Caterpillar to Chrysalis
About a day or so before the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail pupates (the process by which a caterpillar changes into a chrysalis), its coloring changes from green to brown.
Monday, August 23
Tuesday, August 24
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Sunday, August 22
The blue spots begin to fade and the abdomen looks like a woven tapestry.
Monday, August 23
On Sunday, I had moved Junior to a larger container. By larger, I mean I had chosen a taller jar, but unfortunately I did not think about the opening. It was not wide enough to fit the camera down inside. He had stopped eating by this point, so there was no coaxing him out. And though I had chosen a nice twig on which he could attach his chrysalis, he decided to go ahead and make it right on the inside wall of the jar.
Tuesday, August 24
So by Tuesday afternoon, when I realized he had pupated, I was reduced to shooting through the other side of the container. If you look closely right under the eyespot, you can see a bit of silk thread. Swallowtails attach their chrysalises to a stick or stem at the tail end, using this silken girdle to suspend them in an upright position on the plant. (Different from say, monarchs, which hang upside down to make their chrysalises.)
I was hoping to get better photos of caterpillar #2, because I had placed that one in the large butterfly habitat where I can unzip the top to take photographs. Unfortunately, it also rejected two choice twigs and chose instead to make its chrysalis at the top of the habitat attaching itself to the underside of the zipper. There is a smaller zippered opening near the floor of the habitat, but the angle is too awkward for the camera.
Caterpillar #3 is just days away from pupating as well. I’m hoping he will like the twigs.
Camera Critters is hosted by Misty Dawn. Click on the badge to check out more great animal entries. You can find more in this caterpillar photo documentary series here:
- Birth - (Yeah, I know they aren't actually born, they hatch. Birth just sounded like a better title.)
- Instar
- Caterpillar Close-Up
Comments
Random Animals
Have a beautiful Sunday.
Hugs,
Betsy
These are not the easiest caterpillars to find, KUDOs! I have found them along my shed and later the changed but never got to see them become butterflies. Meg is going to school today to release the Black Swallowtails they are raising in her classroom. So far 3 out of 16 have became butterflies.
I admire your patience and can hardly wait to see what he looks like. :)
It looks like a funny creature. :)
My kids found a caterpillar and we put it in a jar. It wouldn't eat anything we gave it. I finally called my aunt who they were visiting when they got the caterpillar to see what kind of tree it was on when they found it. It was a Choke Cherry tree, but my uncle said when he cut some branches for his goats the Choke Cherry leaves made them sick. I put a little vase of water in the jar, then put a branch in the water. The caterpillar was so hungry you could literally hear him crunching away when the house was quiet at night!
He rolled up in one of the leaves and made a cocoon. Unfortunately when he came out we were away and he died inside the jar because they need to fly right away to dry off their wings. It turned out to be a Brown Moth.