The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Caterpillar The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Caterpillar
Showing posts with label Caterpillar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caterpillar. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Stunning Glasswing Butterflies Have Wings That Look Like Transparent Windows


The glasswing butterfly (scientifically known as Greta oto) might be the most beautiful bug you have never heard of! Their delicate wings have a frame of orange and white colors similar to the monarch butterfly. However, the rest of their fancy wings are made of flawless clear panes that look like windows. A recent video from KQED provides a “Deep Look” at these special creatures. You will discover that their gorgeous wings serve two purposes: the white stripe warns predators of toxicity, and the clear panes allow the butterfly to disappear into its surrounding (making it almost invisible).

To read more on this story, click here: Stunning Glasswing Butterflies Have Wings That Look Like Transparent Windows


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Saturday, October 20, 2018

The Lifecycle of a Butterfly


Butterflies go through a life cycle. A butterfly has four stages in its life cycle. Each stage is different. Each stage also has a different goal. A butterfly becoming an adult is called metamorphosis. The life cycle process can take a month to year. It depends on the type of butterfly.


Stage 1: Eggs

In the first stage a girl butterfly lays eggs. A butterfly first starts out as an egg. A girl butterfly lays the eggs on a leaf. She lays the eggs really close together. The eggs are really small and round. About five days after the eggs are laid. A tiny worm-like creature will hatch from the egg.

To read more on this story, click here: The Lifecycle of a Butterfly



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How to Raise Butterflies


Look out your window and see a beautiful butterfly flutter past you. Amazingly, such beauty originated from an inch long, garden dwelling caterpillar that probably feasted on your prized roses. As you stare longingly at the butterfly, you think to yourself, "If only there were another way." And then it hits you – "Raise them myself!"

Prepare a well-ventilated container. Containers for caterpillars can be found in hobby and pet shops, on the Internet, or you can fashion one from items around the home. Preferably this should be one made from wire mesh, to give the caterpillar something to cling to. An aquarium or a one-gallon jar can work, too, provided it's lined with a screen or cheesecloth tightened with a rubber band at the top.

Don't use jar lids with holes in them, however, as these don't provide adequate ventilation and can also cut the delicate caterpillars with sharp edges around the holes.

Put a two inch layer of dirt and grass on the bottom of every container if you think your caterpillar may pupate below ground. If not, a layer of paper towels or newspaper will do fine.

To read more on this story, click here: How to Raise Butterflies

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Monday, August 13, 2018

How to Raise Butterflies


Look out your window and see a beautiful butterfly flutter past you. Amazingly, such beauty originated from an inch long, garden dwelling caterpillar that probably feasted on your prized roses. As you stare longingly at the butterfly, you think to yourself, "If only there were another way." And then it hits you – "Raise them myself!"

Catching a Caterpillar

1 - Prepare a well-ventilated container. Containers for caterpillars can be found in hobby and pet shops, on the Internet, or you can fashion one from items around the home. Preferably this should be one made from wire mesh, to give the caterpillar something to cling to. An aquarium or a one-gallon jar can work, too, provided it's lined with a screen or cheesecloth tightened with a rubber band at the top.
  • Don't use jar lids with holes in them, however, as these don't provide adequate ventilation and can also cut the delicate caterpillars with sharp edges around the holes.
  • Put a two inch layer of dirt and grass on the bottom of every container if you think your caterpillar may pupate below ground. If not, a layer of paper towels or newspaper will do fine.
2 - Look out for caterpillars on your plants. Instead of spraying or squishing the caterpillar, identify it (see Warnings) and capture it to grow into a butterfly. Butterfly season is from late spring to summer, depending on your region. If you don't know of a spot that caterpillars like to frequent, consult a local field guide to determine which plants are preferred "host" plants for butterflies, like the Peterson First Guide to Caterpillars, Caterpillars of Eastern Forests, or on the Internet. Make sure you're not capturing an endangered species, which could be illegal. Different types of butterflies prefer different hosts. Some common host plants include:
  • Milkweed - Monarch Butterfly
  • Spice bush - Spice bush Swallowtail
  • Paw-Paw - Tiger Swallowtail
  • Thistle - Painted Lady
  • Parsley, dill and fennel - Black Swallowtail
  • Cherry - Cecropia Moth, Viceroy, Red-Spotted Purple
If it's not caterpillar season, or you simply don't have time to go caterpillar searching, consider buying them from a caterpillar supplier. We'll discuss that in the last section.

To read more on this story, click here: How to Raise Butterflies


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Thursday, October 6, 2016

Take a Look at The White Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar: If You See This Caterpillar, Do Not Touch


There's a dangerous bug making its way across the border and it's causing widespread fear among residents and parents. The White Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar masks itself in an adorable black and white ball of fluff - but looks are definitely deceiving when it comes to these insects.

As soon as a human touches the fine hairs on the caterpillar, a horribly uncomfortable rash will appear almost instantaneously. That's because the black "spine" of the bug is packed full of venom that especially affects human skin.

Since this bug's natural home is in Canada, Dr. Joseph Betz told WPXI News that the cases are puzzling medical professionals up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

"There have been many reported cases. None of them fatal, but all strange, new and concerning."

Even Dr. Betz's son had a dangerous encounter with the fluffy caterpillar. Within minutes of picking it up, the toddler was covered in the painful, telltale rash!

Fortunately, there is some good news through all of the terror and medical problems. The White Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar will soon be forming its cocoon and that means you and your children will be out of harm's way. If you do happen to be affected by the bug before then, a combination of lotion and ice will generally help the rash heal and will take away the discomfort.

