Caterpillar fails cocoon building 101 (time lapse)

[EmerillaAlba]

he just wanted a window, guys, no biggy.

[Sara3346]

Ok I have this..... wait I'm not building a hammock!

[jcmegabyte]

I wondered if he just got the wrong manual - the one for the hammock instead of the cocoon! XD

[pyromaanisi]

@jcmegabyte would you see how it changes into a butterfly overtime? :OO

[jcmegabyte]

@pyromaanisi Yes you can, at least to some degree... most of the changes happen at the molecular/cellular level within the gooey soup inside the pupal shell itself. Eventually, the adult butterfly/moth forms inside but from the outside of the pupa all we can really see is the color change as it nears the finish. You can actually see such a view in my Painted Lady Butterflies develop in time lapse video v=tkiU9uFwqmw :-)

[8drewski]

AH FUCK!!!

[jcmegabyte]

No doubt this must have been pretty frustrating... He made two more attempts after this one (both also failed) so I can only imagine how bummed he must have been (if caterpillars can indeed feel emotions) XD

[canobiecrazy]

Is there a genetic issue with this silkworm? Could it have a developmental issue? How often do they fail like this?

[jcmegabyte]

Its inability to perform this complex task is almost certainly DNA gone wrong. In a batch of 100 eggs, about 50% don't survive for one reason or another - and that would be considered GOOD results for this difficult-to-rear species. There seems to be a lot of random genetic variation, producing a range of good and bad results. Perhaps only 1-3 percent exhibit "survivable" (in the lab) weirdness like this, and would never make it in the wild. It's fascinating to study them in large numbers. :-)

[canobiecrazy]

@jcmegabyte Thank you for answering my question! That was very informative ^-^

[krazychocolatelover1]

my class are doing painted lady

[JCMDIweirdStuff]

You might want to check out my Painted Lady Butterflies Developing vid: v=tkiU9uFwqmw for some time lapse action :-) Thanks for stopping by!

[thepianoaddict]

You're doing it wrong!

[jcmegabyte]

Yea - I tried telling him that, but after 2 more tries he still couldn't get it right and finally ran out of silk! He ended-up pupating right on the floor of the container, without making a cocoon at all! XD In spite of that, he survived to become an adult moth anyway =)

[thepianoaddict]

@jcmegabyte Ah good to hear that :P

[ThisIzJTV]

What did it look like when he had transformed right in the open?

[jcmegabyte]

The pupation process which is normally hidden in the cocoon is pretty fascinating... You can see it in this other vid I made: v=632GQ6EGUMI

:-)

[HariVIyer]

your videos rock...are you an entomologist?

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks for the great comment! I've been doing this for many years, but only as an amateur. Still, the documentation I create is usable for scientific purposes and study at the professional level. :-)

[julie2727]

wow do you have any pics of what it looked like while it was transforming without a cocoon?

[JCMDIweirdStuff]

As a matter of fact I do... You can search for "Hidden Nature" or use this video ID:

v=632GQ6EGUMI

Enjoy! :-)

[satsuki26]

awww poor thing

[jcmegabyte]

This little dumb-dumb worm tried and failed several times to make a cocoon, and eventually just crawled down to the bottom of the cage and pupated right there in the open. After spending the summer in my protective custody, he emerged as a healthy male moth, in spite of his earlier shortcomings. Don't you just love happy endings? :-)

[satsuki26]

@jcmegabyte hahhaha well he was lucky to have you or else he would of been someone's lunch!

[gearwar25]

hahah towards at the end.. he was like.. bahhhh fuck it, i failed, im out.

[jcmegabyte]

Yep - he even tried starting all over again a couple more times but never did get it right. He finally just crawled to the bottom of the cage and transformed on the bottom - right out in the open with no cocoon XD

[mmmmmarcus]

Dude, got any Gulf Fritillaries? Those butterflies rock. When they come out, they have huge sliver marks on the wings.

[jcmegabyte]

They do fly around here... If they fly around your area and you plant Passion Vine (Passiflora) you can get the caterpillars all summer long. They are very easy to raise, and I have done a couple of videos on them, too :-)

[SuperUniverse555]

fail

[mic121000]

but that so cool for caterpillar they are so cute and amazing

[mic121000]

is look like spider web

[jcmegabyte]

I believe the silk is very similar to that of spiders, but perhaps more coarse...

