Sunday, July 18, 2004
Countdown in the Garden
General:
19 - mosquito bites I've gotten in the last 2 weeks
8 - times the nasturtiums bloomed
6 - new leaves suddenly appearing on my Sago Palm after 3 years with 3 leaves
4 - months it took the dark purple morning glories to climb to the top of the trellis.
3 - miniature rose bushes brought back from the brink of death by black spot
2 - geckos
1 - possible snake
0 - times the columbine bloomed this year
Caterpillars:
Every year my bronze fennel hosts a burgeoning crop of black swallowtail caterpillars. Having been in a drought the last few years, I raised up to 40 butterflies in one year. This year, we've had more rain than we have since 1932 (literally) and several generations were washed away before I broke down and brought them... inside.
The saga, which I've always wanted to document, follows (excuse the personal pronouns, I have no idea if they're boys or girls):
Thursday, July 8:
Resolved to save the next batch of caterpillars from the nightly monsoons, I break off several branches with 7 eggs total (about the size of *). They're already bright yellow, which means they're ripe. I put the branches in a small crystal vase and set it up high on a ledge next to the porch screen, which is covered on the outside by plastic to prevent it from pouring in.
Friday, July 9:
Home from work, I check on them and sure enough they have all hatched. 2, however, have crawled off the branch and onto the screen; of course they're between the screen and plastic, which means 30 hot, humid minutes standing perfectly still coaxing them onto a stripped branch of fennel poked through the screen and extracting them, much like Operation, without the buzzing or electrocution. An improvised aquarium of a tupperware bin covered in a chiffon scarf (enough to let air in, meshy to prevent escapes) holds the vase and miniature garden with caterpillars the size of ___.
Saturday, July 10:
They eat very little until I put in little yellow fennel flowers, and then it's like pizza in a frat house. Party!
Sunday, July 11:
1 dies over night, and 1 insists on jumping (falling) off the plant repeatedly.
Monday, July 12:
Suprise! While replacing the fronds with fresher leaves, I find a 5 day old caterpillar on the outside plant, and bring it in. He's got to be tough to have survived several days of storms.
Tuesday, July 13:
2 more die overnight, bringing the total to 5. Each morning and night, I spend about 20 minutes a time fussing over them, pushing them onto bigger, fresher branches or new flowers. Still, they don't always want to eat. Some days are eating days, sometimes they just sleep. They're doubling in size about every other day.
Wednesday, July 14:
The caterpillars are getting big (over an inch), so I bring in an entire plant and put the 2 biggest on there. 3 are still little and like the flowered branches, so I leave them there, propped up against the bigger plant. They're pretty fussy about being moved, and basically mope all night.
Thursday, July 15:
One of the ones on the vase climbed up on the big bush, and one of the others molts, leaving behind what looks like a run-over caterpillar. His little paws are bright white, and he starts eating again, happily. When I mist down the plant to keep it moist, they suddenly all discover they have orange retractable horns and show them off so I'll leave them alone. Teenagers! I tell them I'm not impressed or scared. But, despite an attitude problem, they eat quite a bit.
Friday, July 16:
After work I notice that 2 are gone! I find one crawling across the table I've set the plant on, but the other one is just missing. I've noticed that when they're molting or about to pupate, they get very upset and run like a house on fire all over the place, which is probably what happened. The found one falls off the plant again (discovered by my cat). These caterpillars have muscly white feet at the back, with a short break, and then 3 sets of claws near their head. His back feet aren't able to grip properly, probably due to growth, so I set up the terrarium again, fronds in a vase and scarf on top. A few fronds lain at the bottom catch him and he spends the night down there, but does start eating again. I also found 4 new eggs on the bushes outside and add them to the collection.
Saturday, July 17:
Terrarium Guy is still lethargic, but eats a little, and the eggs are starting to ripen. The largest caterpillar is nearly the size of my pinky finger and eats large fronds to the nub, followed by what looks like the hiccups! The next largest also eats a lot and makes a general mess of things. Caterpillar waste is technically called "frass" and let's just say this is a frass fest. My cat helps me clean up and is getting jealous... The third one molts while I'm seeing "I-Robot" (GREAT movie) and I find it eating the moltings. I had no idea they do this, and I'm not sure I want to know why they do it. Yuck!
Sunday, July 18:
Yet another Molt and Devour this morning (again, gross), and the largest one looks as though he's almost ready to pupate, but not before he eats half the plant! Still not much action from Terrarium Guy, but it looks like he at least ate during the night. Maybe he's just a night owl?
