Yes, that's exactly what they do here, and I'm surprised that not more people mention this happening at their place too. Surely you and I are not the only ones that have GSTs do this. It's just like you describe, they keep turning their heads like they're looking around for food, but even if I put them back on it, they crawl right off again. I've given up on trying to get them to eat. Last year I kept putting them back on their food and I had a lot of them die. So then I thought this year maybe if I don't interfere that they would turn out to be just fine. Nope! They still died. As a matter of fact, I had some die off the plant AND even on the plant (well, cutting actually). I have no idea what's going on with that. It just baffles me! Good luck with your cats and finding food for them. I really hope that someone can help you out. I'd hate to see them starve, but in nature I'm sure it probably happens a lot. So you don't have any friends or relatives who might have a GST host plant? Just a thought. Cathy

Tony, You can add sticks to your plants. You can make an easy container for pupation by taking a small tomato cage and triming the prongs on the bottom. Bend the prongs in toward the middle. Purchase 5 gallon paint strainers from Lowe's and put one of these over the tomato cage so that the prongs are on top and the wide edge is at the bottom (upside down tomato cage). Use this as an enclosure over your plants. The caterpillars will pupate on the metal frame. You can use these over and over by washing the strainer. Another option is to put your plant in any kind of plastic container or aquarium. Use netting or the plastic tops available for reptiles. I use netting with the thin elastic as a "rubber band" to keep the netting over the container. Put sticks in the aquarium for pupation. Whatever you use should be kept in a relatively cool environment over the winter. Hope this helps.

he nibbled just a tiny bit ( you can barely see the little missing pieces on the edges of leaf) and now he is just sitting on the leaf. he looks skinny, and weak, like his skin looks all baggy and wrinkly. but he did molt successfully, because I saw his old skin and head capsule. So strange, he was fine before the molt, and now it seems like he doesn't "like" orange leaves anymore and is looking for something else. I truly think something is wrong with his mouthparts, since he appears to at least try to nibble, then it is like he gets frustrated and starts pacing around again, his behavior is almost exactly like that of cats that are looking for a place to pupate. and he is about 3 weeks old, i think, the other two hatchlings from his "group" died when they were like two of three days old, one hardly ate at all, the other was eating normally and when I went to change his leaf and picked it up, he rolled off, i waited a while to see if he startedmoving again, but he died on the leaf. I guess it is survival of the fittest so to speak, even when they are indoors. I used to keep them separated according to size, but i decided to keep all of the cats in their own individual containers after I had one cat die when trying to molt, I am almost positive that the cat he shared a container with, ate the leaf he was attached to and knocked him off before he molted, even though he had his own new leaf, because he was fine when i checked them before i went to bed that night, and when i woke up he was lying on the floor of container trapped in his old skin, and the other cat was on the leaf eating it, they had shared a container since they hatched, but apparently this particular cat didn't like to share, he is one of the few I have that still "stinks" me when I change his leaf and clean his container, he is super aggressive, most of them seem to be used to me and don't get defensive when I clean and give new leaves, but this one almost EVERY time, sticks his little horns out at me, I dread fooling with his container because i cannot stand that smell, lol. I lost one more cat due to an unsuccessful molt, it was a first instar, not sure what happened but he was all tangled up in his old skin. But the first one I lost due to molting was on his 3rd molt, and completely healthy, so the only thing I could think of that may have happened was that the other cat forced him off of the leaf, but idk, I felt so sorry for him, all that work and time, and he had made it through the more delicate stages and survived. Hopefully this one will perk up, I thought about putting him outside on the tree, it is nice and sunny today, and letting him wander around to see if he finds a leaf that suits him, I have some tulle fabric I can tie around the tree to keep predators from getting him, does that sound like a good idea? thanks everyone!!

Thanks!! It has been quite the learning experience, lol. It has been so difficult to find food for them, and I felt so bad for them when I would see them wander around looking for "better" leaves, when I was out of tender leaves, and didn't have anything better to offer them. One of the cats, maybe third instar, went on a hunger strike for quite a while, he was so weak he was falling off of the old leaf i was trying to get him to eat. Some of them have been easier to please than others, maybe half and half. But the ones that kept wandering around and trying to crawl out of their little habitats, kept me worried. I am thinking that there must not be a GST host plant anywhere else near my house, if the GST chose my sad little dward navel tree to lay eggs on, lol, because when I say it is sad, I mean it, only has foliage on one branch, I think it is damaged from sunburn from what I have found out by researching. I think my tree must have been the last resort around here, haha. THis morning I had just ran out of the last bit of new tender leaves I had, which I got from my mother's neighbor earlier this week, so I am thrilled to know that I can stop worrying about what I am going to feed these guys now, finally!! I have given some of the leaves to a few already, about an hour or two ago, and so far so good!! I do remember that the ones who got sick, got sick almost immediately after they ate the leaves, so I think you must be right Missherry, thanks for all of your advice and info!! You have been so helpful!! I really appreciate it!