09-13-2009, 09:16 PM
As a side hobby, i often rear butterflies. I had a total of 5 individuals, three monarch, two black swallowtails. none of them have made it, though i have one black swallotail caterpillar left, but no guarantees.
One monarch was a victim of a Tachinid fly. These lay eggs on larva of various species, and the maggots will eat out said host. Why they are incredibly beneficial to the environment (they kill pests, and fill as pollinators for places bees can't go), it is a shame when they target a pretty butterfly, and not a pest insect. They wait until the caterpillar forms a chrysalis, then they eat their way out, killing the monarch in the process.
the second monarch was a victim of a pathogen of some kind. I don't know exactly what did it in, but it was not able to form correctly, and had other symptoms of infection by something.
the third monarch had a bum leg, which is bad, as Monarchs and many other butterflies are "4-legged". Their front pair of legs are undersized and folded up towards the body, and they only walk on the middle and rear pairs of legs. this resulted in the monarch being unable to hold and as a result, he fell and broke the root of his left forewing, grounding him permanently. IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH... he appears to be a carrier of the same infection that knocked off the above individual. butterflies with a more mild infection usually can survive, and that is how they continue to transmit the disease. Perhaps its better it is grounded anyway.
One of my Black Swallowtails hatched, but failed to spread its left wings properly, and there is a large bend in the right fore wing. While I did find him in a proper hanging postion when i noticed this, I'm assuming it must have fell and been un-able to spread its wings, as it had plenty of things to hold onto. The first ten minutes after the butterlfy hatches are extremely important, and i'm guessing thats when he fell, since damage at that time usually results in problems like this. Luckily, he is otherwise healthy, and accepts gatorade, so i guess he'll just have to hang out.
the last black swallowtail is still a caterpillar. I've been feeding him, but he should have formed into a chrysalis and hatched as an adult by now, so I'm guessing he has something wrong as well, but he is still eating. Its a good sign this individual also has a parasite, but he could just be a late-bloomer. we'll see.
I don't think I've ever had such an unfortunate group. As it turns out though, only 1 of 10 monarchs ever survive as eggs/caterpillars/chrysalis. While they taste bad and are poisonous to most predators, there are a few specialized predators and many microbial and fungal illness that frequently wipe out the majority of the butterflies before they ever turn into adults and spread their wings.
One monarch was a victim of a Tachinid fly. These lay eggs on larva of various species, and the maggots will eat out said host. Why they are incredibly beneficial to the environment (they kill pests, and fill as pollinators for places bees can't go), it is a shame when they target a pretty butterfly, and not a pest insect. They wait until the caterpillar forms a chrysalis, then they eat their way out, killing the monarch in the process.
the second monarch was a victim of a pathogen of some kind. I don't know exactly what did it in, but it was not able to form correctly, and had other symptoms of infection by something.
the third monarch had a bum leg, which is bad, as Monarchs and many other butterflies are "4-legged". Their front pair of legs are undersized and folded up towards the body, and they only walk on the middle and rear pairs of legs. this resulted in the monarch being unable to hold and as a result, he fell and broke the root of his left forewing, grounding him permanently. IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH... he appears to be a carrier of the same infection that knocked off the above individual. butterflies with a more mild infection usually can survive, and that is how they continue to transmit the disease. Perhaps its better it is grounded anyway.
One of my Black Swallowtails hatched, but failed to spread its left wings properly, and there is a large bend in the right fore wing. While I did find him in a proper hanging postion when i noticed this, I'm assuming it must have fell and been un-able to spread its wings, as it had plenty of things to hold onto. The first ten minutes after the butterlfy hatches are extremely important, and i'm guessing thats when he fell, since damage at that time usually results in problems like this. Luckily, he is otherwise healthy, and accepts gatorade, so i guess he'll just have to hang out.
the last black swallowtail is still a caterpillar. I've been feeding him, but he should have formed into a chrysalis and hatched as an adult by now, so I'm guessing he has something wrong as well, but he is still eating. Its a good sign this individual also has a parasite, but he could just be a late-bloomer. we'll see.
I don't think I've ever had such an unfortunate group. As it turns out though, only 1 of 10 monarchs ever survive as eggs/caterpillars/chrysalis. While they taste bad and are poisonous to most predators, there are a few specialized predators and many microbial and fungal illness that frequently wipe out the majority of the butterflies before they ever turn into adults and spread their wings.
Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.
![[Image: logosmall.png]](http://i543.photobucket.com/albums/gg445/CAB_IV/Model%20Trains%202013/logosmall.png)