19 - mosquito bites I've gotten in the last 2 weeks
8 - times the nasturtiums bloomed
6 - new leaves suddenly appearing on my Sago Palm after 3 years with 3 leaves
4 - months it took the dark purple morning glories to climb to the top of the trellis.
3 - miniature rose bushes brought back from the brink of death by black spot
2 - geckos
1 - possible snake
0 - times the columbine bloomed this year
Caterpillars:
Every year my bronze fennel hosts a burgeoning crop of black swallowtail caterpillars. Having been in a drought the last few years, I raised up to 40 butterflies in one year. This year, we've had more rain than we have since 1932 (literally) and several generations were washed away before I broke down and brought them... inside.
The saga, which I've always wanted to document, follows (excuse the personal pronouns, I have no idea if they're boys or girls):
Thursday, July 8:
Resolved to save the next batch of caterpillars from the nightly monsoons, I break off several branches with 7 eggs total (about the size of *). They're already bright yellow, which means they're ripe. I put the branches in a small crystal vase and set it up high on a ledge next to the porch screen, which is covered on the outside by plastic to prevent it from pouring in.
Friday, July 9:
Home from work, I check on them and sure enough they have all hatched. 2, however, have crawled off the branch and onto the screen; of course they're between the screen and plastic, which means 30 hot, humid minutes standing perfectly still coaxing them onto a stripped branch of fennel poked through the screen and extracting them, much like Operation, without the buzzing or electrocution. An improvised aquarium of a tupperware bin covered in a chiffon scarf (enough to let air in, meshy to prevent escapes) holds the vase and miniature garden with caterpillars the size of ___.
Saturday, July 10:
They eat very little until I put in little yellow fennel flowers, and then it's like pizza in a frat house. Party!
Sunday, July 11:
1 dies over night, and 1 insists on jumping (falling) off the plant repeatedly.
Monday, July 12:
Suprise! While replacing the fronds with fresher leaves, I find a 5 day old caterpillar on the outside plant, and bring it in. He's got to be tough to have survived several days of storms.
Tuesday, July 13:
2 more die overnight, bringing the total to 5. Each morning and night, I spend about 20 minutes a time fussing over them, pushing them onto bigger, fresher branches or new flowers. Still, they don't always want to eat. Some days are eating days, sometimes they just sleep. They're doubling in size about every other day.
Wednesday, July 14:
The caterpillars are getting big (over an inch), so I bring in an entire plant and put the 2 biggest on there. 3 are still little and like the flowered branches, so I leave them there, propped up against the bigger plant. They're pretty fussy about being moved, and basically mope all night.
Thursday, July 15:
One of the ones on the vase climbed up on the big bush, and one of the others molts, leaving behind what looks like a run-over caterpillar. His little paws are bright white, and he starts eating again, happily. When I mist down the plant to keep it moist, they suddenly all discover they have orange retractable horns and show them off so I'll leave them alone. Teenagers! I tell them I'm not impressed or scared. But, despite an attitude problem, they eat quite a bit.
Friday, July 16:
After work I notice that 2 are gone! I find one crawling across the table I've set the plant on, but the other one is just missing. I've noticed that when they're molting or about to pupate, they get very upset and run like a house on fire all over the place, which is probably what happened. The found one falls off the plant again (discovered by my cat). These caterpillars have muscly white feet at the back, with a short break, and then 3 sets of claws near their head. His back feet aren't able to grip properly, probably due to growth, so I set up the terrarium again, fronds in a vase and scarf on top. A few fronds lain at the bottom catch him and he spends the night down there, but does start eating again. I also found 4 new eggs on the bushes outside and add them to the collection.
Saturday, July 17:
Terrarium Guy is still lethargic, but eats a little, and the eggs are starting to ripen. The largest caterpillar is nearly the size of my pinky finger and eats large fronds to the nub, followed by what looks like the hiccups! The next largest also eats a lot and makes a general mess of things. Caterpillar waste is technically called "frass" and let's just say this is a frass fest. My cat helps me clean up and is getting jealous... The third one molts while I'm seeing "I-Robot" (GREAT movie) and I find it eating the moltings. I had no idea they do this, and I'm not sure I want to know why they do it. Yuck!
Sunday, July 18:
Yet another Molt and Devour this morning (again, gross), and the largest one looks as though he's almost ready to pupate, but not before he eats half the plant! Still not much action from Terrarium Guy, but it looks like he at least ate during the night. Maybe he's just a night owl?
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