Learn even more about this dangerous critter here:





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Sunday, September 18, 2016

Did You Know: Some People Keep Insects as Pets? Meet the Atlas Moth


The Atlas Moth, Attacus atlas, is one of the largest species of butterfly that can be kept by insect enthusiasts. The moth is beautiful and very large, but also the caterpillars look amazing. The caterpillars are green-whitish with strange soft spines on their backs. Their last feet have a bright red spot on them.

Originally this species is from Sout-East Asia. This is the caresheet for the Atlas Moth.

Appearance of the Atlas Moth

The Atlas Moth has a wing span of 25 cm. The front wings have two triangle shaped ‘windows’ made of translucent wing material, the back wings also each have a window. The wings itself are a rusty brown color, with light yellow, red, purple, black and pink accents.

The caterpillars are greenish white in color with soft spines on their back. They almost look a bit powdered. On the side of the last feet the caterpillars have a red and blue spot.

Food
The butterflies of the Attacus atlas species do not have a mouth and therefore cannot feed. They live off the energy reserve that they obtained as a caterpillar. This means they do not live that long, generally only 5 to 7 days.

The caterpillars of the Atlas Moth do eat, and a lot as well! They eat leaves of privet, Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), citrus trees, cinnamon trees and mango trees. As you can see they are not too picky regarding their food plant, but they won’t eat any leaf.

Behavior of Attacus Atlas
Atlas Moth caterpillars are easy pets, they do not require attention and won’t try to escape. As long as they have food, they will just eat. When they are about to make a cocoon, they will walk around to find a suitable place.

During the day the moths are inactive, during the evening and night they will start to fly in search of a mate or for a suitable place to lay their eggs. During the day they are easily handled, you can pick them up by forcing them to step onto your hand or finger. NEVER grab them at their wings, because they are very fragile.

Housing
A suitable housing for the caterpillars is a clear plastic box with a lot of ventilation holes. On the bottom of this container you can place paper towels. The caterpillars will live on top of their food leaves and do not need any other decoration. If you choose to place the branches with leaves in a cup of water to keep them fresh, make sure that the caterpillars cannot fall into the water.

The moth should be kept in a well ventilated cage or room. This space can never be too big for them. If you use a glass terrarium or cage with wide gaps between the bars, the moths will destroy their wings when flying against the cage or the glass.

Environmental Requirements
The ideal temperature to keep Atlas Moths and their caterpillars is 25 °C, but room temperature is also find. The temperature should not go below 14 °C

Do not keep the caterpillars too moist, as humidity makes them prone to fungal infections. If you just wet the fresh leaves that you feed them before you put them in their enclosure, than it is already moist enough.

Hanging Cocoons
When the caterpillars made their cocoons of silk and changed into pupa, you can collect them and hang them nicely. Hanging the cocoons in a planned fashion will ease the eclosion of the butterfly, opposed to having them eclose at whatever place the caterpillar has chosen.

With a needle you can pin a piece of the silk of the cocoon to and hang it from the ceiling of a cage. You can also use a needle and thread and hang the cocoon from that. Try to put it as far to the edge of the cocoon as possible, so you won’t hinder the butterfly when he wants to get out. Hang the cocoons in a space with at least 30 cm free space all around the cocoons. Make sure the cage has sides that are climbable for butterflies, so they can climb up again if the accidentally fall down. The cage cannot be too big.

Developmental time of Atlas Moths
The eggs take 10 to 14 days to hatch.
The caterpillars will eat for 35 to 45 days.
The pupa will develop into butterflies in around 21 days.
The butterfly will live for 5 to 7 days.

Reproduction and Breeding
The males of the Atlas Moth are easily recognized by their broad, feathered antenna. The females have thinner antenna and have fewer feather-like hairs on them. The wings of males and females are also very different. The ‘windows’ in the wings of females are much bigger than in thewings of males. The females are a bit larger in general.

Very shortly after the butterflies eclose from their cocoon, mating starts. The female will spread pheromones to attrackt a male. You do not need to do anything to make this happen. Some people say movement of air, wind, will facilitate mating because it makes it easier for the male to find the location of the pheromones.

The female will produce around 200 to 300 eggs. She will also produce them if she is not mated or if the eggs are unfertilized.

Do not release this moth, its eggs or the caterpillars into nature.





                                               Atlas Moth Male


                                                A Male Atlas Moth



                               A Recently Eclosed Atlas Moth female


                                            Atlas Moth on Finger



                      Just Hatched Atlas Moth Caterpillars and the Eggs




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Friday, September 16, 2016

There is A Fat, Furry Caterpillar Popping Up in Trees Across Florida: Scientists Say, “Don’t Touch This bug.”


Tampa, Florida - It's a fat, furry caterpillar that is popping up in trees across Florida, and it's known as the "puss caterpillar," or Megalopyge opercularis.

Its fur is actually covered in venom. Doctors from the University of Florida say the second you touch this caterpillar you feel instant, intense pain, which Holly Nokes can attest to. "Had one land on my camera strap last year," Nokes told FOX 13. "Burning-stinging-on-fire pain within a second of coming in contact with it. No itching just nonstop, excruciating pain. Six hours after, experienced chest pain, too," said Nokes, which led her to the emergency room.

Nokes shared a photo with FOX 13 that was taken on September 14 of the caterpillar at Lettuce Lake Park.

Doctors say the pain is worse than a bee, jellyfish, or scorpion, and it can also cause vomiting and convulsions. They say be aware of them while working outdoors because they are known to fall out of trees, which Nokes says is what happened to her.


See more.





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