Yes, I’m afraid this is another creepy-crawly post. Feel free to skip, if you’re not into the little darlings.
OK. Remember my post about the eggs on the mirror? Well, after taking suggestions from the peanut gallery and discarding the obviously unsuitable, such as ‘AARRGGH! Vacuum at once!’ (thank you, Jenny), and ‘Scream, throw up, run around in circles, and then buy a new, moth-free house’ (interesting idea, JD, but I think I’ll pass) I decided to carefully remove them and put them in a large plastic jar with some greenery and see what hatched.
I found that my William Henry pocket knife sliced them up when I tried to scrape the eggs off the glass, but a piece of unused A4 paper worked a treat. Using this, I got them off the mirror without too many losses, poured them into the jar with some assorted plants, and waited.
Each day, I unscrewed the lid of the jar and peered inside. After a while I saw a tiny caterpillar on a stem of grass, and I was delighted to think my little eggs were hatching and doing well. I stuffed more greenery inside, but I didn’t dare take the old leaves out in case I threw away the caterpillars, so there was a mix of green and wilted brown leaves in there, and gradually, as time passed, my heart sank. I could no longer see any sign of life.
During the following few days I peered in vain. Nothing. I’d tried my best, but clearly, I couldn’t be trusted to raise caterpillars.
I put the jar to one side, thinking I’d clean it out and dispose of the contents when I had more time, and it wasn’t until today that I picked it up to do just that.
Imagine my surprise when I saw several small caterpillars moving about in there!
I rushed outside to pick a selection of fresh weeds, spread paper over the table and set about separating my caterpillars from the dead vegetation. Turns out I have about fifteen to twenty little wrigglers! Yay!!
Naturally, I had to take pictures, and that’s my favourite, just up there.
Hopefully, they’ll be big enough soon for me to identify properly, but for now, all I can tell you is that it seems unlikely that they are Common Rustics, and are looking much more like the larvae of the Cabbage Moth. Ah well. Nothing special then.
I still say they deserve to live … though my vegetable gardening neighbours may beg to differ.
Beautiful caterpillars!
And honey, everything deserves to live
Peace – D
that photo is awesome! Wow!! I cant believe you took that shot. Incredible!
meleah rebeccahs last blog post..We Interrupt This Blog
Bless! Moth or not, it great to think you helped them into the world ;O)
Great photo!
Babs – beetles last blog post..I felt the music in me.
Awww! He’s so cute! I’m actually glad you didn’t take my suggestion!
This reminds me (sort of) of the time TG, then a high school biology teacher, brought home a mysterious dry brown “pod” that he had ordered from a scientific supply house. We put it in a Mason jar and set it to the back of the kitchen counter, out of the way. On the first really warm day of spring it “hatched” … into what looked to me to be at least one million tiny praying mantises … I pretty much did what JD suggested YOU do with your mirror eggs (especially the throwing up part) … a neighbor ended up cleaning out the beasts from my kitchen because I could not go back into the house while they were there. It was an ugly moment.
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River Poet – Exactly. Except fleas and tapeworms. And even then, I prefer to use the flea ‘birth control’ pill rather than poison them. I’m a hopeless case.
Meleah – Thanks! It’s a great little camera, and takes wonderful macro shots which are plenty good enough for blogging. If I were to blow that one up bigger though, it would soon start to break up. You need a tripod really, for proper macro work.
Babs – So – I’m a moth midwife now, huh? LOL!
Jenny – I’m glad you think he’s cute. I deliberately chose the cutest of the million or so shots I took.
Praying mantises? Why on earth did he do that, and without telling you? I guess he wanted them for school and they wouldn’t let him put them in the staff common room? ROFL!
I might have to start calling you “The Insect Woman” — wait, is a caterpillar an insect? Or a wasp? I think not, actually. You will have to be “The [Fill-in-the-Blank] Woman” until someone with more knowledge of critters can enlighten me!
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Ah, note the cabbage moth caterpillar, as it rears up on its hind legs prior to saddling up for a morning’s ride…
Er, okay, maybe not.
He’s quite the hairy fellow, isn’t he?
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The anxious moments what will it be ??Can’t trade that sk
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Bob – Yep, caterpillars are insects – or to be accurate, the larvae of insects. They only have six true legs, you see, and that’s pretty much the definition of insect: an arthropod with an exoskeleton and six legs. Some have wings, some don’t. Some have wings but not wing-cases, but all insects have six legs. Butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, fleas ,flies, beetles and bugs – all insects. Woodlice, millipedes, centipedes – not insects, just arthropods. Spiders and ticks, both of which have eight legs, are not insects either. I bet you feel better now you know that, huh? LOL!
