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Photo#526695
Day 11 -- Caterpillar A - Anicla infecta

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
Unknown eggs found in trashline spider web. - Anicla infecta Unknown eggs found in trashline spider web - Anicla infecta Unknown eggs found in trashline spider web - Anicla infecta Unknown eggs found in trashline spider web - Anicla infecta Unknown eggs found in trashline spider web - Anicla infecta Day 1 - hatchling caterpillars in trashline spider web - Anicla infecta Day 1 - hatchling caterpillars in trashline spider web - Anicla infecta Day 6 - Caterpillar#1 - Anicla infecta Day 6 - Caterpillar#1 - Anicla infecta Day 6 - Caterpillar#1 - Anicla infecta Day 6 - Caterpillar#2 - Anicla infecta Day 11 -- Caterpillar A - Anicla infecta Day 11 -- Caterpillar A - Anicla infecta Day 11 -- Caterpillar A - Anicla infecta Day 11 -- Caterpillar B - Anicla infecta Day 11 -- Caterpillar C - Anicla infecta Day 11 -- Caterpillar D - Anicla infecta Day 11 -- Caterpillar E - Anicla infecta Day 17 -- Caterpillar A - Anicla infecta Day 17 -- Caterpillar A - Anicla infecta Day 17 -- Caterpillar B - Anicla infecta Day 17 -- Caterpillar C - Anicla infecta Day 17 -- Caterpillar C - Anicla infecta Day 17 -- Caterpillar E - Anicla infecta Day 17 -- Caterpillar E - Anicla infecta Day 17 -- Caterpillar D - Anicla infecta Day 21 -- Caterpillar A - Anicla infecta Day 21 -- Caterpillar B - Anicla infecta Day 21 -- Caterpillar C - Anicla infecta Day 21 -- Caterpillar C - Anicla infecta Day 21 -- Caterpillar E - Anicla infecta Day 21 -- Caterpillar D - Anicla infecta Pupa C - Anicla infecta Pupa D - Anicla infecta Pupa D - Anicla infecta Pupating Caterpillar E - Anicla infecta Pupating Caterpillar E - Anicla infecta Anicla infecta - moth C - Anicla infecta Anicla infecta - moth C - Anicla infecta Anicla infecta - moth C - Anicla infecta Anicla infecta - pupa D - Anicla infecta Anicla infecta - pupa E - Anicla infecta

Moved
Moved from Noctuoidea.

Iridescence
I forgot to mention the iridescence. That rainbow coloring is not a defect of the photography. It's iridescence or diffraction from the layers of skin.

when
small i use deli ranch dressing containers i get for 7 cents with the lid. for very large i use tubs, most of the big moth caterpillars are not wanderers, and stay on the food untill ready to pupate. for mediums i use sandwich boxes from the dollar store 6-6 for 1.00 Even ground pupaters will pupate wherever they are if theres no dirt they will crawl under a leaf, or when they pass 5th instar stick a piece of folded papertowel at the bottom.they will go right under it. have fun..

 
Where do you get those dressi
Where do you get those dressing containers? I thought I'd find some at the grocery store, but I didn't see any.

 
How can I tell what instar th
How can I tell what instar they are? So far, I haven't seen any shed skin, but that doesn't mean they haven't shed.

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