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Butterfly Garden

Monarch Chrysalis problems

15 years ago

well, the one on my window seems to have flown away and the remaining chrysalis skin (?) seems normal enough. However, the ones we brought inside are less exciting. One fell and I'm certain it's not doing well. No green goo but it is a light green color and somewhat dented. I'll keep it for a few more days I suppose and see what happens.

Then I have another that is attached too a branch and has begun to look transparent but one of the abdominal segments seems "stretched". It's like a ring of black/orange. I haven't seen any pictures of it online to indicate it is normal or not. Wondering if this one is a goner too.

I did find a few more attached to our pool cage so I'll be watching them over the next few days. That will make me happy if the two inside are d.e.a.d. :(

Comments (7)

tdogmom
15 years ago
tackysue,

Are your pupae spotted? In other words, do you find that there are odd looking black marks on the green? If so, then chances are that your pupae have had OE spore parasitization while in the larval stage.
tackysue
Original Author
15 years ago
No. There are no other unusual spots. I did some reading on OE and it doesn't seem that is this particular problem.

I'm going to try and post a picture today.
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Sorry, I was a little panicked when I wrote that post :) The chrysalis I am worried about was hanging until I tried to move it this morning. It is very close to emerging - the chrysalis is clear and I can see the wings. I have it laying on a washcloth, thorax side up, with several sticks very close. I am hoping when it ecloses, it will crawl up the stick to hang. Black Swallowtails seem to be good at doing this, but I'm unsure about a Monarch. I've never had this happen with a Monarch, so I've only seen them hang from their empty chrysalis to dry. I don't have a glue gun, and I'm afraid to leave and go get one - what if it ecloses while I'm gone and can't get onto the stick? I keep checking on it, thinking I can gently help it to the stick after emerging if needed. When necessary to move baby cats, I use a clean soft paintbrush. I have a slightly larger one, (1/2" wide), that I think will work well to move him/her without hurting anything.
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Can you post another picture? The one posted is blurry, so it is hard to see the spots. If the spots are under the cuticle of the chrysalis then it is very possible it is OE. If it is on the surface, then it is something else. Sometimes there is an injury to the chrysalis (like when another caterpillar walks over it) and it can be dark as well. Dark spots in general can be lots of things. Often it is melanin produced in response to a pathogen (bacteria, virus, etc.) or injury. OE is one of the few pathogens that the dark spots are actually the spores. Once the butterfly emerges (if it emerges)the spores are then on the outside of the insect on the scales. The spores are large enough to be seen by microscope. Hope that helps, Elisabeth
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Tdogmom...when the Monarchs get to last instar they eat like there's no tomorrow...as if you didn't know! Around 7 or 8 PM I bring in a big handful of leaves and think it will hold them til morning. Luckily I wake up a couple times during the night so I find them just sitting on the sticks waiting for "more, please"...LOL. So I turn on the back porch lights and traipse out there with the flashlight, pick more leaves, wash them and put them in cleaned out container. Some nights I'm smarter or just in better "memory state" and keep a stalk in water in fridge so I don't have to make the night run to the garden but never seem to have enough for the big guys...and the little ones seem to zoom in milkweed consumption after 4th instar. If I had more than the 9 Monarchs I'd raise them differently with a potted plant so they'd have more room to roam and be in a more natural setting. Didn't want to take the chance with these 9 since they were all different sizes and worried about cannibalization so kept them segregated. Geez...sounds like I'm running a boot camp for delinquent Monarch cats...LOL.
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tackysue
Original Author
15 years ago
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=fpk6bvz.5t1jg99f&x=0amp;y=-3typbc&localeid=en_US

These pictures show the chrysalis in question. It has been in a chrysalis for 7 days at this point. Today it looks "longer"? Could be my eyes playing tricks on me though.
butterflymomok
15 years ago
TS,

I checked out the photo and the chrysalis looks healthy to me. I'd just wait it out and see what happens.

I raised over 150 Monarchs this summer and there was variation in size and shapes among them. I stuck all of them inside a pop-up clothes hamper, so I could really see the differences with that many attached to the sides!

Sandy
tackysue
Original Author
15 years ago
I'm definately going to wait and see. I feel like he's getting more transparent with each passing day which I think is encouraging. This would be my first EVER!
terrene
15 years ago
That chrysalis looks pretty normal to me too - this summer I raised 20 Monarchs from mostly eggs to pupae. 19 out of 20 eclosed successfully. One had kind of a brownish tint to the pupa, and when it eclosed it fell to the bottom of the container and was there for an hour or so before I noticed it. By that time, the wings were all mangled and so I euthanized it. Interestingly, it was the only one that pupated on a stick and not on the top of the container, where I had taped across some paper towel. I think this one was sickly anyway (possibly OE), if it didn't have strength to cling to the chrysalis or the stick, and expand and wiggle its wings.

Hope you get a beautiful Monarch or two from the chrysalides. For me, the most exciting moments are when they pupate, when they eclose, and then when they fly off!
tackysue
Original Author
15 years ago
It's turning dark! I can see the wings through the "skin"!!! I'm really happy. I know it still has some work to do but this is very encouraging to me. Thanks!

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?what to do with this little guy?

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