Cat pupated early -- problems?

[Cypher]

Hi there,

This is my first post, so I'll give a little introduction!
I'm 17 years old and I've been raising monarchs since I was very young. This year, with the amount of eggs/cats, I've increased my operation to about 60 larvae. I'm sure there's plenty of you with more than that, but wow! it takes a lot of work... 60 cats in one wooden frame screen cage require plenty of maintenence!
Anyway, the other day a smaller caterpillar went up to pupate. It was about two thirds the size of the usual big, fat cats that pupate (sorry, didn't get a precise measurement! ) Anyway, in result, I have a rather small chrysalis. What does this mean for the butterfly? Will it form correctly? I anticipate that it will be smaller than usual and weaker, too....
Has anyone had this happen before?
I'll post a pic of it later.

Thanks!

[Farfalla]

Hello Cypher! Welcome. 60.Wow that sure is a lot of cats! I only raise about 10 or so at a time because I like to keep them in their own containers until they pupate.( and my place is small. )
Was the cat you refered to younger than the others? Or just smaller?
I had one that was smaller than it's "brother's and sisters." it formed a very small chrysalis that resulted in a healthy (at least it seemed healthy)
small female butterfly.I always wondered what her offspring would be like if she mated?
And I also seem to recall reading somewhere ( but I could be wrong) that cats will pupate early if there is not enough food. ( Jim.. the moderator/guru will know!)

[Jim]

And I also seem to recall reading somewhere ( but I could be wrong) that cats will pupate early if there is not enough food.

That's true...and genetics, disease, food quality, etc. may also play a role in early pupation. If the pupa looks "normal" otherwise then you're right in assuming you'll have a small adult butterfly emerge - and it may be perfectly healthy. Keep us posted.

Why don't we see small monarchs all of the time - i.e., why are larger monarchs the norm? What would the positive and negative effects of being small in the world of monarchs? Just something to think about...

Welcome to the forums, Cypher!

[Cypher]

Hi there, thanks for the info and welcome (I'm watching one of my cats pupate as I write this -- cool!)
I had a couple smaller ones pupate, but I always provided plenty of food. Could it be that it's too crowded in the cage, and the caterpillars are feeling the urgency of pupating because they understand there's a lot of competition for food? (Whew, now we're talkin' monarch psychology! ) If so, how many cats would be appropriate for my 12 inch by 16 inch and 22 inch high cage (I made the one on the Monarch Watch website)?
I hope the smaller ones turn out all right -- I figured smaller cats meant weaker butterflies in result. Hopefully they're all healthy!

I'll keep you posted!
Thanks so much for your help -- this website is wonderful! I felt so isolated in my monarch rearing before. Now there's a whole community to share this wonderful experiance with!

Thanks!

[Farfalla]

Be sure to take some pictures of the little one ,Cypher. It is a great site,isn't it ?Glad you are here

Jim.. I do not know much about aerodynamics,but would a larger wing size help with migration? It seems so amazing that something already so small could make such a long trip!
The only postives I could think of for tiny Monarchs would be that they wouldn't need as much nectar..and that more could of them could fit on a roosting branch!

And,Um,How do you work the quote function???

[Pat]

And,Um,How do you work the quote function???

Just click the button that says "quote"; it will put the entire post you're quoting into a new reply box, and you can then delete the part you don't want to quote and write whatever you want to say afterwards.

[Farfalla]

And,Um,How do you work the quote function???

Just click the button that says "quote"; it will put the entire post you're quoting into a new reply box, and you can then delete the part you don't want to quote and write whatever you want to say afterwards.

ahhhhhhh. Thanks Pat!