Catching up on the Caterpillars

Three caterpillars all after the same remaining leaf on the swan plant. Can you see the rain drops on the closest caterpillar?

There are a lot of caterpillars and not a lot of swan plants left. They have eaten everything over the weekend. How many caterpillars can you count?

Caterpillar on the move.

Ever wondered what the undercarriage of a caterpillar looked like? Ever wondered how they got from one leaf to another  so quickly? Which end is the head and how can you tell?

One chrysalis, one on the way, and one caterpillar looking for somewhere to start its own chrysalis.

Can you work out which end is the head and which is the rear end? Clue: It only has 3 pairs of legs and the rest are 'prolegs' or claws help it hold onto the plant.

Caterpillar close up.

This caterpillar turned into a chrysalis since yesterday. Check back to see if you can find where it was hanging. Can you see that it has left is moulted skin outside the chysalis?

Can you see the three sets of legs and the prolegs?

Can you see how many swan plant stalks there are? Check back to previous blogs to see how much the caterpillars have eaten over the weekend.

This shows a successful hatching into a butterfly over the weekend.

A caterpillar in the process of changing into a chrysalis. We rescued this when it came off its leaf and we found it lying on the ground.

It was holding onto the leaf by a very fine thread. We got very excited watching the caterpillar change into its chrysalis during our lunchtime.

And..this is what happens when the chrysalis falls off the very fine thread, and lands on a computer charger. We learned that a chrysalis's body fluids are green and dark orange.