Day 11 -- Caterpillar A - Anicla infecta Austin, Travis County, Texas, USA June 9, 2011 Size: 13.1mm
I've figured out how to keep track of individual caterpillars. I'm keeping them in separate little containers. The hobby store is an excellent place for this sort of thing. Suitable containers can be found in the paint section, bead section, jewelry section, and possibly elsewhere. My first idea was to use a medicine weekly dispenser, but the seal wasn't good enough to prevent the escape of the hatchlings. Several of the caterpillars were lost this way. Until I found appropriate containers, I made do with the medicine dispensers placed within a ziplock bag, periodically wrangling the caterpillars. One day I found one caterpillar sitting on each of two of my lenses that were sitting on the table. I suppose they like being on camera, so to speak. Sorry, couldn't resist the joke.
Anyway, to avoid confusion with the previous pictures, I'm now labeling the individuals with letters, which will be consistent from here on out.
The caterpillars are different sizes. Today, I've photographed only the ones that are obviously alive, as evidenced by the little pellets of poop at the bottom of their containers. There are smaller ones that may or may not be alive.
In the future, I'm going to have to make a note to myself to wash my hands before handling the caterpillars, particularly if I've handled mosquito dunks or other B. thuringiensis products or pesticides. I suspect the B.T. meant for the mosquitoes may have killed a couple of the caterpillars. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of the series. I'll be keeping the letters through pupa and adult if I can.
Speaking of which, what sort of environment should I provide to facilitate pupation? Do I need to add soil or something to the containers?
Images of this individual: tag all Contributed by Victor Engel on 9 June, 2011 - 8:59pm Last updated 7 July, 2011 - 12:29pm |