Cat formed into Chrysalis in 12 days!

[califspaw]

I am in southern CA. and we have been having really hot weather from 98 to 104 degrees. I found my first cat on the 29th of July super tiny still eating its egg, I brought it inside and on the 10 of August it went into chrysalis. I was really surprised, I wasn't expecting that to happen until the 19 th. I did find two more cats on the 7th one looked like 4th instar and the other appeared to be in 3rd instar. The fourth instar went into chrysalis yesterday night, my third one has been crawling around all morning I believe it is looking for a spot to J as well. I will say that all the cats I had during this hot spell were growing a lot faster than usual. Has anyone else had that happen with hot weather?

[Mona Miller]

Yes the cycle goes faster the hotter it is. And, cool weather slows them down. One year I checked outside in early spring to see how long it would take an egg to hatch in cold weather. It took 3 weeks. The eggs were okay. A friend said in the fall it took a chrysalis 6-8 weeks to hatch on her porch.

But, when it is hot the cycle can go super fast. I remember someone saying that they had adults out of chrysalis in 4 days.

But, they do have a threshold heat level of around 103 degrees. In nature the Monarchs will go down near the ground and under leaves to avoid excessive heat. In the fall when it is cold, I've seen them hanging out near rocks, which absorb heat and provide warmth during the cold nights. Below freezing temps will kill caterpillars and pupae. The adults can stand a few days of below freezing temps, if they are not wet.

[califspaw]

Thanks Mona, so incredible the way nature works. I have had the air running off and on, trying to keep cool. Even so house is at 80 to 86 degrees at times, can't afford to keep the air on all day, shudder to think what my electric bill would be.

[Mona Miller]

Our temps on the east coast have been in the 90s to low 100s. We keep our fan running on the air conditioning unit. This helps to keep things cooler. Also fans going in the house and drapes closed. These temps that we are having are breaking historical records. We haven't had much rain here either. I think once the egg is laid and the caterpillar picks up the temp clues then the cycle automatically goes faster.