Congrats Maryann! That is exciting to have found them! It was last year that I thought I had found BCs, but it ended up being Harris' Checkerspots.

The last time you reared them, did they overwinter with you? Did they overwinter as caterpillars, or does a second brood overwinter?

Keep us posted, and it's good to know about "Hot Lips"; I have that too in addition to the regular turtlehead.

That's wonderful, Maryann!
How could you tell the two parasitized ones were parasitized when they molted?
Sherry

That's wonderful! Do keep us posted!! We have a ton of Chelone at the house but I suspect it is all lyonii too. I was worried we would have to rip it all out. So, it would help us out greatly to know if yours make it to adulthood. Now I just have to find a source of eggs and cats here. Is it a tachnid fly or wasp do you know?
-Elisabeth

Maryann, That's great that you're raising BC's again! I was following your thread before when you were raising them and enjoyed reading about it all. I'll be watching to see if they do well on the Chelone lyonii. That's all I have right now. I'm trying to start glabra from seed but so far not having much luck. I tried it last year too with no luck, so if yours do well on the lyonii, I'm going to just keep that here and forget about the others. I think the lyonii is prettier anyway. Best of luck on your BC adventures! :)
Cathy

Bernergrll,
The last time I raised them was starting in Aug of 2006. I gathered a nest of them (caterpillars) and brought them home to raise. I overwintered half outside on plantain covered with remay netting to protect them. The other half I overwintered in the unheated garage, on a potted plantain.

In june of 2oo7 they went into their final molt and pupated. Adults eclosed in the third week of June but never managed to mate or lay eggs anywhere on my property.

This year, when i was driving by the park, I decided to stop in hopes of nabbing a few.

I had already been there once before this spring, in April, with a student from UConn who hoped to find nests of them for her thesis. No Luck then.

But in early May, I managed to find just this one group, and gathered a few for rearing.

After about a week their eating slowed, so thinking about all I'd read about them liking a change of diet in the spring, I tried the Hot Lips.

They are really chomping away at it (although not nearly like Pipevines) and seem to be developing well. One has hung the "J" and hopefully will pupate sucessfully. I did seem a little small. There are many others that are larger and still eating.

I know that two were parasitized because after a molt, I could see the little cocoons on the caterpillars...Like you get on tomato hornworms. When I get time I'll try to have them IDed.

So far, no others have shown signs of parasitism.

Maryann

Thanks Maryann. Maybe having a pot with soil is the key if one is to bring these overwintering cats into a garage. Did you water the pot on a regular basis?

The Harris' were so small too, and I wonder if they didn't become active, and I missed it and wasn't providing fresh plants. But I was keeping an eye on what was happening outside with the asters.

Did the cats fall in the leaf litter? I'm so glad that you were able to overwinter them.

Maryann;
Did a little digging. I guess the parasitoid that infects baltimore checkerspots has been pretty well studied and is a braconid. Usually braconids lay in multiples and erupt in alien fashion like on the tabacco hornworm. The ichneumons tend to lay fewer eggs, more like a single one and a single larva will emerge and pupate with sometimes striking results. This is not always true. Tachnids usually emerge during the pupal phase. Anyhow, here is the abstract I found.

Abstract
Smith Trail (1980) suggested that this system (Euphydryas phaeton caterpillars and their parasitoids) is appropriate for testing the hypothesis of host suicide, and that parasitized hosts advertise themselves to predators and, thus, contribute to increased survivorship of their nonparasitized siblings. However, it appears from this study, other life-history information cited on this system, and data cited on the E. editha-parasitoid system that host suicide is unlikely in such nymphalid butterflies. Rather, these observations support the hypothesis that the behavior of parasitized larvae prior to parasitoid emergence may increase the parasitoids' chances of escaping predation and parasitism. Consequently, behavior of parasitized hosts in host-parasitoid systems may contribute to higher survivorship of parasitoids just as the behavior of hosts parasitized by true parasites promotes acquisition by definitive hosts and, thus, parasite survival.

bananasinohio--

What a fascinating idea that parasitized hosts offer themselves up--that happens in other families of butterflies/moths?

