My BST cats progress, so exciting!!!

Just caught the very end of the show, another chyrsalis formed!!!!!! The count now is: 6 in chrysalis, 14 pupating, 3 still eating, and 2 wandering (but I think should be pupating by the end of the day). I'm a little worried about one of the cats still eating, he doesn't seem to be growing. The others changed considerably from one day to the next but this guy just seems to stay small. Four of the chrysalises (is this the right word?) formed in the night, but yesterday morning I witnessed another one form and it was amazing!!!! I thought the little guy wasn't right, I thought something was happening, he was writhing, and then all of a sudden he was totally different looking!!!! It was just the most incredible thing to watch!!!!!
It's funny to watch the wanderers, sometimes they walk right over the pupating cats and the chrysalises. I'm always afraid they're going to dislodge them!
We moved the crate to the ground level floor, to my hobby room. This way, when they eclose, I can just point the crate out the open window, and they can fly right into the garden just below. I'm planning my days ahead around them eclosing, I don't want to miss a thing!!!
I'll put a couple of today's photos on; you'll see why this crate isn't totally appropriate: when they have their final poop, it's hard to clean it off the crate material. I don't want to use anything strong while they're in there, but it probably won't even come out later. Plus with just the one zippered door at the end of it, it's hard to reach to the other end to clean, especially now that there are a few cats hunkering down right around the entrance! I'm being so careful not to disturb anyone. So next year, I'll hopefully have a better housing solution!
This is THE GREATEST FUN!!! I'm LOVING it!!!!! Especially with ya'll to talk to!

They like this plant stand! I put in some sticks (from my dill plant) but they've only used them for exercise, they seem to like the cage itself, or the plant stand, to pupate on. Nobody's formed a chrysalis on the sticks yet.

I am so happy for you Thea. What a great job you have done. Hopefully it is getting a little more relaxing now. It is going to be so exciting to see these turn into butterflies. But how awesome to see them pupate if that is the right word. I just think that would be about the coolest thing in the world. Again great job. Keep us updated. I look on here every day hoping to fine an update from you.

leslie

Great job thea! Have you noticed how the BSTs will bump anything, when they are in the comma position and chrysalis, that touches them? Maybe that's why they have 2 silk attachments.

Great photos. Don't you just love the way they pupate on everything but the mesh screen?! I used to use a pop up hamper with a zippered top and they all gravitated to the zippered top...they pupated right next to the zipper teeth...I was always so afraid of getting on caught up in the zipper!

Great use of the plant stand. I use wire candle holders in my cages all the time. They seem to like tucking themselves inbetween the scroll work :o)

One of these days when the caterpillars abound I'm going to try putting in a bonsai tree or one of those decorative dried twig trees and hope they all crawl up on it and pupate on it. Just like Robyn's monarch tree!!

~ Cat

Thank you so much, both of you, for your encouragement!!!!! But I'm feeling pretty deflated right now, I just checked them, and a chrysalis has fallen from it's place on the plant stand, AND, one of the pupating guys near him just seemed to have imploded, there's just his shrivelled little skin and no chrysalis, it's so strange! I just don't get it. I've been staring at the crate, and counting and recounting, I can't believe I've lost one at this point. And any thoughts on what I should do with the chrysalis that has fallen? Will it still mature? Oh, I feel so terrible now!!!!!!!

Thanks Cat, your message came thru while I was typing in mine. I THOUGHT the plant stand was a good place for them to mature, but as you can see with my latest post, I've just had 1 fatality on it, and I'm not sure about the fallen chrysalis. Any thoughts?

Just leave the fallen chrysalis in the cage. You can put it on a sponge if you wish. I've had fallen chrysalids before and the butterflies emerge just fine.

Not sure about the implosion. Are you sure it wasn't the caterpillar skin shed when it went into the chrysalis stage - and it's the fallen chrysalis?

Or perhaps a predator got to the caterpillar and although started with the chrysalis stage whatever was it in ate it? Best separate that one if you can.

~ Cat

This message was edited Jul 22, 2007 6:04 PM

Thea, your excitement excites me! I haven't release any yet (successfully), but I've got quite a load of catstoo. I'm hoping to watch some of the changes too.

Now that you mention it, Fly, you're right BST's do make two threads of silk to tie themselves up. It's a good thing too. While I was at Walmart yesterday, a big storm came through. I couldn't get home fast enough because I knew my large cat castle was under the patio. Sure nuff, the wind took it to the neighbors yard. Luckliy those threads on the 4 chrysalises endured the tumbling through the wind.

Cat, I think a bonsai tree or dry stick arrangement would be ideal inside a cage.

Leslie, it's your turn. Have you started collecting BST eggs or cats?

Deborah!

Dang, now I read about the mishap. Hope everything turns out ok for him.

Okay, here is the GOOD news: I have counted and recounted and looked and looked, all this late afternoon and evening, driving myself crazy. Well, I just noticed a very well hidden chrysalis on one of the curlicues of the plant stand!!!!!! I'm so happy!!!!!!!!!!! What I found was a stretched out discarded skin from when the cat changed into the chrysalis; the rest of them have been just little mounds, like when you step out of your underpants and just leave them crumpled on the floor in a heap, you know? That's what they remind me of! This one was longer, so it looked like the cat had just sort of exploded from his skin, and then I couldn't find him so I thought the worst! But he's still with me, I'm so glad. Thank you Cat, I will do that with the fallen chrysalis and hope for the best! I've seen the Wanderers bump some of them and they still held tight, I don't know what could've happened to this one guy. Maybe he ran out of silk.....
Deborah, that's amazing, you must've been so nervous getting home and looking for your cat castle! I'm very glad your guys were so good at chrysalis construction!!!

Whew that was a close one Thea. I was really scared for you. So glad everything turned out all right. Isn't great to have people with such knowledge on these forums to figure stuff out for us newbies?

And Deborah I know it is my time to learn. I just am not having any luck. My dill grew back from the first batch of cats that I just let them do their thing outside as I had no knowledge of what to do. Now I have some knowledge, the cat cage, etc. I have no cats. Go figure. I did think I saw an egg on it awhile back but it is still there so I guess it is not an egg. I may not get the chance this year but hopefully eventually my time will come. I will be as nervous and excited as Thea was/is. I will be scared stiff of doing something wrong but happy to be a part of something so exciting.

Leslie

Keep looking at those host plants every day, Leslie. And for sure be on the look out for the female BST. You just may be able to wittness her laying eggs. There's still a lot of summer left for egg laying butterflies. Your time will come sooner than you think, girl friend. I can't wait to hear you've got some caged.

Thanks again Deborah. I was starting to think it was getting too late but really around here summer does not end until about the end of September. So you may be right.