Feeder with food protection grid
OwnerMary B. Harwichinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A feeder with a food protection grid for butterflies and moths is described. The feeder includes a solid core on which food may be placed. A protective screen or mesh overlays and protects the core and the food secured thereon from consumption by various insects and small animals. The feeding grid has a plurality of openings therethrough which are of an appropriate size to permit a butterfly or moth to reach the food source with its proboscis. The feeder may be hung from an overhead support and a crawling insect guard can be included to prevent small crawling insects such as ants and the like from reaching the protective grid and the food source when the feeder is hung from a tree or the like.
Claims7
A feeder for butterflies and moths, comprising:
- a core member for supporting food thereon;
- a protective grid member covering said core member and providing a feeding surface for butterflies and the moths to land thereon;
- said core member and said protective grid member are both of a domed configuration, said core member and said grid member each having at least one horizontal surface thereon and spaced apart at a distance of between about 19 mm and about 38 mm;
- a plurality of openings extending through said grid member, said openings being less than about 3.0 millimeters in width to permit the ingress and egress of the proboscis of a butterfly or moth;
- and
- hanging means associated with said core member and said protective grid member to vertically hang the feeder from an overhead support, said hanging means including a tray for supporting said core member and said grid member thereon, said tray being adapted for attachment to said overhead support for vertically hanging the feeder therefrom.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.