I have a question about the following statement:

"Rather, these observations support the hypothesis that the behavior of parasitized larvae prior to parasitoid emergence may increase the parasitoids' chances of escaping predation and parasitism."

What do the larvae do that helps to increase the paraitoids chance of survival? Does it mean that the larvae do something that escapes the notice of predators like birds or other wasps/predatory insects?

I love this kind of information! Is it in an academic entomological journal?

Would there be any info about what's required to raise Harris' (Hope this isn't considered hijacking a thread...)

Thanks for the info!

No problem, Bernergrrl...let's set this thread out there for all to comment on Harris or Baltos...and any other parasitism issues.

The student who I explored the park with (in hopes for nests of Baltos for her project), was very well versed in her explantions of her project. It had to do with the type of larval food and the degree of parasitism.

Well, as of this morning, 18 have pupated sucessfully.Two more are still wandering about eating occasionally.

After a brief discussion with student "April" we've concluded the parasite was a Branconid. Apparently my help in locating a viable reproducing colony has helped two students with their studies.

Yet, while I understand the needs of science, I do also appreciate the value of the colonies existence, and the need for it to remain protected. Yet when I see those guys in that park on their mowers... I realize that their mowers probably eat more cats than any well meaning students research ever will.

And the student also plans to take the pupae back to the park now that the study is done.

So many isuues..Maryann

Bernergrrl;
By climbing up the baltimore checkerspot caterpillars help the wasp larvae avoid hyperparasitism. These wasps are subject to parasitism themselves. Most wasps find their victims through chemical and visual cues. I am not sure if this behavior alters that in some way. also, when they climb up this allows the emerging adult wasps to find each other and mate.

To find these studies, I put key words into google and then use their "scholar" search to find abstracts of scientific papers. These abstracts are compiled on services like Wiley interscience. It takes a little digging sometimes. Usually, you only have access to the abstracts. If you have a kindly research librarian, they can get you the full paper for free or else you have to pay big bucks. I do a lot of research for the arboretum I volunteer for and the talks I give so I spend a lot of time looking at abstracts. Fun!
Cheers,
Elisabeth

Hyperparasitism, eh? That's hilarious!

"The big fleas have little fleas
upon their backs to bite 'em.
These fleas in turn have lesser fleas,
And so ad infinitum..."

---

MaryAnn,

Your news about Hot Lips is of significant interest. The last I heard, C. lyonii was not an effective host plant and was of concern because it outcompetes C. glabra in the wild. Either my information was incorrect or else we're seeing another difference between the CT and MD races.

Jeff

Jeff, it could be a regional difference...

But let's not forget that these caterpillars spent the better part of their life cycle on english plantain. Only in the last week or so of their lives as caterpillars did I substiture the hot lips for the plantain. They accepted it well and ate well. But since they were so close to pupation anyways it's hard to conclude that hot lips would be a suitable host for the caterpillars entire development.

Maybe I can try to raise some this year on the hot lips as soon as I discover them in August.

It'd be great to know if Hot Lips alone can be their sole food source.

Maryann

As of today, all of those which pupated have eclosed sucessfully..except one who had an unfortunate accident due to my carelessness.

I released them into my backyard, where I have several suitable hostplants. I actually observed two looking as if they were checking each other out...so I'm hoping they may produce a brood.

Interestingly. they seem to be fairly weak flyers and spend much of their time on lawn clover

I can't imagine them flying too far..which may explain why their colonies in the wild seem to be so localized.

Anyways, they are just gorgeous and an interesting experiment..Yet again.

maryann

Congrats maryann! I bet it was an amazing sight--would love to see some here. I have to get out and start looking more.

The deer ate a lot of my c.glabra this year. I keep it hoping that the BCs will come someday.

I've been raising Baltimores since the spring of 2006. We filled out permits and got them from NY. This year has been incredible. They do use other Chelone species. I have mine laying on C. obliqua, too.

They only use the Chelone so far as a primary host plant in Virginia and Maryland. But, the second year I am cataloging so many plants it isn't funny. I think in the second year, they turn into goats--even eating butterfly bush and lilac.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chelone obliqua