How to get them to spread out on ceiling

[skates4marty]

Hi Folks

Do you have trouble with many cats forming their J's in the same corner of the ceiling? Even when there is plenty of other real estate? A new monarchist this year had a thought -- since they are used to being under shelter to form their C's, maybe if we put something on top in those unused areas, they'd go there. I have been trying squares of dark green felt, with results that seem to be chance alone. But another friend says she is getting good results with with black felt.

[Mona Miller]

I remember someone noticing that they like the sunny side of the containers. Maybe in the end, it is warmer, and their wings will dry faster.

[BlizzardNole]

I noticed the same thing with at one time about 100 chrysalises on the top of a 15-inch by 5-foot mesh cage. I have it in the garage with even lighting. Many of them were densely packed near one end. I took one guy that was up there but hadn't made his silk button yet, and moved him to the emptier middle. He moved BACK into the pack and pupated LOL.

[ilsa]

I've noticed this, too, and when I went to remove "cured" chrysalides for hanging indoors in my eclose chamber, I noticed that a whole bunch of chrysalides were attached to a single large web, or sheet, of silk. I was pulling off 20 chrysalides all attached to this sheet. So, I think the caterpillars are recognizing the existing silk left by the earlier pupae and are tying into it with their own silk.

[skates4marty]

Hmmm... If a predator comes by and I am hanging with 5 of my best friends, I have a 5 in 6 chance of not being eaten.

[texas butterfly]

Noticed too that cats seemed to make "c" towards windows.
Also at the back of habitat.

But, some were also on the other side.

Maybe this is natures way of having some randomization so that if a predator comes it won't wipe all of them out.

And then there is always safety in numbers.

But, a hungry lazy predator like a rat might go for the pack of "c"s instead of the single.

[skates4marty]

I've tried rotating the cage 1/4 turn after some had collected in one spot, but it didn't seem to do much good.

[Mona Miller]

I find that these Monarch caterpillars can be more stubborn than toddlers.

[mich]

I realize this is a real old thread, but...

I think it's monkeysee, monkeydo. I use a 30 gallon aquarium to house anywhere from 15 to 30 cats of the same age. Normally they go nicely to the mesh at the top and congregate pretty much in the same area. Then one little rogue will decide he doesn't want to climb and will plant himself on a milkweed stalk (or worse - leaf!). At that point the rest of them decide to follow suit. I watch and remove these little fools as quickly as possible but, sure enough, the rest were apparently paying attention and are determined to do the same thing.

[Mona Miller]

You are not kidding. I once left a tiny crack in the netting of a container and all the Monarch caterpillars were escaping. Apparently, they do communicate. Mutiny. I told them that I did not understand why they were leaving the container because that was the only milkweed in my house.

[applestar]

Scent trails? Like ants? The cats do lay their silken paths....

I noticed that the eclosed butterflies have much easier time clinging when the cat silk is present. Very early on this season, I secured a chrysalis from a collected as 4/5th cat -- I think it was on a tip of a milkweed leaf, mich -- on the lid of the isolation container. In the process, I accidentally/out of habit, thoroughly cleaned the container, removing all the silk. The eclosed butterfly couldn't find purchase on the smooth plastic when it felt ready to step off it's own chrysalis and was scrabbling all around with the front legs. Luckily I noticed before it fell.

I've since changed my tactics to punching holes inward, rather than out (I thought I was protecting cats from getting hurt... ) and hanging a strip of paper on one side, secured with the snap on lid after chrysalis is formed.

FWIW, the chrysalises in my cage are pretty evenly spaced out all over the ceiling.

Mona, do you think they always seek higher ground --er, ceiling? ... Or maybe it has to do with time of day or their perception of daylight -- lower ground as the sun comes up and higher as the sun goes down? Is there any pattern?

[Mona Miller]

They seem to go towards the light and will make their way to the top of the containers. I haven't notice them going down into the container until they are ready to fly. They will drop down and flex their wings.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=FWIW
I'm having to go the Urban dictionary to figure out what you are saying. I don't do any texting.
FWIW = "For what it's worth"

[mich]

It's taken me an unwonted amount of time to notice this, but whether it's the cats I raise indoors (north light, only) or the butterflies eclosing on my front porch, they all congregate in the southeast corner. I counter this by rotating the container or hardware cloth.