Subject: Re: A cateriller raising question

From: [email-masked] (Brian Korbelik)
Date: 23 May 1995 21:21:25 GMT

On sunday at the LA County Insect show I purchased 5 Pipevine Swallowtail
(Battus philenor) caterpillers to take home and raise. I put 2 in
a butterfly box with some vine cuttings and the other 3 on the Aristolochia
californica vine itself.  One of the caterpillers after I put it on
the vine just stopped moving. I thought that maybe the unseasonably cool
weather (highs in the low 60's F) has something to do with it so late
yesterday afternoon I brought the caterpiller indoors. It immediately
started to show vigorous movement. It climbed to the top of the vine
cuttings and then to the top of a stick and halfway onto some netting
that is in the butterfly box. I thought that it was looking for a spot
to pupate. That is where I left it last night. This morning however
when I went to check on it I found the caterpiller lying on the bottom
of the box with little or no movement. It looks to me like it may
be dying. This is only the second "season" that I have raised caterpillers
and the first time I have tried to raise the B. philenor. 
I would appreciate anyone's ideas on what could be the cause of this
or if I did anything that I shouldn't have done.

Thank you,

Brian Korbelik

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From: "Lee C. Larcheveque" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 1995 13:13:39 -0400

While I'm not certain from you're description, it seems to me that your
larva may have been preparing to molt when it stopped moving, and molted
(shed its skin) when it suddenly became active, but why it would be lying
on the bottom of the cage is a mystery to me.  All caterpillars can't
stand to lie on their backs.  If you can roll the larva upside down, it
is definitely on its last legs.