« Spread the Word | Main | Friday random ten »
September 27, 2006
Lepidoptery Anyone?
At the beginning of the month I posted about the caterpillars which had overtaken my parsley. In the days that immediately followed I did manage to get organized enough to get an excellent book from the library and all of the supplies I needed to make a little home for a couple of caterpillars.
It was a good thing I didn't hesitate because one of the little guys pupated within a couple of days of his capture, which was a relief. They actually require quite a bit of care. They really eat a lot and they have to be constantly supplied with fresh parsley. Frequent meals mean frequent waste. I bet you didn't know that insect poop is called frass. I had to keep the jar clear of frass or they could become infected with some sort of mold. The caterpillars are very tender and sensitive at that particular stage in their development. Generally if a butterfly lays 150 eggs only 3 will survive to be butterflies themselves.
If you look in the picture one pupa is brown and one is green. I read that the chrysalis' color depends on how smooth the object upon which they attach is. The green one's stick is considerably more smooth tham the other one.
So I will keep these guys in the garage until next spring when hopefully they will emerge. Sometime in March they should start moving around inside the chrysalises and will hatch as Eastern Black Swallowtail butterflies a couple of weeks later.
Next year I will plant a lot more parsley and some milkweed to attract Monarchs too. I also have plenty of time to research how I can attract other butterflies to my garden as well.
Notice the little threads that they use to attach themselves. They actually attached themselves before they made their chrysalises. I saw on a butterfly DVD that the chrysalis is so strong that it's impossible to open with your bare hands.
Posted by Julee at September 27, 2006 03:55 PM
Comments
Amazing!!! What an awesome undertaking raising little butterflies, your kids must be so excited. Thanks for that link about amy's homeschooling, looks like it will be a helpful Texas resource.
Posted by: Yolanda at September 28, 2006 11:21 PM