big instar eat little?

[MNkristin]

Will larger instars eat smaller instars? I had two cats, now I only have one.

[Mona Miller]

Larger instars will definitely eat smaller instars. And smaller instars will egg eggs and so will the larger intars. Caterpillars don't have very good eye sight.

The best things to do are separate them by sizes. Don't over crowd. Make sure they have enough food.

[blazing star]

I did have that happen once and now separate them by size. I also keep the leaves from touching the sides of the container and found that they're less liking to wander over to the other leaves and start fights.

[Sueinma]

Funny you should bring this up, I think I just observed this phenomenon yesterday! I was moving a few small cats onto fresh milkweed, and a 3rd instar was next to a large 1st instar. I knew that hatchlings would eat other eggs, but thought they were okay at that size. The 3rd instar quickly turned around and started eating the 1st! I tried to intervene, but it was too late.

O well, add it to this year's list of casualties, which is getting pretty long. Won't put small babes next to larger cats anymore!