Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 74, 1 by mellielong

mellielong wrote:
I have a new friend at the museum named Dominic. He's in 2nd grade and is 8 years old. I let him touch the butterflies because he's raised them at home before and knows how to handle them. His dad brings him by nearly every weekend. He actually helped me spot my first Polydamas of the year this past Sunday! I brought in my Zebra ST cats so he could see them; he was very excited. I also brought four Giant ST cats from my house to donate to the museum since we haven't had much variety lately. Dominic really wanted to see them but I told him they had only hatched two days ago. I brought one out and he told me I better put it back before I lost it because it was so little. He also helped me capture four Gulf Frits for the flight cage and I let him take home some Gulf Frit caterpillars after he assured me he had enough passion vine. I told him to come get more at the museum if he ran out.

Here's a pic of one of my Zebra STs getting ready to molt. Notice how the head capsule is sitting really low on his head - that's a sure way to tell one is molting. Remember, do not move a molting caterpillar! They will not be able to complete the molt and will die.