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Butterfly Garden

Dead Monarch Chrysalis?

14 years ago

'Ello. I have 8 Monarch's all in chrysalis' at the moment. One of the chrysalis' has turned dark red/blackish. Also, the top of the chrysalis is yellow, but it's only on the very, very top. The Monarch just got in there 2 days ago, and it's not plausible that he's almost done already. When I small the container he is in, it has a ripe smell. He was the smallest of all my Monarchs when he decided he was ready to hang. Is the chrysalis dead? If so, should I take the chrysalis out?

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Comments (2)

tdogmom
14 years ago
Doesn't sound good...You may want to carefully remove it. Pupae should NOT have an odour. Sounds like it may have one of those bacterial/viral infections and is on its way to Black Death. See the FAQ section on this one.
ericwi
14 years ago
The infected chrysalis can be removed, put into a small plastic bag, and then frozen for an hour. That will kill the developing butterfly, and minimize suffering. There is no chance that a healthy butterfly will emerge. I'm not sure what pathogen you are dealing with. I don't think that it is the protozoan, OE, aka Ophryocystis elektroscirrha. It could be a bacteria, or a virus.
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Uggggggh. I am now pretty sure it was a chalcid wasp. I looked at another one of my chrysalises - this one formed just a few days ago. I read online to look for black dots on the chrysalis, indicating where the wasp injected the eggs, and there they are :( I am going to take any of the caterpillars that are now looking to attach and move them to a safe container that has the vents covered with cut up pantyhose. I'll give them a quick water rinse first to knock off any lurking wasps. My other caterpillars, BSTs and TSTs, will also be moved to safe containers. I'm so bummed about this, but at least I learned something new and know what to look for. I would have had a heart attack if hundreds of wasps came out of my chrysalises! Click photo to enlarge. Those random small black dots do not belong there :( If I have the courage, I will cut open the first chrysalis in this post and take photos. I will leave it in the freezer for a few more days to ensure that anything in there is dead before I cut it open!
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