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The Viburnum Mysteries, Part 4
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Jun. 19th, 2009 | 09:45 am
It’s been a while since I updated readers on my no-longer-mysterious hummingbird clearwing moth caterpillars. Last you saw, they were one day old and looked like this:
© Loree Griffin Burns
Now they are twelve days old and look like this:
© Loree Griffin Burns
Amazing, eh? It won't be long before these cats are ready to pupate. I'm not sure exactly how long, actually, so I plan to fill the bottom of the tank with dirt (they pupate underground) as soon as possible. Then I'll watch and wait, camera at the ready.
For the record, the outdoor eggs I've been watching (eggs of the same moth species laid on the same plant, presumably at the same time) finally hatched, but more than a week later than the ones indoors. Can you guess why?
© Loree Griffin Burns
Now they are twelve days old and look like this:
© Loree Griffin Burns
Amazing, eh? It won't be long before these cats are ready to pupate. I'm not sure exactly how long, actually, so I plan to fill the bottom of the tank with dirt (they pupate underground) as soon as possible. Then I'll watch and wait, camera at the ready.
For the record, the outdoor eggs I've been watching (eggs of the same moth species laid on the same plant, presumably at the same time) finally hatched, but more than a week later than the ones indoors. Can you guess why?
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docstymie
date: Jun. 19th, 2009 04:09 pm (UTC)
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also, these must be related to manduca sexta - they certainly look a lot a like ;o)
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lgburns
date: Jun. 19th, 2009 04:29 pm (UTC)
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Yeah, I'm guessing the warmth in the house was enough to speed things up; it has been an unusually cold (and wet) spring here in New England. And, yes, these are in the same lepidopteran family as the tobacco hornworm (Sphyngidae).
On an related note, I may have inadvertently injured one of my two specimens. Ugh. Details in a post soon, when I have recovered from my own stupidity. (Let's hope the caterpillar recovers, too.)
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docstymie
date: Jun. 20th, 2009 03:33 pm (UTC)
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Apparently hatching insect eggs is not all that simple as some are quite sensitive to humidity which wasn't obvious to me (well as long as they weren't swimming in water).
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mreader
date: Jun. 20th, 2009 09:21 pm (UTC)
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writerjenn
date: Jun. 20th, 2009 11:25 pm (UTC)
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lgburns
date: Jun. 21st, 2009 02:57 pm (UTC)
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