Caterpillar update
Thursday, June 7, 2012
cortneyandjon in raising butterflies

All they do is eat, sleep, and poop. We're cleaning their houses at least twice a day now, and they are going through leaves at an incredible rate. Their gluttony has lead to a major size increase, and we have actually watched a few of them molt. I think the pupating stage draws nigh.

I am concerned that some of them are not as "normal" as they should be. In particular their feelers seem to lack symmetry, and I've read both that this could be due to injury from a crowded environment (as they've gotten bigger we have separated them into more tubs), and that it is a sign of OE, the infection that ultimately kills, often during eclosing. If it's OE we are in for a really heartbreaking end, but I keep telling myself it's possible I'm just over-worrying. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

(Here you see them still four to a tub, but we now have them as two to a tub)

Remember when they were oh so tiny???

Article originally appeared on Cortney and Jon Ophoff's Family Site (http://www.theophoffs.com/).
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