Would anyone like to donate to further our education....?:O)

This little caterpillar that I've been talking about in my other post has decimated my only two passiflora!!! We are trying to watch him from very young to emergence from his cocoon if at all possible, the kids are loving it and so am I!!! Sooooo, if anyone would like to donate to our cause, I would love to get him some more passiflora plants to munch on, I don't know how long before he makes a cocoon or if I need to introduce him to some colder nights or not.....

Here is a pic of him, he has grown alot since I posted the first pic of him in the butterflies and hummers forum asking what he was, and of course, you get to see again what a horrid photographer I am! :O) And there are my two poor passis, all that's left is the stem and the spotted leaves~he won't eat the spotted ones for some reason...?

Thanks so much!
Raven

Raven, you have a Mourning Cloak there! Our neighbor had a passion vine and it was covered with catapillars every year. Supposedly they also eat willows, you might try subbing if you have any local! As kids we would take some of the chrysalis' (sp?) to school in a jar for a class project! We all watched them emerge, good fun! Check out (http://mamba.bio.uci.edu/~pjbryant/biodiv/lepidopt/nymph/mcloak.htm)
Karen

Nice Gulf Fritillary you have there. I think he is about done looking at the size. But you are going to need them immediately. Don't think you have time to wait on someone to send any. Might better check with neighbors or nurseries quick. Wish I could help.

I've checked the nurseries around here, no one carries passiflora and I don't know any neighbors yet, we've only been here a couple months....do you think he'll be ok with other stuff? I have some buddelia that I could bring in, I know the butterfies like the flowers of that one, but do the cats like the leaves?

Thanks!
Raven

He won't eat anything but incarnata or inscense. I have a huge vitafolia and violacea that they won't touch only my small maypop. I don't think will last long enough for you to get any in the mail. dogwooderitter on e-bay has some cheap but 6 plants for 6 dollars plus shipping but the are not real big, more than a seedling but not a large plant. Hope someone close by can help you or he gets full quick. When it makes a good poop it should be ready to make it's cocoon.

I have inscense can send for postage

Thanks for the info Donna, he's been dropping "pellets" for the last few days, the whole counter under him was covered with them! I swept them into the pot as an added fertilizer and now keep a newspaper under the pots.

Interesting note, the two passis he's eating are labelled violeacea and quazar, though I have no idea if they are correct or not, I haven't learned enough about passiflora yet to ID them with just leaves. These two came from CA and the cat was on the violeacea.

Now that all the leaves are gone, he's started on the stem, he ate about 3" already since I took the picture!!

Raven

I think it's time you get to know the neighbors...Hi, I'm knew in the 'hood - mind if I check out your garden...? Who knows - you may become garden buddies? (Or run out of town???)

Gulf Fritillary, right you are Donna! The caterpillars look a tad different. Our neighbor's bush always had Mourning Cloaks so I didn't look close enough!
I was going to suggest a "Midnight Clipper-raid", but ASKING is so much more civilized! LOL There HAS to be other plants nearby Raven! If you bought them, someone else must have too! Good luck. K

Guess what?! Here he is, I didn't get any more passi, he ate what was left of the ones that he was one and then started morphing! I never expected what he did, I thought the caterpillars all "spun" a cocoon, but he changed from the inside out, first turning white-ish and then dropping his skin, and slowly changing into this, no web stuff at all! Interesting but gross! If I had been thinking I would have taken pictures every hour, but I didnt even think about that!

Raven

Oops, forgot the picture!

Hey neat! Here's a link to a chrysalis developing! http://www.lamproductions.com/Gulf_Fritillary_Site.html
thanks for the update! Get him/her when he/she comes out!

Raven, the other day when you first posted your pic of your Gulf Fritillary, I went out to check my passi and sure enough, there was one eating away on it. I just went to check on it again and now he's brought four more friends. I'm thinking my poor passi is not going to survive. LOL

Oh congrats Raven. So happy for you

Donna,
I have these same catapillars on my passie...they are quickly devouring it. What do i do know? Will they be harmed by the cold, should we have any?
I've never had these before
Jen

I had these in spring and early summer, and a few off and on now, but they seem to have moved on. They ate all passifloras except racemosa and edulus. They were particularly fond of Blue Bouquet , Incense, Lavender Lady and p. foetida. They will eat pansy leaves as a substitute when no passiflora leaves are available.

They decimated my belotti but we had lots of butterflies. They hug crysalises (sp) all over the yard, from the bbq, around the edges of the house- the coloring seems to change depending on their surroundings. The hummer tried to run them off but there were too many for her lol.