Rearing Orange Tip butterflies. This week, I have started rearing four Orange Tip caterpillars, found on the seed pods of the Garlic Mustard plants in my garden.
The caterpillars are now indoors, in the gauze cage that I had used originally to rear my Painted Ladies a few years ago. They are still on the same plants (in a small vase) and they are munching away, day and night, at the long seed pods and are hopefully free from parasitic flies, birds etc.
Currently about 12mm long, they will develop (hopefully) to about 3.5cm.
Difficult to see and photograph because of their very small size (short and thin). They are well camouflaged, mimicking the seed pods along which they are resting.
You might notice the presence of small clear beads of liquid topping the black hairs on each caterpillar’s back. No one really knows their purpose, perhaps a guard against predators?
The caterpillars will eventually pupate at the 5th (and final) Instar into a Gondola boat-shaped Chrysalis, fastened to a stem with a silken girdle around its waist and a silk pad at its tail end.
Then it’s a long wait until next Spring when they will metamorphose into beautiful adult (Imago) butterflies.
These caterpillars are cannibalistic and the female Orange Tip usually only lays one egg per plant.
I’m hoping to photo-document their progress if I can, that is if they don’t eat each other! Lots of fun! Alwyn.
I’m just doing the same project. I collected eggs on cuckoo flowers and have documented them as they develop. The first one is now preparing to pupate.