Overheated caterpillars

[dancetta]

I forgot to close my blinds and came home to find my caterpillars dying I think from being overheated from the sun coming through my window. I tried cooling them off with water but then worried about making them too wet and cold and now it's night time. What should I do? It's about 75 degrees indoors now in Hawaii.

[Keith Petrosky]

Well since you gave water i'd say just keep them out of the sun and keep feeding fresh leaves still. I had overheated caterpiallars once and after 2 hours of them being out of the sun they slowly started to eat, and were normal the next day.

[Pamela Moresby]

What are the optimum temperatures for caterpillars.
Pamela
from NZ

[Jim]

What are the optimum temperatures for caterpillars.

Chip discussed the concept of "developmental zero" in the "Teaching with Monarchs" article in the January 2005 Newsletter:

http://www.monarchwatch.org/update/2005 ... ching.html

Generally speaking, you can speed development of monarch eggs, larvae and pupae by increasing the rearing temperature; however, as you implied there is certainly an upper limit. Sustained temperatures of about 91.4F (33C) will inhibit development and lead to mortality. It has been shown that monarch metabolic rate and growth peaks at 84.2F (29C) (Zalucki 1982), so this could be considered the optimum rearing temperature for monarchs.

Good question!

[dancetta]

One of my overheated cats actually awoke one week to the day and started eating. Yesterday he turned into a small chrysalis and I am crossing my fingers that he will be ok

[Keith Petrosky]

Wow thats great, you should call that one miracle!