Cecropia Moth Project, Day 33

Two 5th instar Cecropia caterpillars (one further along) before we released them on to a maple

This past weekend we finally decided to release more caterpillars into the wild. Despite the fact that we found a good way to collect leaves, we still couldn't keep up with their eating habits. We let five off onto the same maple tree in Atwater Village where we released the previous group.

We now have four caterpillars who remain in the 5th instar stage. Unlike other 5th instar caterpillars we've seen in our research, our caterpillars are not yet exhibiting orange frontal horns. We are wondering if this means that they will be molting again, or if they will just continue to change in color as they grow.

Some changes we've noticed include: increased feeding that happens in short, hasty bursts, increased frassing (we change out the bottom paper towel every day or so), and a new interest in hanging upside down from the underside of the cardboard leaf stand. They hang like this whenever they are not eating.

5th instar Cecropia caterpillars hanging upside down. Apologies for the bad picture quality.