This post will be mostly photos, since Week two can be summed up as:
- Collect milkweed.
- Feed caterpillars.
- Vacuum caterpillar poop from floor of habitat.
- Wait for chrysalises to form.
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- Three caterpillars on the milkweed cutting. July 25th.
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- Two smaller caterpillars climb on a leaf. July 25th.
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- A medium caterpillar and one only a few days old on a leaf. July 26th.
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- A caterpillar crawls across a milkweed pod. July 26th.
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- One of the smaller caterpillars has eaten a large hole in this leaf. July 27th.
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- To keep up with caterpillar demand, the habitat now has 3 jars of milkweed. July 27th.
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- The top leaves are the tastiest! July 27th.
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- Various stage caterpillars on a milkweed. July 27th.
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- Closeup of the hungry, hungry caterpillars. July 27th.
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- There aren’t any predators in the habitat, but instinct tells them the underside of the leaves are safest. July 27th.
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- The plants in the habitat (door unzipped). July 28th.
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- Different sizes all sharing dinner. July 28th.
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- Happy with the leaf it has chosen. July 28th.
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- Even as the oldest caterpillars fatten themselves in preparation for forming chrysalis, new eggs are hatching and new baby caterpillars are joining the habitat. July 28th.
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- Several caterpillars clearcut the top of the milkweed (they love the tender leaves). July 28.
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- A closeup of the big one. July 28th.
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- The top of another plant is looking a bit sparse. More leaves need soon. July 28th.
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- On this day, several of the caterpillars decided to eat the milkweed seedpods instead of leaves. July 29th.
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- Another caterpillar munches on a seedpod. Their poop was very, very green (instead of the usual blackish) after eating this part of the plant. July 29th.
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- Two different sized caterpillars, one recently hatched and one almost ready to form its chrysalis, share a leaf. July 30th.
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- A large caterpillar peaks out from behind the leaf it is munching on. July 30th.
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- The oldest caterpillar has hung itself in a J formation, preparing to form its chrysalis. July 30th.
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- A closer look at the J formation. It hung in this shape for almost 12 hours. July 30th.
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- The first chrysalis, seen through the habitat’s plastic window. I only looked away for a few minutes between this and the previous photo. July 30th.
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- A closer look at the new chrysalis. It is only a few minutes old and hasn’t achieved its final shape yet. July 30th.
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- The final form of the chrysalis is smooth and has shifted its mass to the top. July 30th.
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- When the caterpillars are preparing to take the J formation (first stage of chrysalis development) they take up this position for several hours. July 30th.
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- Another caterpillar prepares to transition. They curl up like this if I get too close with the camera. July 31st.
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- Two more caterpillars find safety in numbers and decide to attach themselves to the mesh habitat instead of a leaf. July 31st.
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