Last summer I
posted the photo above and identified the eggs as those of the Black swallowtail, because we had found them on Queen Anne's Lace, a favorite food plant for the BST. I was wrong, and never amended the post. Time to provide followup.
Several weeks later the early instars (above) were ravenously eating, and it was obvious they were not swallowtail caterpillars. I had no idea what they were until several more weeks had passed...
These are the classic "yellow bear" caterpillars, similar to and I think related to the even better-known "wooly bear" caterpillars. They grew rapidly and finally began "pacing" around the container, looking for a place to pupate.
So, I put them in a shoebox which contained mulch and leaf litter, into which they could burrow. By the end of August a couple had eclosed (one is visible on the inner surface of the box at the top left). The others stayed in their cocoons, and decided to overwinter and await more pleasant weather before emerging.
The cocoons are difficult to see in the litter - even when you know they are there. There's one in the mass of organic material above, on top of the big leaf and under the little leaf fragment.
Here's an easier one to see. I've detached some of the mulch, and you can see a bit of the silk underneath. Click this pic (and the others) for fullscreen version.
The overwintering moths began emerging at the end of May. These are the Virginia Tiger Moths, very attractive mostly-white, fuzzy moths.
This one is perched on my finger, raising his wings to show a few of his spots. I had hoped to move the wings to show the coloration on his abdominal segments, but when I touched him, he flew away...
Addendum:
Magickcanoe has a photo of the coloration of the abdomen, and a better image of how the cat's body hairs are incorporated into the cocoon.
What a beauty!
ReplyDeleteI love these sequences you've posted. We've had experiences raising/watching Black Swallowtails and Cecropia moths. Really neat.
ReplyDeleteOddly, that sweet & fluffy little moth reminds me of one of my cats. She's beautiful.
ReplyDeletejut beautiful
ReplyDeleteThank you for helping me with my pre-schooler's science table. We found this caterpillar on a mum at the local home improvement store and he just had to bring it home.
ReplyDeleteMothra-ya!mothra, inukasa ku yum ineruw!
ReplyDeletehar har godzilla refernce
We found one of these beautiful moths in our backyard today, and enjoyed your photos and post. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteI found one of these virginan tiger moths by my light post and captured it in a jar. Just Afew hours later I noticed she had layed several eggs. I released her the next day and am now attempting to study thier lifecycle. It sure is hard finding info on these species.
ReplyDeleteCharlie- Baltimore, MD
your nuts these destroy alot of your produce from fla. So more pesticides are needed to protect produce,the people handling fruits & veg, are having major birth defects,hlth issue, etc
ReplyDeletewell farmers and growers don't NEED to use pesticides if they don't want to - that's only the easiest, most irresponsible option. they could use Integrated Pest Management methods instead, if they educate themselves.
Deleteit's no one's fault that the problem exists - it's how we decide to handle it that's significant..
Would you prefer we only foster things that serve our will, wishes, desires, whims.. or we let damn nature live? I know your answer.
DeleteLove it! I found one of the caterpillars and decided to raise it. It was so fun watching it enter different stages of development! When it finally turned into a moth, I tried to let it go, but for some reason, it was just too attached to me, so I kept it for a little while, found a male Virginia tiger moth, dropped it in the cage, then let them mate. One the next day, it laid tiny little eggs! A whole generation's about to hatch! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMy son is doing a science fair project on this moth. Your information was very helpful identifying what we have. Thank you. We found the moth and it laid eggs in a jar the same day. We took pictures of the moth and turned it loose. The eggs hatched about a week later and the adorable little caterpillars are thriving. We are taking pictues of all the stages for his project.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that. Thanks for leaving the note.
DeleteHow long was their Chyrsalis?
ReplyDeleteCocoons (these are moths). Some were a couple weeks, others overwintered for months.
Delete