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Butterfly Garden

Tiny Tan Cocoons Again

14 years ago

I am currently rearing bunch of Battus philenor (Pipe Vine Swallowtail) and Papilio zelicaon (Anise Swallowtail) cats and have found two tiny little tan cocoons on some of the stems of the fennel plants they are feeding on. It makes me sick to think that I may be rearing a bunch of "dead cats walking". This hasn't happened to me in years and I hope it won't be like the last time when all died leaving those nasty cocoons behind. Only time will tell. I found the cats at a variety of stages from teeny to midway stages and one almost ready to pupate. They were all on virtually the same plant and that is what gives me great concern. I will just have to wait and see.

At this point the pvs cats look okay but there are so many of them I have had to put them back on the vines and cover them with netting to offer as much protection as possible. In the past I have found that if I raise them indoors for as long as I can keep up with them they seem to have a better chance of survival if they are a good size when I put them outside.

I will keep you posted. Murray

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Comments (4)

weed30 St. Louis
14 years ago
I had those last year. From what I know, there is a tiny wasp that lays an egg in the caterpillar. It develops inside the caterpillar, and then the larva comes out and makes its cocoon. The caterpillar dies eventually. The only way to prevent it is to put netting on your plants before the eggs hatch, or bring the eggs inside and raise your butterflies inside.
napapen
14 years ago
Those tiny parasites are the reason I try to collect fresh eggs asap. The last 4 anisetails were all infected and I kept one of the them and let it hatch in a jar. It was a very small fly like creature. Since the gopher found a way into the roots of the fennel, I won't have Anise cats again, but I am so jealous of the PVS as I have tons of leaves and no takers. I'm ready for Monarchs too.

Penny
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MissSherry
14 years ago
Uh oh, Murray, those parasitic wasps can really do on number on your poor cats! Braconid wasps parasitize my red admirals - I don't know how to stop it unless you put a chair outside by the host plants so you can get every egg after it's laid.
Anise swallowtails are gorgeous!
Sherry
murray_2008
Original Author
14 years ago
I still have pvs adults laying eggs almost daily on the vines and have stopped trying to raise them inside beyond a certain size as I already mentioned and when I put them outside I use netting to protect them. My arthritis fibro and headaches have made it too hard to keep up with the cages and all. But I really worry about the little guys and keep them inside as long as I can. Getting old for some of us is no easy path.

Speaking of vines though, I have so much pipe vine that I could feed a proverbial army of cats. I just wish the leaves kept fresh for a longer time so I wouldn't have to go out several times a day to collect fresh ones; especially in the morning. The anise swallowtail cats are much easier that way.

So far none have died or seem to have stopped feeding and at least 5 of them are about at chrysalis stage so I am hoping. Those brachonid wasps are soo tiny that I needed a magnifying glass to see them the time they hatched from a couple of pipe vine cats a few years ago.

I am surprised to hear that they get the RA cats as I thought they developed under a netting, Sherry. But then they are tiny.
Murray

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