Okay so I am raising the gulf frit cats. I have I think 15. Three are now in chrysalid after last night. Two other big ones and the rest in various stages. I have to say I watched the little guy going into Chrysalid last night for a long time. I saw him moving and was a bit shocked as he had been hanging upside down for a day. So I just watched him and he was trying so hard to do whatever it is they do. I was really hoping to get to see him change over but he would move around for a little while, looked like he was straining a lot (hope it does not hurt) and then he would quit and rest for awhile so I finally had to give up. But this morning there he was all dooded up. Amazing.
Anyway as I was watching him I was checking on all the others and I noticed that when two got close together they got a little aggressive. I had one big one climbing a stick and a little one happened to be on the stick. The little one started like head butting the big one. It was like he would raise his head and boom. The big one got out of there fast. I then noticed two little ones doing the same thing. Like a little dance but fighting each other over space. I am supposing this is normal? I was a little shocked and maybe they are from different "litters" and don't get along but the two babies had to be from the same litter so to speak. Are these guys aggressive, fighting for space or what? I just want to make sure they do not hurt each other. So when one goes into chrysalid I move him to another cage but it is so much smaller and I would rather them be in the big cage when they eclose. I just don't want the mean little guys messing with them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Leslie
Mean Cats??
This place is slow today. Everyone must have gone back to their normal lives. Just kidding. Giving myself a bump.
Leslie
Leslie, I've seen the Monarch cats do that.....the head butting......it would be hard to be aggressive when you don't have any appendages to speak of, or a voice, or a smell (like the BSTs).....LOL
I don't think they can see real well either. There's just staking a claim on a leaf.
Thanks Flygirl. I did not think anyone was going to answer. I was kind of worried just because they acted like they really did not like each other. Now that I have you a couple of questions. One is do you think it is okay to keep the chrysalids in with the other cats. I hate to have to keep moving them and the cage is much bigger with the worms? Also, last night after watching one little guy try so hard to chrysalid and this morning he finally was. Then when I got home tonight I swear the chrysalid was moving back and forth. It freaked me out because I thought OMG maybe he was not finished yet. Or the poor guy is stuck in there and wants out. I was really freaking out watching that. I think he finally settled down but what the heck was that?
Leslie
This message was edited Aug 17, 2007 5:04 AM
Okay Leslie, firstly, we don't use the 'W' word here LOL
When they wiggle, it's okay, they are changing and just doing their thing, don't worry. You figure that's a pretty tight space in there considering what they look like when they eclose. Don't worry, it's all part of the big metamorphosis.
It's okay to have chrysalids in with the 'cats', it's like that in nature. When the bfs eclose they won't bother the cats, they have flying, eating, and other things on thier mind.
I try not moving the chrysalids if I can help it, I'm always afraid I'll drop it.
So sorry fly girl about the W word. I am editing out right now because I am embarassed. Thanks for the great info. It is hard to believe they are still breathing in those things. I just kind of figured the went into some kind of coma type thing and came out a butterfly. See how much you learn from those babies. Okay I am not going to move them anymore. That is a relief and will be much easier. Thanks so much and again sorry for the Big W. LOL
Leslie
Leslie, I think it was Deb that let me know about the GF cats moving in their chrysalis. I was out gardening and Mom ran up to me saying, "Come see this!" Sure enough, we stood there and the chrysalis would all of a sudden move from one side to the other like someone flipped a switch. It's normal, my bf came out just fine a few days later. Apparently, its a defense mechanism. If you touch the chrysalis it will jerk like that; I suppose it scares predators away. I figure if it scares us humans it must be effective!
Melanie
No problem Leslie, letting the 'w' word slip was probably just an accident! lol
Leslie-
I've seen the Cat's head butt each other too! You should hear me scold them and tell them to be nice! My kid thinks I'm crazy! I have moved the cocoons .... I do alot of "School" talks and having a little crysalis jump around really freaks the kids out! I love it..and so do they!
Adrienne
Glad to know I am not the only one freaking out about that. And saying it is like flipping a switch is exactly right. I mean they go left bing, right bing. Crazy. The other two I have never did that that I saw anyway and now I worry that they are not okay. Can't please me. I think that little guy is going to be a great strong BF though. He has been a tough little critter the whole ordeal. I cannot wait for him to eclose. This one may live forever.
Leslie
Mom was sure he was trying to come out when he was doing that. She's so cute; I think she thought we were gonna have to bust him out. But he was just fine and came out a few days later. It's is rather alarming to watch though. I always thought they were sort of hibernating and that they would only move when they were eclosing. I didn't even see him doing it until after he'd been in there several days. It must have been a weekend and then he eclosed on Tuesday I think. I can't wait until yours emerges - they're so pretty!
Ok, what is the "W word" we don't use here? Curiousity killed the cat. lol : )
What does it rhyme with? lol
~Lucy
W is for "Worm", which is quite different than a caterpillar! : )
Mel
I thought that was what it was. lol I'll not be using the 'W word' in here. No siree! : )
Worms have their own purpose, and as much as I squeal when I see them, I know they're good for my soil. And considering we have nothing but sand, I feel good when I see the worms getting in there and doing good for the garden. But they are completely different than caterpillars, lol!
Pretty exciting today Mellie and others reading. I had one of my little guys on the top of the cage ready to do his thing. I did not figure he would pupate until tomorrow because the others have hung around about two days before they do. Anyway I was watching him today and he was moving around a little bit so I thought I had quite awhile to wait. I went in about 10 minutes later to check on him and he was writhing around like crazy and of course I screamed and went to look and sure enough he was halfway in his chrysalid. I missed it by 10 minutes. Could not believe it. I better get to see the next one. That is four I have missed now. But anyway he is safely in his chrysalid now and the one that moves so much has moved twice today to different positions. So he is still going strong and trying to freak me out. I will have to think of a good little name for him because he will definitely be remembered the most so far of all of them.
Leslie