ginger

[eikin]

Found a caterpillar wandering around my pot of sakura a couple of days back.

It's pretty deep into autumn now and the weather's cold, and there are no more
leaves on my sakura plant, so I guess it's not going to survive at my balcony.
I put it in a container with a couple of ginger leaves, since my ginger still have
leaves to spare. The caterpillar kind of nibbled some of it and left them alone.
Looks like ginger's not its blade of leaf

26 Nov, the caterpillar amongst the ginger leaves ...


So I brought it to a bush of vegetation somewhere near my hostel and released it
on a branch. One day later, while passing by the same bushes, I realised that the
caterpillar probably didn't like where it was. It hardly moved an inch. Was messaging
Papilio as this was going on and Papilio mentioned something about some caterpillars
being monophagous (choosy eater that only consumes one kind of food)
So I went around looking for sakura trees that still have green leaves, and lucky enough
there were, though extremely few left and even those green leaves look old and not
very tasty. Anyway, can't be too choosy, so I brought the caterpillar back to my room
in an aerated box with a bunch of sakura leaves. The next two days the caterpillar kind
of got revived, eating almost 1 whole leaf and excreting alot ... ewwww ...

I changed the box 2 days back to clean the wastes and strangely, the caterpillar
went into a semi hibernating mode, just not moving much, though still breathing.
I got really worried yesterday when it just stopped moving altogether and the front
segments started turning dirty dark-green and the rest of the body yellowing like
a rotting leaf, I thought that's it, it's not going to pull through. Since it was still
breathing and still responded to light nudging, I left it as it is.

This morning, I was ''prepared for the worst'' waiting to see if it's a caterpillar
corpse I'm going to see. The box is translucent and the first thing I saw through the
blur plastic was 2 pieces of the caterpillar I thought it kind of committed kamikaze,
what a way to go! I opened the lid and to my surprise ...

30 Nov, the cocoon ...


The caterpillar has turned into a cocoon! It shed off it's front segments (from head to legs)
and went into pupation. The front parts are now black and dried up ... not a pleasant sight.
But the cocoon is a real surprise for me. Now my worry is when it's going to pop, I hope not
in the middle of winter! Anyway I've decided to name this caterpillar ginger, since that's
the first thing I gave it when I found it, and now it's turned into a cocoon that looks like
a ginger shoot to me ... lol.

[Taurean]

I like the way you document it.

Good effort in trying to save "ginger"

Do show us what it will morph into ya

[Papilio]

Congratulations! You're going to be a daddy!

Post a nice pic of your newborn in Spring!

[eikin]

Originally Posted by Taurean I like the way you document it. Good effort in trying to save "ginger" Do show us what it will morph into ya

thanks Taurean, i really hope everything goes well. when it went into a sluggish mode before this i was like ''freak, did i just saved it or killed it?''

Originally Posted by Papilio Congratulations! You're going to be a daddy! Post a nice pic of your newborn in Spring!

will try, not sure when it'll pop really. thanks for all the tips so far

[tchuanye]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.....also hope to see your next post of the butt!

[a.c.e]

hey, what am i going to say is real ok.
the same thing happen to me. thinks three weeks ago i found one on my van. thinks it drop from the tree. it's in white and green colour. and due to i just brought a macro lens so i bring it home too. about 2days later, it's started to turn dark and becoming short. i thought it's going to die as i don't know what to feed it with. now i know they eat leaf. another had past, i thought i will see a dead body, same as you, i smile very brightly a cocoon! but i'am a poor daddy, i had leave it at a flower, not sure what flower was that. the very next day i went to see and thinks should keep it in a box after knowing they need about at least one month to come to their next stage butterfly. i feel sad, i can't find it any where near the flower it disapear! from then on, i never see it again. but still hoping to see something fly in my room after one month, but it's imppossible iknow.

[eikin]

Originally Posted by tchuanye Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.....also hope to see your next post of the butt!

was looking through some information online, looks more like a moth than a butt. just not sure which moth Papilio is also suspecting this to be a moth cat rather than a butt cat.

[eikin]

Originally Posted by a.c.e hey, what am i going to say is real ok. the same thing happen to me. thinks three weeks ago i found one on my van. thinks it drop from the tree. it's in white and green colour. and due to i just brought a macro lens so i bring it home too. about 2days later, it's started to turn dark and becoming short. i thought it's going to die as i don't know what to feed it with. now i know they eat leaf. another had past, i thought i will see a dead body, same as you, i smile very brightly a cocoon! but i'am a poor daddy, i had leave it at a flower, not sure what flower was that. the very next day i went to see and thinks should keep it in a box after knowing they need about at least one month to come to their next stage butterfly. i feel sad, i can't find it any where near the flower it disapear! from then on, i never see it again. but still hoping to see something fly in my room after one month, but it's imppossible iknow.

well, it's hard to say what'll happen in the wild. but some pupae are actually capable of movement

[nyxx88]

cool stuff!! congratz on your parenthood status .

when it pops... leave it alone when it tries to get out & straighten its wings. dun try to help it artificially. it needs to do this by itself to get its wings straighted & strengthened. think i read this somewhere. mebbe papilio/bluesteel can comment

