Subject: Euphydryas pupae

From: [email-masked] (Julie K. Stahlhut)
Date: 11 Jun 1996 14:03:45 GMT

I'm rearing 5 Baltimores (Euphydryas phaeton) for eventual release.  
I collected the larvae from narrow-leaved plantain (Plantago) in 
a weedy field near my home in southwest Michigan.  They were late-
instar caterpillars that had dispersed somewhat, but not completely,
and I took them from what may have been 2 or 3 broods close together,
or maybe just one brood that had dispersed more than I thought.
 
Right now I have 3 pupae and 2 pre-pupae.  The interesting thing is
that four of them are pupating in a cluster.  I'm keeping them in a
plastic tote box of the kind used to transport hamsters and mice;
it's small, but I've reared butterflies in it before, and they definitely
have lots of room to spread out instead of clustering together in the
space of a few cubic inches.
 
This is the first time in several years of recreational butterfly-rearing
that I've seen this happen.  I know that Baltimores are communal feeders
in the early instars, but can anyone share similar experiences or else
point me in the direction of some good references on pupation in this
species?
 
Thanks!
Julie
-- 
Julie K. Stahlhut, Caterpillar Rightsizer        [email-masked]
  "You cannot have unsecured gonads in an area frequented by
     college students."
                                   -- Dave Barry