Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 65, 1 by TexasPuddyPrint

TexasPuddyPrint wrote:
Too funny Melanie!

For the questions about mixing different caterpillar species or instars in the same cage - it can be done but is not recommended. Larger caterpillar might pick fights with smaller caterpillars as well as with each other - and sometimes they even eat or kill the smaller instars - not sure if this is because they mistake them for food/part of the leaf or are getting rid of the competition.

Another concern would be disease and bacteria.

If you don't have caterpillar cages they are easy to make with a little bit of time and effort. I use a variety of plastic containers to make my own. If anyone is interested in photos, they can click on my name, then scroll down to 'actions' and click on the link for "Read TexasPuddyPrint's Garden Diary" - I have a thread there showing caterpillar cages as well as various caterpillar life cycles I am still working on.

It is really better to keep active caterpillars in separate cages. Some species like Bordered Patches, Crescents and Pipevine Swallowtails remain together on the same leaves or plant throughout their caterpillar stages. They also pupate and eclose at the same times :o)

Here's a photo of two Black Swallowtails fighting (yes, both are the same species). They both ended up on the same stem and began to battling for king of the hill rights. You can see one of the caterpillar's osmetarium protruding - they do that to scare off intruders or when they feel threatened.

I've also had Queen caterpillars cannibalize chrysalids.

~ Cat


This message was edited Jul 14, 2009 9:57 PM