Willow- Mourning Cloak Butterflies

[Vyxxin]

SOOOO...while harvesting some willow this week I ran across an interesting caterpillar. Having small children, I showed it to them...let them hold it. We decided, hey, maybe we can turn it into a butterfly. Got a container to take it home in. Before leaving, I ran across two additional caterpillars...figured better odds if I bring more than one home.

I brought some willow along with me, specifically the tree they were on, to put in their habitat. As most caterpillars have a VERY limited diet of one type of tree or trees in the same family.

I got home, this is sort of a dark...spiky caterpillar. I wanted to know more about the thing that me and my children had handled several times before transferring into their habitat. So I looked it up online.

It is a nymphalis antiopa. A poisonous caterpillar...yeah...nice. So it occurs to me that perhaps I should've researched caterpillars before allowing my children to handle them...I mean, they seem so harmless! Turns out, most of the poisonous caterpillars in the US turn into moths immediate bummer! BUT I'm in luck, the one I happened to find turns into a beautiful and large mourning cloak butterfly! AND...they appear to be close to pupating, larger caterpillars towards the "end" of being a caterpillar.

This was Sunday? Today one of them is hung upside down and the other has buried himself in the leaf litter (I'm not sure where).

Anyways, I figured everyone would enjoy these pics of nature...on a wood our chins all love.

 

[ChinChiq]

Wow! That's pretty cool!

 

[Sandi]

Yes, very cool and nice habitat but still makes me squeamish... :err:

 

[Vyxxin]

As of tonight I have two cocoons and one that looks like he's getting ready (climbing a whole lot, not eating anymore). I'm SO excited as I've never had the best luck with bugs in captivity And yeah, I honestly have to say that since I've started processing wood...I've gotten to enjoy the outdoors a LOT more. Including two or three ticks over the past year LOL! Seriously though, these guys are gentle even if they are poisonous...my small (4 & 5yr old) children both held them as did I to no consequence (thankfully, really should've done my research but honestly didn't realize some were poisonous to humans) and they crawled all around on us very amicably.

 

[Vyxxin]

Here's one of them...one didn't make it to "hanging" so actually cocooned in the leaves on the ground (which isn't a bad thing, I've read).

To be honest, when I brought them home...I really didn't know much Then I figured I'd better learn in a hurry. I found out they needed the food (at least a 30min drive) that they'd been found eating...willow. I didn't bring many leaves with me and caterpillars eat a LOT so I gave them what I had (which was an okay amount for overnight) and went the next day and got a few "live" branches to put in water so that I could give them fresh leaves daily. I set up a terrarium with a peat/willow sawdust floor and willow branches throughout. The branches with leaves stick out of the terrarium and have wet paper towel wrapped on them to keep them alive as long as possible...fed them a few days and one went among the missing...found him on the floor starting to change. The other I found hanging upside down this morning (as from the first set of pics)...hoping the third goes soon because I'm hoping they emerge within a few days of each other.

They will need released where there's a food source...willow...so I'll need to release them where I got them and I don't want to make a bunch of trips LOL!

Anyhow, I thought it was interesting...how I get to experience nature when I'm doing wood.

 

[mrh1980]

They actually are in a chrysalis, the last layer of skin that turns into a hard shell once they shed for the last time. A cocoon is made with thread or webbing and is sticky instead of hard. Once they hatch just put some orange wedges in with them and they will drink from them. They do not need to be released by the willow tree as they will drink nectar from flowers and will find another willow tree on which to lay eggs later.

 

[Vyxxin]

They'd really need to fly to get to any willow, there really isn't any terribly close to my knowledge. Which is why I figured I'd just drop them off where we found 'em and yeah, I knew the chrysalis was the "term" but honestly didn't know there was a difference between a cocoon and a chrysalis so thanks for that bit. Like I said, I've had to learn a LOT within the past three days in the hopes of not killing them. That was never my intention. Anyhow, SO excited as things seem to be going smoothly.

From my reading, I guess it's good I found them this "size" as them wandering about (easily spotted) was probably a sign they were getting ready to turn anyhow. SO I didn't have weeks of upkeep during the caterpillar stage...just a few days which hopefully I did okay with. Now we wait! The last one has been munching all day...hoping he decides to "go inside" by tomorrow. Thanks for the orange wedge input though, I'd read watermelon too...but actually have oranges on hand so that may be what I go with. Always good to have a backup idea!

 

[Pookinaround]

You got some neat new little friends there!!! Thanks for sharing it was fun to check out!!! Looking forward to seeing what they turn into...