Ooops. I bumbed my 5th instar

[tartandtiny]

One of my 5th instars has just found a place to J hook; on the top of my rearing pen. It was still horizontal on the top of the pen when I taped it with my finger while cleaning. It wiggled a bit but stayed but. It looked to have it's silk pad at it's head. I though they attached at the other end.

Question is, do they attach at the head or bottom and being that I disturbed it will it be still able to J hook ?

[Mona Miller]

They attach at the prolegs, which are at the rear end. Are you sure it's the front and not the rear. There's nothing to keep them attached at the head. They don't have any hooks at the head. The hooks are on the prolegs and cremaster (black stem, which reattaches after skin splits).

If you can take a picture of this, I'd love to see this. I've never seen a Monarch caterpillar attaching its head to the silk pad.

[tartandtiny]

I didnt get any pictures and it did eventually attach at the rear end. It J hooked this morning. All is well so far. I just found it so odd that there was what looked like a silk pad at it's head where I bumped it. Perhaps the little nudge was beneficial after all.

[Mona Miller]

I know what the caterpillar was doing. It was finishing its silk pad. The spinnerets (silk producing organs) are located near its mouth.

http://books.google.com/books?id=AI4HAQ ... &q&f=false
A natural history of the British Lepidoptera: a text-book for ..., Volume 8 By James William Tutt
Scroll down a bit. A nice section on the silk spinning habits of butterflies.

[tartandtiny]

Oh, wow. That makes complete sense. I happend to interupt it just as it was trying to get settled. That is why it appeared to be attaching at the head.

Thanks for the info, I never realized that they put the pad down from their mouth and then attached to it when done.

They are such amazing creatures.

I just hope my nudge didnt weaken the pad. I am afraid the chrysalis might fall.

Should I let it be or reinforce it? It doesnt appear to have much silk compared to others.

[Mona Miller]

I'd wait and see. I'm a person who believes in letting nature take its course and then intervening if I need to.

[tartandtiny]

I will wait. I always get so nervous handling chrysalis.
I am done feeding my 5th's, boy are they chow hounds. I hope they pupate soon.
Thank you, have a great night.

[Mona Miller]

My containers have some paper towel at the bottom. A bit more of a soft landing, if they fall. I've doubled it in some cases. I have a net container of Mourning Cloaks that's about 5 ft. tall. One of the pupa fell from that height and it cracked open. They are more fragile when they first pupate. I actually put in a double layer of papertowel after that.

[tartandtiny]

I have a bit of netting no paper towels as I am waiting for the 5th's to wander off and find a place to pupate. Do you have a picture or example of indoor set up for 5th's?

[Mona Miller]

Actually, lately I've been putting them into plastic cups. Lately, I have also been putting in soft, cotton makeup pads. Those keep the humidity down and are a soft place to land. I called them "Cup O' Monarch. I've been doing some rescue in the Gas Pipeline right-of-way and bringing home a few 5th instars. I didn't want to put them in with any other caterpillar because they may be parasitized.

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2371&p=11555&hilit=Cup+O+Monarch#p11555
Here is the topic on the Cup O' Monarch. These have worked out, great. Many of the caterpillars have pupated on the top of the cup.

[tartandtiny]

Great idea, love the name.
What do you do once they are chrysalis. Do you leave them as is or move them, doesnt look like much room for a butterfly to spread it's wings

[Mona Miller]

I take them out once the pupae/chryalis is fully hardened. I remove them from the plastic wrap or leaves (some pupate on leaves) by spraying with water, waiting a few seconds for the silk to loosen, and then pulling gently. If it doesn't come off with a gentle pull, I spray again.

Then I pin these with a stick pin (with plastic head only--I don't use metal heads for fear the butterflies will tear their wings on them). When the silk is still wet, I push the pin carefully through the silk above the cremaster. I weave the stick pin through the net container and leave the sharp pointed side on the outside of the container. I pin the pins vertically, not horizonally so they stay in place.

I find the pins easier to deal with than a cool glue gun or tying them off with string or dental floss.