Jenn – Hahaha! He does look funny, doesn’t he? I think he’s pretending to be a leaf.
Sandy – No indeed! It’s all fascinating to me. I hope they make it to adulthood!
Beautiful creature you had there. Great shot too! I would certainly wait for it to turn into a butterfly, if it will…
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jay:
Neat little story about your little friends in the jar. And that photograph is fabulous. It should be publish in a bug magazine! Did you take it yourself?
Great post.
happy trails.
Mother Hen – Thank you! Yes, I’m hoping he will pupate and then emerge – then I’ll know for sure what he is!
Swubird – Thank you – yes, I took it myself, just two days ago. Then I had some kind of brainstorm and put a 2000 copyright on it! LOL! Forget me own head next …
Ahh, I’m so glad you saved them. I got some on my rotary washing line and didn’t want to hurt them so I just didn’t hang my washing there until they hatched. I never did find out what they were though.
Ah, that’s really sweet – congratulations!
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I think you’re right about the cabbage moths but then, if they eat cabbage, they’re doing the world a favour! Top pic. You’re such a child, it’s like when we brought silk moths home and bred them in our bedrooms! My mother was horrified but tolerated it because it was a school project!
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You do know that a caterpiller is for life, not just for Christmas !
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Jeni – See? Peas in a pod, luv.
Geri Atric – I’m a new Mum again!! Luckily I didn’t have to actually give birth to them. LOL!
Baino – It’s good to be a child, right? Right?? It’s fun anyway, so I’m gonna carry on doing it!
Gosh, the things my brothers brought home for school science projects. I think the dogfish being dissected over the bath was the worst … I don’t think I know a disgusted enough noise for that, and if I did I probably couldn’t spell it.
Moon – ROFL! But, then again, if you love it, set it free, right?
To quote Frederico Fellini, “Never lose your childish innocence. It’s the most important thing.” Children by nature are naturalists. We have so much to learn form them. Are you in the sciences by profession, Jay, or a
naturalist at heart! Keep up the good work because without our insects…
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great picture, but i’m still scared.
‘I’m a new Mum again!! Luckily I didn’t have to actually give birth to them. LOL!’
EEOOUUWW, Jay! But if you had, would you have chosen a mirror as a maternity bed? Perhaps the mama butterfly saw her reflection and thought she was handing them over to papa? Well whatever she was thinking she chose well because you’ve done a grand job as surrogate mama!
On the other hand, perhaps that’s what she was thinking… Oh no, now that’s silly.
Ah, yes, it all came back to me once you laid out the details. Six legs, I remember. Arthropod, I remember. Exoskeleton, I remember. Thanks for the memory jog! It was “caterpillars are the larvae of insects” that I didn’t remember at all. How odd.
So, then, The Insect Woman you are.
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Petra – No, I’m not a scientist, just an interested amateur. My father was an entomologist though, so I grew up being taken on nature field trips. Yes, I agree, we should all retain a certain child-like wonder and curiosity.
Valerie – LOL! Well, I understand. There are things I can’t stand which others love. Sushi, for example, scares me – but that’s because I’m allergic to fish.
Geri Atric – Now, there’s a thought! ROFL!
No, I wouldn’t choose a mirror, and I wouldn’t hand them over to Dad, either. I’m rather taken with the idea that she chose me, though.
Bob – You’re welcome – funny what we forget until the old grey matter is jiggled a bit, isn’t it?
I’m happy to be the insect woman, if that’s your fancy. I draw the line at a beetle costume though!
I admire you for this! I love them, aren’t they cute…are they going to be butterflies? Will you keep on feeding them, give them some sunshine now…wet a leaf or two in case they need a drink…and keep us posted!
Sandi
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Sandi – He is cute, isn’t he?
I’m giving them fresh leaves each day – they seem to like lettuce and dandelion leaves best – and there’s plenty of moisture in the jar. Hopefully they’ll do well now they’re a good size!
I think they’re moth caterpillars, but I will keep you posted, for sure. Hopefully there’ll be pics of chrysalises before too long!
Great photo – I have always liked caterpillars and spent a lot of my childhood helping them to grow.
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Daphne – One of my earliest memories of my time in Tiptree is lunch break at the little village school. They had a big grass playing field bordered by a hawthorne hedge and this hedge was positively alive that summer with the most beautiful caterpillars. Everyone was collecting them in tins and jars and watching them for the afternoon, and then reluctantly releasing them at the urging of the mothers who came to collect their children from school.
These caterpillars were dark brown/black, with orange, white and teal blue – and they were hairy. It must have been an excellent year for the Lackey moth!
Click here for a pic of one of these caterpillars.