Caterpillar Rearing in Georgia Part 2
Please bear with me as this post may be a bit heavy on photos. In the last entry, I described my rearing setup and the first two caterpillars which I released to pupate. The caterpillars shown below are all over-wintering in the "bug cage" I assembled out of a wire trash can and an aluminum mesh lid cut from an old window screen:
The lid is held in place with twist ties; so far it has kept the raccoons and other critters at bay. There is a raised platform in the bottom to keep the cocoons elevated, and the paper towels provide protection from the elements. I keep the whole setup under a bench so it doesn't get waterlogged every time it rains (and also to make it inconspicuous to a couple of neighbor kids who kill bugs for amusement.) I mist the cocoons with distilled water about twice a week.
I found this Polyphemus caterpillar toward the beginning of September while I was looking for slug caterpillars... I actually thought it was a slug caterpillar at first glance, but its head wasn't drawn into the body. The host plant is Water oak, Quercus nigra.
He/she didn't change as dramatically as the Hickory Horned Devil between molts. Even so, the progression is quite apparent. This photo was taken 9 days later...
And 2 weeks after that...
Within just a few days, he had spun a cocoon amongst the leaves of his food plant...
The next caterpillar I brought home to raise really was a slug caterpillar: a Smaller Parasa. I told my husband I wouldn't keep any stinging 'pillars, but it was just too neat to resist! 
This one was discovered in early October and ate American hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana.
After 4 days...
Another week later...
He only molted once after I acquired him. When the time came to form a cocoon, he spun it against the lid of the container. You can see the green lid inside the "cage" in the first photo.
In mid-October, I came across some Giant Swallowtail caterpillars on Common Hoptree, Ptelea trifoliata. Since I've never seen the adult butterfly, I decided to add one to my growing menagerie.
It only took 2 days to start pupating...
I started to worry that something had gone wrong when it stayed like this for another 48 hours; however, on the third day, it became a proper chrysalis...
I found the final caterpillar in late October: a Frosted Dagger moth. As far as I can tell, these guys only eat Hazel Alder, Alnus serrulata, and there are no photos of the adult anywhere on the internet. The larva looks like this...
I had read in David L. Wagner's book Caterpillars of Eastern North America that most dagger moths require "soft (dead) wood in which to tunnel," and that "some make a hardened cocoon by adding bits of chewed wood to the wall of the cocoon as it is being spun." That is exactly what this one did...
Hopefully they will all emerge successfully when they're ready, and I'll be able to add images of the adults!
Carmen Champagne
January 21st, 2009 at 9:53 am
Wonderful photos! I love seeing more slug caterpillars - I'm hoping to find more at our place this year.
I had the same experience with Giant Swallowtails - they took a long time to form a chrysalis.
Marcie
January 26th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I too am fascinated by slug caterpillars, but I rarely encounter them despite spending countless hours searching between the months of August and October. The exception is Saddleback caterpillars, which are relatively common around here; I find a dozen or more every fall. Besides those, I have only ever seen two Smaller parasas (including the one above) and a Skiff moth caterpillar. I do sometimes find Flannel moth caterpillars, which are not technically slug caterpillars but are similar in many ways. This year I plan to search at night with a flashlight... Maybe I'll have better luck that way.