We asked Baz and Hadrien to touch the "caterpillar" and they readily did. After having fun with it, the 3 adults of the house pondered what to do with it. No one wanted to be the bad guy and throw it away. We didn't want to let it loose in our balcony garden either as it might eat away at our precious oregano leaves which we give to the boys whenever they have a cough or a cold. So, we ended up putting it into a bottle with leaves in it and naming it Dona for now. We don't really know if it's a boy or a girl, but the bottle we put it into is labelled "The Donatello" :)
This morning, Baz asked me if Dona will become a butterfly and I had to tell him it was a worm. He looked at me as if he didn't hear anything. He wants to invite his friends to come see Donna. So I guess for now, Dona will be our family pet.
PS: Raffy thinks it's a caterpillar. We'll keep you posted on this.
4 comments:
as far as i know, worms don't have feet
looks like a caterpillar to me....but i don't think it'll survive in a bottle....
you're right about the feet - i didn't see that right away. i suppose that's why baz ignored me when i told him it was a worm... now, how do we figure out how to keep it alive in a bottle or explain to the kids that we need to let it go so that it can become a butterfly...
Step #1: Find a plastic container with a lid (cream cheese, margarine, etc.) Have an adult punch holes in the lid of
the container with a nail or a knife. Fill the container with water and put the top back on. Take the host plants you
cut, and push them into the holes (Be sure to cut the ends of the plants at a steep angle). Also, take any other
insects and spiders off the plants; they could harm your caterpillar.
Step #2: Place your caterpillar on the plant. Refill the container with water if it gets low. Cut off all the lower
leaves so none of them are in the water.
Step #3: Buy a yard of netting from a fabric store. Drape the netting over your plant. Secure it around the base of
the container with a rubber band. You can also buy a pre-made caterpillar house from a number of stores and
suppliers (see pictures).
Always make sure that the caterpillar has fresh, healthy leaves to eat. If the caterpillar eats all the leaves, find more
of its host plant. Clean out the cage often; remove frass (feces) at the bottom of the cage. When you caterpillar gets
big, it may stop eating and start roaming the cage. It is looking for a place to pupate, or turn into a chrysalis. Put
sticks in the cage also so the caterpillar can pupate on them, though some will pupate underground (hornworms).
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