Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 38, 0 by mellielong

mellielong wrote:
Of course you can touch the caterpillars! Although, I will admit I didn't for a long time as I'm still a little weird about bugs in general. Which reminds me, my grandma was talking to Dad and apparently she got mad when someone referred to butterflies as bugs. We had to assure her it was ok; they are insects. Grandma is very, very defensive of family and anything the family cares about, LOL! I can't remember who it was on here that found out I didn't touch my caterpillars but they were teasing me wondering how I raised them. I also got a little gunshy as I killed a few cats early on when they were trying to molt and I didn't know any better and moved them.

The stinkhorns do smell, but it really depends on: species of caterpillar, species of plant they eat, and which instar they're in. I like to mock the little guys because their stinkhorns are near invisible. Personally, I don't think the Polydamas smell much at all. Zebra STs are the worst in my opinion, although my boss at MOSI says Spicebush STs can be really smelly. Giant STs get smelly in their later instars; when I did the presentation at "Bring Your Child to Work Day" I let the kids see and smell the Giant ST cat. They picked up on the "fruity" smell that comes from the fact that they eat citrus. It kind of smells like a harsh cleaner that's trying to cover up with lemon scent.

I took one of the Poly cats out just for you!