in volume. Usually I gather fresh host plant and put it in a vase with newspaper underneath so I can observe the caterpillars literally grow before my eyes. But now it starts to get interesting and I like to watch them eat and grow, although it can make a small mess. Here's a compilation of all the pages with information from students who are conducting scientific color experiments.Up until this point, I may have had the Swallowtails in a jar or container with a loose lid or netting. A so-called Gro-Light that has some UV in it - and perhaps a standard fluorescent bulb.) (Psst - go ahead and do the Red, Blue, White, and Yellow - but add a few more lights if you can.
Do the project yourself! Get some plants, buy some little lights, and away you go. He did some plant and colored light stuff - kinda like you are! :) Cool eh? Then - don't believe everything you read. Regards, Macįind a few books written by John Ott. It can inhibit growth, reproduction, and plant health.or help it if the light is right. To answer your question though, yes, light affects plants.
hyperactivity and depression in adults.on and on.
increased incidence of dental caries (cavities), 2. As an aside, the typical cool white fluorescent lamp emits strongly in the blue and green emission bands (try peeking at one with a prism or spectra scope.) Studies have suggested that fluorescent and other unbalanced bulbs do less than great things of people and plants are exposed to them chronically (prolonged exposure).including 1. There are 'full spectrum' light bulbs that have been available (at least in the past) for people who wish to provide 'sun equivalent' lighting forplants - both plants and people probably grow better :) under this type of balanced light. Keep in mind, it's not only the visible light, but the UV and infra-red areas in the spectrum - light that is not visible to the human eye. The 'color' of light (the emission amplitude and spectral distribution) can significantly affect plant growth. That's what scientists like! :-) Conduct your own experiment - and maybe you'll find something never before discovered. But conducting an experiment gives you direct experience and first hand observations. You can do literature searches on such topics as color, temperature, and plants. I suspect it's not the color 'temperatures' you'll find to be central, but the frequencies of light that come in contact with the plants. You can find references to John Ott on the web. John Ott worked a great deal with plants and how light and color affects them. not so much as some yellows, oranges and greens. Plants (expecially flowering and house) tend to like violet, blue and red lights. Cellophane tents don't work because they don't supply the correct amount and cellophane affects opaqueness of the light. See, sunlight contains many colors of the visible specturm, and the invisible. The color of light does affect plant growth. Jenni (a former student of SAS, a China located international school): Plant Growth and Light Color - Some Answers from Others It also said that artificial blue light was a cool color. I read some place that plants need more red artificial light because it is the color of heat. Question: I need help with an experiment I'm doing.