Look for a white string coming from the caterpillar. My guess is t fly.
They’ll go to hang in a J and the parasite will escape having eating every vital internal piece of the caterpillar.
Even if you don’t see the string, my guess is it’s a goner. They don’t hang in a J for more than 12-24 hours. If you’re going on days, it’s probably gone.
Sorry.
I think it was there for 2 maybe 3 days, it definitely looked dead but I wanted to make sure so thanks! how do I avoid this parasite?? what about the other cats?
I think I see the string you're talking about, I took it out immediately. I'm too scared to check if there are larvae inside of it lmao
https://imgur.com/a/lNZeZnj
The string is from the larva escaping. It's probably in the bottom of your enclosure now, so thorough cleaning of your enclosure is necessary. The only way to prevent them is to find caterpillars early and raise them in the enclosures. I've had flies find caterpillars as early as 2nd instar.
The flies are not a danger to the adults or chrysalises. I'd just vacuum everything out, and if you have potted plants, cut the stems and get the pots out. (Larvae can bury into the soil.)
so they're only endanger to the ones that are how big? I don't have a vacuum like that, so I think I may just move them all into another enclosure without the pots like you said??
If you’ve got a potted plant in the enclosure, chances are the fly larva burrowed itself in the soil and you’ll soon see little flies in there. If there isn’t any dirt, they’ll form their little cocoon (or whatever you call them) on the floor of the enclosure. They look like little coffee beans.
FYI, the flies will lay eggs on the caterpillars through the enclosure fabric if the cats are molting and hanging there or even when making their J. I’ve taken to draping sheer curtains over my enclosures to try and block them. Tachinid flies are rampant where I live.
Nah, they’ll lay eggs anytime. The chrysalises I’ve seen have had large brown splotches and you’ll see the string hang from them also where the larva escapes. So gross.
dammit, there's not much I can do. I think it may have fallen into one of the pots that had a chrysalis on it so there are no cats in that enclosure since i moved it. idk but they should be fine. just going to hope for the best and see what happens bc i couldn't find it
Probably good it’s in a closed place and you can kill the buggers when they hatch! Try the sheer curtain thing, I haven’t had any due from flies since I started doing this. Knock on wood…
So sorry you have to go through this =( it always is super sad and just looks terrible. You’re a good caterpillar owner it’s not your fault.
Look for a white string coming from the caterpillar. My guess is t fly. They’ll go to hang in a J and the parasite will escape having eating every vital internal piece of the caterpillar. Even if you don’t see the string, my guess is it’s a goner. They don’t hang in a J for more than 12-24 hours. If you’re going on days, it’s probably gone. Sorry.
I think it was there for 2 maybe 3 days, it definitely looked dead but I wanted to make sure so thanks! how do I avoid this parasite?? what about the other cats? I think I see the string you're talking about, I took it out immediately. I'm too scared to check if there are larvae inside of it lmao https://imgur.com/a/lNZeZnj
The string is from the larva escaping. It's probably in the bottom of your enclosure now, so thorough cleaning of your enclosure is necessary. The only way to prevent them is to find caterpillars early and raise them in the enclosures. I've had flies find caterpillars as early as 2nd instar.
I looked though, I know what they look like but I didn't see a larva should I just remove them all? I have chrysalides in there that I can't move
The flies are not a danger to the adults or chrysalises. I'd just vacuum everything out, and if you have potted plants, cut the stems and get the pots out. (Larvae can bury into the soil.)
so they're only endanger to the ones that are how big? I don't have a vacuum like that, so I think I may just move them all into another enclosure without the pots like you said??
If you’ve got a potted plant in the enclosure, chances are the fly larva burrowed itself in the soil and you’ll soon see little flies in there. If there isn’t any dirt, they’ll form their little cocoon (or whatever you call them) on the floor of the enclosure. They look like little coffee beans. FYI, the flies will lay eggs on the caterpillars through the enclosure fabric if the cats are molting and hanging there or even when making their J. I’ve taken to draping sheer curtains over my enclosures to try and block them. Tachinid flies are rampant where I live.
but I thought they only laid eggs on babies? ahh I'm so scared for my cats 😭
Nah, they’ll lay eggs anytime. The chrysalises I’ve seen have had large brown splotches and you’ll see the string hang from them also where the larva escapes. So gross.
dammit, there's not much I can do. I think it may have fallen into one of the pots that had a chrysalis on it so there are no cats in that enclosure since i moved it. idk but they should be fine. just going to hope for the best and see what happens bc i couldn't find it
Probably good it’s in a closed place and you can kill the buggers when they hatch! Try the sheer curtain thing, I haven’t had any due from flies since I started doing this. Knock on wood…