A private moment

I have never actually gotten to watch  a caterpillar at this stage shed its skin so I was pretty geeked out when I spotted this one wriggling out of his old clothes.  It was well underway when I saw it, and by the time I grabbed my camera, adjusted the settings and got it focused, the deed was just abut done.  But it's still blip worthy.  This is a freshly-minted fourth instar monarch caterpillar.  His face is still pale and his false antennae are droopy not to mention that he still has his old suit attached to his butt, but within a matter of an hours, he was happily munching on a fresh milkweed leaf.  When caterpillars are ready to shed their skins they try to find a private place (who can blame them?) where they won't be disturbed, primarily because they are completely vulnerable during this process.  It is not uncommon to find a caterpillar some distance away from the host plant for up to 24 hours, sitting motionless, while they get ready to molt.  First and second instars eat their shed skin in order not to attract predators.  But by the third instar, they are large enough that they can leave the vicinity of the skin so they don't bother eating it.

That's almost enough for today's natural history lesson!  Except for one more less pleasant thing... (and you may want to skip this if you are squeamish).   I have been keeping an eye on one chrysalis that had an odd look to it.  And today I knew that it was not viable so I removed it and squished it - and sure enough, there was a tachinid fly larvae inside.  Really yucky.  I am somewhat embarrassed to say that I also destroyed the fly larva.  I should probably have left it somewhere to finish becoming a fly but frankly, I was feeling pretty sad that it had gotten one of "my" caterpillars.  This is why I usually don't bring anything but eggs or first/second instar cats into the enclosures to raise - there is just too many times where they have already been parasitized and it's a little too heartbreaking.

On a much happier note, I released a pair of beautiful, healthy monarchs (a male and a female) today in memory of a fellow-blipper's parents.  This late in the season, I would expect that they will be part of the epic migration to the oyamel fir forests of Mexico.

And on an even happier note, I had my first "routine" follow up this morning with my medical oncologist. My blood work all looks great - yay.   We talked about some minor problems I've been having with the drugs and decided that I will continue with the current medication for now with the option to switch it later if it starts to impede quality of life.  I've been having joint pain and swelling in hands and wrists for about a month, a common side effect of this drug.  It's not horrible, though, and doesn't affect my ability to hold a camera.  And it is a big barrier standing between me and a recurrence of breast cancer, so I shall carry on.  It's all good.

And in my never-ending quest to convince the world that wasps aren't horrible, have a look at this shot as I think you'll agree that its quite pretty.  

Dark with nuts today.  Stay safe out there, people.

xo
Debbi