[AltAirPilot517]

EPIC FAIL ;)

[jcmegabyte]

He tried several times and never did get it right XD Thanks for checking it out :-)

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks for checking it out! =)

[luvsmuzik1]

Truly Amazing.....!!

[jcmegabyte]

In spite of it's cocoon failure, it still completed metmorphosis successfully! Thanks for visiting :-)

[jimmyboo12]

This caterpillar might have an extra chromosome. lol

[jcmegabyte]

Could be! There was definitely something funky about it! XD

[Vexie99]

thx...THANKs (man i getting confused with this) i just hope i dont get a B+ on this project me and my partner wat an A+! =D

[Vexie99]

thx and can u tell.....YOU tell me a bit about this catapillar?

[jcmegabyte]

I've raised a bunch of these over the past several years as part of an on-going study of this species.

There's some more details in the vid description, and a TON of info on my website about it - might a good place to get some ideas and info for your project.

You can do a google search for "saturnia albofasciata" too. :-)

[Vexie99]

lol thx for eddvice i have to do a project on catapillars

[jcmegabyte]

Good luck on your project! =)

[Vexie99]

hehe wtf?

[jcmegabyte]

I'm sure that if caterpillars could think like us, that's exactly what it would be thinking! XD

[badspeller101]

wow.. O_o" its weird fast

[JpFreeman]

Wow, amazing video!

[jcmegabyte]

Glad you enjoyed - thanks for watching! :-)

[Lackeira]

lol i agree the music did fit perfectly, good video!

[DRUMELODY]

The caterpillar fails because it didn't listen

to what the teacher said, when it went to Caterpillar School.... ;-)

[jcmegabyte]

Hahaha That's for sure! XD

[Cronopioslover274]

@DRUMELODY Maybe! Maybe also he or she did not eat good veggies and the web was weak. It was eating too much "junk" food. Poor creature!

[Nudophobia]

LOL! That's so cute!~ xD

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks for checking it out! :-)

[carlamonks13]

whoa it looks that theyre going crazy...hahah but wow!! its really amazing!!

[jcmegabyte]

It does look funny like that in time lapse. In realtime, it's much less interesting :-) Thanks for watching!

[carlamonks13]

whoa you're really patient in taking this vid.. congrats!! you reallly deserve 5 stars for this vid!!

[metaur1]

The music fits perfectly.

[jcmegabyte]

Glad you liked - thanks for watching :-)

[Tyranitar635]

do you have any vids of them "emerging" without the cacoon?

[jcmegabyte]

Yup - but it looks like you already found them! :D

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[GeraldBoyClassical]

I wonder - is there some kind of genetic defect in a caterpillar like that, that's being perpetuated because it was able to pupate instead of dying as it would in nature? Hmmmmm...

[jcmegabyte]

It's almost certain this caterpillar would have died in the wild - most do. Many moths I raise get mated with wild stock to start a new captive generation. However, genetic oddities like this one are only studied and NEVER released back in to the wild. It's very likely that releasing any captive-bred stock back into a wild population will do more harm than good for exactly the reason you suggest. :)

[bugvision]

Dumb worm! hahaha

[jcmegabyte]

Yes, this was not exactly the brightest bug in the bunch. It never did get it right, either, and ended-up pupating right on the bottom of the cage!!

[rayywang]

Reminds me of some of the lunas I raised - half finished cocoons; did this guy eclose? I thought moth pupae dessicated without a cocoon.

[jcmegabyte]

The little guy went through his normal summer diapause and eclosed right on schedule - just as if nothing unusual had happened.

[maarakailet1]

That is funny! How did he pupate without a cocoon?

[jcmegabyte]

Apparently, the cocoon only provides protection from predators and the elements and isn't otherwise needed for metamophosis. The little bugger shed his skin and pupated right there on the bottom of the rearing tray! I've had other moths species do that too.

[maarakailet1]

That is so cool! Do you think you'd be able to catch that on video?

[jcmegabyte]

Watch my "Silkmoth Life Cycle - Saturnia albofasciata" video.

watch?v=bIhlj3ZMxqg

You can see the actual pupation process in time-lapse inside a cut-away cocoon! :)

[RobLeepopart]

good video...... I often "give up" half way through a DIY project too, so I identify with him

[jcmegabyte]

Hahaha! Yea, I guess I know what you mean! :-)