Bad way to start a day: I got up, went out to check on my BST cats, opened the zippered crate, and one fell to the bottom. He had "J"ed right on the zipper!!! He's still in J form, hasn't formed the chrysalis yet. I'm afraid to touch him, I just picked him up by the tiny bit of webbing he'd made, and moved him. How can I fix this, I can't get him hanging up again!!! I feel AWFUL.
Help!! BST pupation interrupted!!
Yeah, that's always a problem with those zippers cages. The caterpillars will climb to the highest spot and that's usually where the zipper is.
You can leave it laying down on a soft cloth - most will continue to pupate and will emerge unscathed.
Elsewise you can touch the tip of a toothpick to hot glue and carefully catch the silk on the cremaster to hold it back up in a normal position...and stick the other end of the toothpick into styrofoam to keep it upright.
~ Cat
Thanks Cat. There wasn't much silk there to work with, but I tried VERY carefully, to sew it and the cat to a piece of muslin. Part of it did catch and it held, but it's hanging sideways. I sewed the muslin piece to the side of the cage. It might be better off if I just lay it in a small box within the crate?
I am going to try your method with the styrofoam this summer; every year I have a few that fall off the sides of the crate. It sure makes me nervous using the hot glue so close to the developing butterfly within the thin chrysalis!
LOL...nobody wants hot glue on their butt for sure!!! You can leave the chrysalis on a papertowel. I happen to use wet floral foam (dry of course) and push out a small groove to hold the chrysalis from rolling around. When the butterfly emerges it will be able to grasp the floral foam and pull itself out of the chrysalis.
I must reiterate that it really is best to anchor down the chrysalis. Sometimes with nothing holding or anchoring the chrysalis in place a butterfly may not be able to pull/push itself out and the chrysalis will remain caught up around it's wings and they will be deformed.
~ Cat
Right, I've seen that happen. I've got to work on this tomorrow, and get him anchored and safe so he can pull himself out and open those wings. Thanks Cat for your help!!! I will be happy to see this guy fly away!!! I just hope he isn't one of the ones who wants to stay in the chrysalis until next spring!!! I had a lot of those from last summer.
Oh Cat, would you believe, this morning a second cat has pupated on the VERY same spot, on the zipper!!!!
I can't believe it!!! This is a BIG crate, with ACRES (to a cat) of space, and he chose THAT spot!!!!
There's nice netting on two sides of the crate, the zippered door is on one end. I have to unzipper it to get in and clean several times a day, and restock the food supply.
This is driving me nuts! Our closest fabric store is an hour away, but I hope to get up there next week and get some of that screening material, and I'll get some plastic boxes, so I can make some smaller cages. Without zippers......
Thea...yes, those zippered cages are a problem for me. I don't use my anymore and on the rare times that I do I flip it upside down - with the zipper on the bottom that way the cats will crawl up away from that dratted zipper. I prefer to use the plastic with mesh screens for ventilation that I make :o)
Here's the link to my garden blog that shows photos of a variety of cages I've made or bought.
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/TexasPuddyPrint/12578/
~ Cat
Wow, thanks Cat, that link is SO helpful!!! I feel like running up to WalMart today to get a few plastic boxes.
Except they don't have a fabric department, so I don't know if they would have the mesh material in another department.
But don't the cats ever pupate on the top of the boxes? And then you would disturb them when you take the top off to clean?
Thea...I use window mesh replacement screen - nylon type stuff...easily cut with scissors and hot glued onto the cage. Walmart sells rolls of that. I love the stuff!!! Just make sure you get the plastic/nylon kind not the wire screen type - those rust and have sharp wires that can cut you and hurt the caterpillars.
The fabric tulle rots after about a year due to the sun and washing. The windown replacement nylon mesh screen lasts a long time. I've have some cages that are five years old and still in great shape.
When the caterpillars are in their last instar stage I usually move them into a bigger cage - like the trash can or reptarium and I put in wire, twigs etc for them to climb up and pupate. They sometimes still crawl to the top to pupate but since there is no zipper and there is no damage done when I pull off the lid to clean. Since the lids are plastic - I can easily use a toothpick to pry up the silk pad and wind it around the toothpick end. Only if I have to move it - most times I just leave them alone and set the lid onto a clean cage. As for the reptarium - they pupate on the mesh sides.
~ Cat
Thanks Cat!!! I'll head up to WalMart on Tuesday!! Brought in 11 BST eggs this afternoon, so we're off and running, er, flying......
Thea...I see the repeat pupating with the BST a lot. This one was one of my first cages I made of PVC and covered with the mesh netting. I put in sticks and tried everything but they went for the highest point which I could barely reach in and touch. I had one make it's chrysalis there, then another kept trying and I moved it several times, but had to go to work. Sure enough it was in the comma and I couldn't do anything more. Both did emerge fine later though.
Then these crawled several feet away to pupate on this statuary, but not on the same day. They must leave a scent when they pupate.
dumb question....... can I put BS cats (if I ever get any on my Parsley) in with my Monarch cats?
Preferably keep the species separated - with Monarch diseases you don't want to infect others.
Sometimes the larger instar caterpillars get too carried away chomping down everything within reach. I've had them eat smaller caterpillars and even eat into chrysalids...so best not to put in eggs or smaller instars together with the older caterpillar either.
~ Cat
This message was edited Jun 1, 2010 3:45 PM
Cat- That is so awesome! Are you on Facebook? Did you join the page I started? If not, I am sure some of the members would love to see your containers. Once again, very cool ideas!
I have a facebook account but but rarely get on there. Hence, the garden blog link I gave above :o)
Very cool, would you mind if I shared the page?
You can link to my garden diary. It will be helpful for anyone wanting to raise and release butterflies as well as garden predators, cages, brew and other butterfly info.
~ Cat
Well the little guy who pupated in the bad spot in the crate and started this whole thread, eclosed just fine yesterday, and flew off to start his new life! I was so worried that I had handled him too much, trying to fix him to a piece of muslin to tack onto the crate wall (and he still flopped over). But it all turned out all right, yay!!!