Another animal on my shelf has pupated! And that makes it easier to manage with no more worrying about its food. Now my fingers are crossed that it will successfully emerge some day. This could be in a couple of weeks or it may overwinter to emerge in late spring.
Remember the cuddly but don’t touch Asp or Southern Flannel Moth (Megalopyge opercularis)? Yep, it pupated yesterday!
It was on the shelf for six days before it did its pupation. And it did it some time in the morning. I know this because I checked on it before I had headed out to the grasslands. When I got back, it had finished the job. 🙂 The berries of Yaupon Holly look fall festive!
A side view! The cocoon is laced with many silks.
A back view lets you see the attaching silk. Maybe someday, I will catch a critter making its silk cocoon, but in the meantime check out this youtube video, silk worm building a cocoon.
With a pile of frass at the bottom of jar, it was time to look closer. That is the six day pile. 🙂
What surprised me most was that the frass were shaped like a cup! I wonder how many other larvae do the same? Certainly, almost as crazy as wombat making cubed poop. Furthermore, now I will have to look closer at all the frass.
Each frass measured about 2.31mm with the inside diameter about .75mm.
The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know
9 Comments
Love the silk worm video. My mother ordered some every year for her students to watch. Glad my fuzzy wuzzy pupated. Now cant wait to see outcome. Thanks
Love the silk worm video. My mother ordered some every year for her students to watch. Glad my fuzzy wuzzy pupated. Now cant wait to see outcome. Thanks
Wow for your mother! I wonder if teachers do that today?
Wow 5 hours just to start encasing itself. Did it say how many total hours until done? Lot of work!
Wow cup shaped frass.
I did not see an exact time.
You have lots of spider pics just as fun!
Thank you! 🙂
It looks so soft as a pupa too!
Amazing!
🙂