Larva to Pupa

When raising a caterpillar, how can you tell that your caterpillar no longer wants to feed and wants to make a chrysalis? After having raised several species of butterflies pertaining to most butterfly families, I have started to notice patterns applicable to butterfly families, genera or species groups.

This section will help you learn how certain groups of butterflies provide some visual evidence that they want to pupate.  These evidences can be categorized as follows:

  1. The larva changes color
  2. The larva purges it undigested food
  3. The larva crawls off the plant
  4. The larva silks itself to the top of a container and hangs as a 'J'
  5. The larva silks itself profusely inside a rolled leaf nest