[eikin]

Originally Posted by nyxx88 cool stuff!! congratz on your parenthood status . when it pops... leave it alone when it tries to get out & straighten its wings. dun try to help it artificially. it needs to do this by itself to get its wings straighted & strengthened. think i read this somewhere. mebbe papilio/bluesteel can comment

i get what you mean anyway it's best not to handle it when it emerges as it'll be in a vulnerable state. read from a couple of sources, it needs to pump blood into the wings for them to expand

[Papilio]

Originally Posted by nyxx88 when it pops... leave it alone when it tries to get out & straighten its wings. dun try to help it artificially. it needs to do this by itself to get its wings straighted & strengthened. think i read this somewhere. mebbe papilio/bluesteel can comment

Yes, you're right. The butterfly/moth will need time and ample space to crawl onto a perch to let its wing expand in its own time. If there are any interference or obstructions to that process during that delicate state, it will end up crippled or permanently damaged wings, and can no longer fly after that.

[KNIGHT ONG]

Originally Posted by Papilio Congratulations! You're going to be a daddy! Post a nice pic of your newborn in Spring!

I thot some1 is going to be a real daddy ...

well done eikin

[Bluesteel]

Congrates eikin for experiencing the wonder of metamorphosis.

I wish you luck in the successful eclosion of the pupae Ginger into a moth or butterfly.

Despite being shooting butterflies for more than 2 years , it was only last year that I chanced on a females Leopard Lacewing laying a clutch of eggs. They were adopted by me and the family, and we had the rare opportunity of tending to and feeding about 50 hungry caterpillars that emerged from the eggs. In the process, witnessed the whole life cycle of the butterfly from eggs to adult. These adults were subsequently released at various locations on the island where their hostplant is in abundance , including Punggol Field . It is one of the most enriching experience I had on the wonder of nature.

Some schools in America and England do conduct such wonderful program with commercial butterfly kits in nature classes, letting their school kids experience the wonder of metamorphosis.


Cheers!

[eikin]

Originally Posted by Papilio Yes, you're right. The butterfly/moth will need time and ample space to crawl onto a perch to let its wing expand in its own time. If there are any interference or obstructions to that process during that delicate state, it will end up crippled or permanently damaged wings, and can no longer fly after that.

erm ... does that mean that i need to prepare something for it to perch on when the time comes?

Originally Posted by KNIGHT ONG I thot some1 is going to be a real daddy ... well done eikin

adopted, though different specie

Originally Posted by Bluesteel Congrates eikin for experiencing the wonder of metamorphosis. I wish you luck in the successful eclosion of the pupae Ginger into a moth or butterfly. Despite being shooting butterflies for more than 2 years , it was only last year that I chanced on a females Leopard Lacewing laying a clutch of eggs. They were adopted by me and the family, and we had the rare opportunity of tending to and feeding about 50 hungry caterpillars that emerged from the eggs. In the process, witnessed the whole life cycle of the butterfly from eggs to adult. These adults were subsequently released at various locations on the island where their hostplant is in abundance , including Punggol Field . It is one of the most enriching experience I had on the wonder of nature. Some schools in America and England do conduct such wonderful program with commercial butterfly kits in nature classes, letting their school kids experience the wonder of metamorphosis. Cheers!

thanks! hope everything turns out fine. actually i would have left Ginger alone if not for the approaching winter. i just hope it'll turn out to be a local specie instead of a foreign one, if not i might have justed added more problem



Papilio messaged me about duplicating the natural environment, so here it is, Ginger's new mansion ...

1 Dec
Ginger in a shoe box, filled with fallen sakura leaves and those from its ''old home''
The small, black mass below Ginger is the remains of its ''abandoned'' front segments.


Closeup crop from above picture ...

[nyxx88]

give us an updated pix every few days if you can. i think we are all anxiously awaiting the 'birth' of your new born eikin

[Papilio]

Originally Posted by eikin erm ... does that mean that i need to prepare something for it to perch on when the time comes?

Just make sure the sides of the box in which you're keeping it are not too smooth. Alternatively, just put in a twig near the pupa where it can cling onto, and climb up to create some space for its wings to expand.

[eikin]

Originally Posted by nyxx88 give us an updated pix every few days if you can. i think we are all anxiously awaiting the 'birth' of your new born eikin

it's going to be winter, so i guess it's going to be a long wait

Originally Posted by Papilio Just make sure the sides of the box in which you're keeping it are not too smooth. Alternatively, just put in a twig near the pupa where it can cling onto, and climb up to create some space for its wings to expand.

ok i'll see what i can get. thanks!

[Bluesteel]

eikin,

For your reference , here are some shots of a newly closed Harlequin under the Save the Harlequin Project pumping fluid into the wing to expand and strengthen them.

They are hard-wired to seek the closest available twig or leaf to hang upside down, so that the wings will not be obstructed and gravitational pull can lend a hand to the process.











and

A video clip of one of the eclosion.


Cheers!

[eikin]

thanks for sharing Bluesteel will try to setup something for it to cling onto

[Sjourn]

Congrats Daddy!!