I can't say for sure if it's dead or alive. It's not a good idea to use any grocery store food for host plants. Even Whole Foods vegetables may have systemic insecticides in them - the store saying they're natural is no guarantee that no insecticides were used. It's always better to grow your own host plants from seed, make cuttings from roadside plants, or order your plants from a mail order, native plant source that guarantees they don't use insecticides, and doesn't sell their plants to feed people. I've read that plants give off gases, so if you put the piece of redbay in an enclosed container with the BST caterpillar, it may have adversely affected it. In an open air situation, being near other plants is no problem. Your redbay egg is probably a palamedes swallowtail, but spicebush swallowtails do occasionally use redbay, so it might be a spicebush. Sherry

So do I Sherry! I never get over being amazed and excited by watching them develop. I'm not sure John, but 3rd seems just right to me too. Angie

Also, do hatchlings sometimes skip the egg casing meal and jump straight into munching on leaves instead? I have two cats whose egg casings are still untouched, but they appear to be eating leaves and have little bits of frass underneath the leaves they are on, so I was just wondering if they can survive without eating the egg casing as long as they are eating leaves. thanks

OK, molting was a bad word. I suppose edema would be more accurate, but its not from too much water- I keep these chiles/pepper pretty lean-then water. These chiles/peppers are: Poblano, passilla bajio and red marconi. I used a fan on them 2-3+ hrs at dawn and dusk. I will research edema some more. Thanks OF