Today, No.18 has also transformed into a butterfly. What's special is that it has quite a lot of black markings, unlike other Ageha butterflies.
The success rate for the transformation from cocoon to butterfly inside the house this year is 100%. We prepared bottles and divided the cocoons to prevent them from being disturbed by other larvae, which significantly increased the success rate.
Today, No.14, No.15, and No.16 have transformed into butterflies. They originated from the same box, but when they were caterpillars, they separated to avoid biting each other. Now, they spend a day together as butterflies and are released on the same day.
The ageha caterpillar is the weakest among the caterpillars on the tree, much weaker than other caterpillar species.
When the caterpillar encounters an ant, the ant stings it, and after a brief struggle, the caterpillar dies immediately.
When the caterpillar encounters a spider, the spider stings it, and after a little struggle, the caterpillar is captured and wrapped up as prey.
When the caterpillar encounters a bird, it's game over. Before even understanding what's happening, the caterpillar gets snatched by the bird, taking away another piece of the tree's leaves. Green caterpillars at level 5 are known for climbing to the top and greeting the morning, so birds are quite delighted by caterpillars.
When the caterpillar encounters a mantis, it falls off. Lately, there have been many small mantises near the lime tree. I released several small caterpillars, but I didn't know where they went. Then one day, I observed a mantis jumping over, causing the caterpillar to fall off the leaf.
When the caterpillar encounters a fly, as long as the caterpillar moves, it's fine. The fly simply lands and then flies away. However, when the caterpillar becomes a chrysalis, the fly lays its eggs on it. The chrysalis gets invaded by fly larvae, and they devour it entirely. Today, I witnessed a damaged chrysalis on the tree (No.13) (See picture).
When caterpillars encounter others of the same species, if there is an abundance of food, they will eat together. However, if there is a scarcity of food, one caterpillar may bite the other. Level 5 green caterpillars of the same stage may end up with torn backs, bleeding, wriggling, and turning orange. If a caterpillar is large enough and shows no signs of forming a chrysalis, it will return to normal after a couple of days without eating. However, if there are signs of forming a chrysalis, it will fail to molt again. After a few days without eating, it will become emaciated, weaken, and eventually die. A larger caterpillar will bite a smaller one, and if the smaller one can't escape in time, it will lose a segment of its body, experience pain, and eventually die. Even if it manages to escape, it will only have its head left and will eventually perish. A smaller caterpillar biting another smaller one will also result in a severed body segment and death.
When caterpillars encounter humans, they are placed in a box.
It seems that being placed in a box can increase the chances of survival for caterpillars. However, the caterpillars should be slightly larger, and the density should not be too high. Putting too many small caterpillars together will also result in their death.
The Ageha caterpillar usually eats orange leaves, lemon leaves, and lime leaves. We have all three types of leaves planted at home, but with many caterpillars and few leaves, it leads to a scarcity of food. Last year, when we fed the caterpillars oranges, they ate them but became thin. When they transformed into cocoons and then into butterflies, they were small and showed symptoms of depression.
This year, we tried a different method of raising the caterpillars, and this time we experimented with dried grapes. Caterpillar No. 20 (excluding the ones that died before turning green in the first batch, so this individual is exactly the 20th) loves grapes. Caterpillar No. 19 doesn't seem to care much and only eats leaves. Caterpillar No. 20 is smaller than No. 19 because it was placed in the box a few days later. It clings to the grapes and eats them whenever the leaves run out. It has grown quite big now and is about to become a cocoon.