Chrysalis Rescue- Fallen J Monarch Caterpillar... 8 -5- 19

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Published on August 5, 2019 6:25:37 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhNvpejOQFs

Duration: 8:05

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Finally got proof on film, better footage. Can a caterpillar pupate laying flat. The answer is.... a resounding YES.

This one failed to make its silk button for its cremaster so I waited for it to change, then tied thread around where it showed me where to tie off with some nearby silk strands while it was testing a grip. You can see it doing this for me on the video. So cool. They do think and are fully aware while shifting around, adjusting their change and shedding the final skin. I got footage of how it corrected itself into a normal shaped pupae afterwards in video and in still shots. You can see it coughing to keep its vent holes open while drying.

A second caterpillar also did not make silk, so I hand offered it some twirled cotton, which it aggressively accepted, before its hind feet were turning into its black cremaster silk hook, and it's now hanging from that in a J, awaiting a shed. It was easy to feel where the "velcro" grip hooks were by running a finger in reverse from head to tail on that end. Two fallen J rescue saves today! Yey!

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