|
|
Post by Adam Cotton on Jul 19, 2019 9:18:54 GMT
I must admit that it seems a little strange that she hasn't pupated yet. Perhaps she hadn't actually finished eating. Anyway it is too late now, as she hasn't eaten for many days. The best thing to do is just wait and see what happens.
By the way she will not make a cocoon, which is a silk bag that the pupa sits inside. She would normally make a silk pad on the stick slightly longer than herself and then spin a silk thread in a loop (the girdle) which she would use to hang her body at an angle below the stick.
One question, is she sitting below the stick or on top? If she's on top of the stick she is not preparing to pupate.
There is another possibility which is not so nice - she could be parasitised. Often people find parasitised larvae wandering around.
Adam.
|
|
|
|
Post by freakindenial on Jul 19, 2019 17:39:12 GMT
I just went to check on her again and now she is sitting on top of the stick, in the higher part of it. Also she is getting slightly bigger and brown spots on her back. On the same place on each side... she hasn't eaten for so long... since she isn’t dead yet doesn’t it mean she is ready to pupate?
|
|
|
|
Post by freakindenial on Jul 19, 2019 17:40:36 GMT
Also before she wasn’t even on the stick at all... she was just on the bottom of the box onto of the substract.
|
|
|
|
Post by Adam Cotton on Jul 19, 2019 20:16:29 GMT
Do you have any Prunus near you? You could try putting some leaves of that in the box and see if she will eat.
|
|
|
|
Post by freakindenial on Jul 19, 2019 21:05:13 GMT
I have a cherry tree. Does that work? It’s part of the prunus family...
|
|
|
|
Post by Adam Cotton on Jul 19, 2019 21:52:35 GMT
That's probably where your larva came from.
Put a small sprig of leaves in the box and see if it starts eating. It is best to give it younger shoots rather than very old leaves.
Adam.
|
|
|
|
Post by freakindenial on Jul 21, 2019 10:03:10 GMT
Put a leaf yesterday. Just came to check on her and she ate almost all the of it. I put a new one in. ^^
|
|
|
|
Post by Adam Cotton on Jul 21, 2019 13:53:04 GMT
That's very good news. The change in colour you noticed before was probably because she moulted (shed her skin), probably from 4th instar to fifth (last one before puating) and you saw the pattern change. In most larvae each instar looks slightly (or very) different in colour.
You can put more than one leaf in at a time, so that she doesn't have to wait once she finishes a leaf. If she has to wait she will not grow as large as normal, although she will probably already have that issue because after moulting she would normally start eating immediately.
Adam.
|
|
|
|
Post by freakindenial on Jul 22, 2019 16:49:36 GMT
I only put one leaf because they are kinda big and I want her to have fresh ones to eat...
|
|
|
|
Post by Adam Cotton on Jul 23, 2019 10:45:46 GMT
That isn't a problem as long as she doesn't have to wait for a new leaf. They eat a LOT during the final instar, and basically the clock is ticking to pupation so each time they are not eating they will end up a little smaller than they could be. You should also throw out all the frass in the box every time you add a new leaf.
Once she stops eating, in a few days time, that will be a signal that she will be preparing to pupate. Then she may pupate on the remnants of the leaf, or wander away and pupate on the stick or side of the box, as I mentioned back in an early post.
Adam.
|
|
|
|
Post by freakindenial on Jul 30, 2019 18:29:21 GMT
She died... :’( I don’t know why... She was fine and eating and then just died like this... (photo) imgur.com/g7NsNdH |
|
|
|
Post by freakindenial on Jul 31, 2019 17:36:05 GMT
Thank you so much for letting me know! I’m very glad I didn’t bury it like my dad advised me to do... I’ll do that and see what happens.
|
|
|
|
Post by freakindenial on Aug 15, 2019 12:46:56 GMT
I think shes officially dead... Its totally dried and its just skin really...  |
|
|
|
Post by Adam Cotton on Aug 15, 2019 16:11:34 GMT
Sorry to hear that, at least you tried and hopefully learnt a lot at the same time. Thanks for keeping us informed all the way through the episode.
Keep an eye on your cherry tree, maybe you will find more larvae there next year.
Adam.
|
|
|
|
Post by freakindenial on Aug 16, 2019 16:31:01 GMT
Hey! I actually just found something. I was power washing the garden tiles and when we cleaned some buildup trash in a corner I found his little guy. It kinda wiggles its butt. I put in on some cotton in a little glass container. Is it a pupated caterpillar? ibb.co/R6BrpQ1 |
|
