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Friday, April 08, 2011

Bumper Crop






 
















After the initial mass march of the mourning cloak caterpillars, there has been a continuing trickle of them out of the elms and into the darnedest places to pupate.  On the house, yes, but also on a ficus trunk

on the fence,















in a euryops shrub,














and on a bucket.



This year's bumper crop of mourning cloaks continues to unfold; I found the pupa on the bucket rim as I was rummaging in random "stuff" in the back yard.  You can see this pupa has turned dark, the wing markings are visible and I correctly assumed it would soon eclose.  Within a few hours of finding the pupa I found it had emerged.

























Below the butterfly is the stain of meconium on the bucket.














Here is a close view of the attachment of the pupa to the smooth surface of the bucket by means of a silk patch and a hook.

 

3 comments:

Randy Emmitt said...

So these Mourning Cloaks did you collect and raise them? I rarely find the cats and usually they are first instar.

Deutschland said...

I wonder how you got so good. Ha-ha! This is really a fascinating blog, lots of stuff that I can get into. One thing I just want to say is that your design is so perfect! You certainly know how to get a girls attention! I’m glad that your here. I feel like I’ve learned something new by being here.

France said...

Congratulations on having one of the most sophisticated blogs I’ve come across in some time! It’s just incredible how much you can take away from something simply because of how visually beautiful it is. You’ve put together a great blog space --great graphics, videos, and layout. This is definitely a must-see blog!