I found another cloudless sulphur caterpillar resting on our cassia tree.
The two caterpillars below are residents of our butterfly house. Another caterpillar that changes with its appearance as it goes through its various instars.
The cloudless sulphur life cycle: https://bit.ly/3ydfSXv
About a month ago I planted the starry rosinweed in our butterfly garden, a plant that had many buds. After an afternoon of Florida rain yesterday, two finally opened wide showing its yellow beauty. This wildflower grows in flatwoods, sandhills and disturbed areas with the flowerheads as large as 2 1/2 inches. Some interesting research stated that the rosinweed has been used for medicinal uses in North America and Europe, one of which was to clean their teeth by chewing on the stem. It’s also a great flower for butterflies and native bees.
Two of the eastern black swallowtail have found their spot in the butterfly house to start their next stage, the chrysalis. The other two caterpillars are still munching away on the dill.
It appears that the caterpillar below has its silk girdle done, which supports their chrysalis. The silk girdle, or band, is around the thoracic leg area towards the front of its body. The end of the caterpillar is attached to a silken pad. These caterpillars too will mimic the color in which they attach their chrysalis. So, they should be of a “bark” like color when they are done.
Here are more photos and information about the eastern black swallowtail: https://bit.ly/3Qv73PM
A female monarch butterfly hatched in our butterfly house this morning, climbing our total to 157 successfully raised caterpillars to butterflies.
Recently we have had some unhealthy caterpillars, who created their chrysalis, but did not completely hatch. The horrible thing is you do not know the caterpillar has been infested, until the chrysalis does not make it.
The tachinid fly, which unfortunately is one of abundance in our back butterfly garden, is an awful predator of the caterpillar. Thankfully they are not year round residents, we have noticed. The host of the tachinid fly, which has red eyes, are plant-eating insects – caterpillars being among that list. The fly can lay an egg on the backend of a caterpillar, or directly into its body in a weak spot of the exoskeleton. When the embryo develops the maggot hatches and burrows into the caterpillar.
So, when we have a successful hatch, my excitement goes through the roof, as this caterpillar was spared, due to us bringing it into our butterfly house in time. Like I have said before, when raising caterpillars you see first hand what they experience in nature. The cycle of life in nature . . .
As with many caterpillars when they consume the leaves of their host plant, they take in toxins, so they can fight off predators from eating them. This caterpillar, the cloudless sulphur capterpillar, turns the colors of its leaves, either green, or yellow.
As always, my page for more information about the cloudless sulphur: https://bit.ly/3zMvcLJ