Time Lapse Cincta Silk Moth Caterpillar Spins Cocoon

[abish21]

Your cataprie evolved into a metapod!

[jcmegabyte]

They do that a lot around here! =)

[mmmmmarcus]

Oh No! its a rothschild!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!

[jcmegabyte]

Indeed! XD Thanks for checking it out =)

[paddleman256]

life is so amazing

[jcmegabyte]

Indeed - thanks for checking it out! :-)

[99bigaznkid]

absolutely amazing

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks so much for watching and commenting! =)

[android676]

i want to see what happens inside

[jcmegabyte]

In about 9 days, the caterpillar transforms into a pupa, and then one year (or more) later emerges as an adult moth... I don't have footage of this species, but I DID do a time lapse cut-away view of another species, which you can see here:

watch?v=632GQ6EGUMI (pupation)

watch?v=G6ZO5sKBmr8 (emerging)

Enjoy!

[JonathanVardi]

But where is the butterfly. I want to see the Butterfly

;)

[jcmegabyte]

Me too! Hahahaha XD ...problem is that sometimes these guys don't emerge until 1 - 2 years later, and I'm not always around to see it! :-)

[homicidalidiot]

It's a moth, not a butterfly. :(

[MoMiangGuoSing]

I have a few questions regarding cocoons, chrysalises, and caterpillars. Is it true that if a caterpillar spins a silk cocoon it is automatically a moth, and if a caterpillar makes itself into a chrysalis it is automatically a butterfly? Early in the morning, I awoke to find that my most recent caterpillar had become a chrysalis and its shedded skin was lying by its side. I have three smaller chrysalises that are at least four months old. They haven't hatched yet. Are they dead?

[jcmegabyte]

All caterpillars spin silk to some degree, and there's a huge amount of variation in the life cycles of lepidoptera, but generally, *most* moths make cocoons, and most butterflies don't.

Depending on what species of butterfly you have, the adults could emerge within 12-14 days, or not until next year! I have some chrysalises that have been hibernating for 3 or more years, so don't count yours as dead unless you are absolutely sure of it.

[MoMiangGuoSing]

Thanks for the information. It's just that two of my older chrysalis seem to have collapsed from the inside and now look like the roofs have caved in. I don't know if they're dead. I've heard that a chrysalis should fall apart if the butterfly inside is dead. I don't know what to make of this.

[jcmegabyte]

If the chrysalis is actually collapsed, then the pupa is a goner. Usually they won't survive if they are mis-shapen even a little. Even if they DO, the adult butterfly will be deformed and won't make it.

A healthy pupa/chrysalis should look just like it did when the caterpillar first metamorphosized, until right before the butterfly ecloses. At that point it will usually get soft and darken a bit, the wing colors showing through the pupal shell to some degree.

[MoMiangGuoSing]

Okay. Thanks again. I'll see what happens.

[MoMiangGuoSing]

Okay, so my most recent chrysalis hatched tonight and it turned out to be a moth. I don't know the species, but it's pretty big compared to those I have seen in my house. This might sound silly, but I'm so scared of handling it. I don't understand how people can put a moth on their hands. I want to set it free in the morning, but am finding that it is somewhat unstable with flying. More importantly, I can't even get a hold of it. How do you advise I go about this?

[MoMiangGuoSing]

Ah, so after realizing that moths are nocturnal, I decided to let it go NOW. I got it into a cup and shook it out. It also made me realize something.

[jcmegabyte]

I'm glad you got that solved... I was going to suggest scooping it into a jar or cup, and then letting it go outside. You could even haveleft the container outside until it got the urge to fly away (usually at dusk).

You didn't happen to get a picture of the caterpillar and resulting moth did you?

[MoMiangGuoSing]

That completely slipped my mind too. I didn't even get to see it hatch into a moth. I just picked up the container and out flew the moth.

I also have a question. At one point, when the moth landed, it started to beat its wings in a vibrating manner. What does this behavior indicate? I hope I didn't cause it much distress. Man did I feel like a fool. Ha . . .

[jcmegabyte]

...nothing to feel bad about - MOST people don't know the details about our winged little friends... Moths (and butterflies) cannot fly properly until they are warm enough, so even though they are "cold-blooded", they can generate some body heat by vibrating there wing muscles. Once they have warmed up enough, they can take to the air. Sometimes people think they are scared or mad because they shake, but usually they are just getting ready to fly (to escape, look for a mate, whatever) :-)

[MoMiangGuoSing]

I think the main reason why I was afraid of the moth was because the whole time I was trying to get the moth on my hands and etc., I couldn't stop thinking about the fragility and ephemerality of it. I would feel like crap if I hindered something because most moths have such a short lifespan. That and I have a fear of it going into my ears or landing on me without my knowing--danger to both the moth and me.

[Roserietta]

then in first grade. i remember we were doing a butterfly project. we had like five catapillars. I remember when they were in their cacoons and a few of the cacoons started shaking, I tell you I was the only one who noticed. I began to whisper around the room that the cacoons were moving. None of us paid attention to the teacher. We just watched the butterflies hatch.

[jcmegabyte]

I never got to do the butterfly project in school, but I did plenty of them on my own! I think we did the meal worm project, which wasn't quite as interesting. I remember the first large moth I reared all the way through from egg through cocoon and finally when they emerged the following year - very memorable experience :-)

[Roserietta]

i once had a catterpillar make a cacoon on the underside of my porches' handle. I watched that cacoon everyday. Then early one morning my mom came and got me ready for school, and i went outside, and the cacoon was moving! watched the whole thing, best thing ever.

[lalaliam]

how can you tell if a caterpillar is going to become a butterfly or a moth

[jcmegabyte]

In most cases, butterflies do not spin a cocoon, where most moths do, so that would be the easiest way to make en educated guess. It really helps to be familiar with the different Lepidoptera families - there are over 600,000 species! Another way would be to video the caterpillar and the plant you found it on, and post in YT! Almost certainly someone would recognize it and be able to tell you :-)

[jauregui43]

how long does it take for the cacoon to hatch??

[jcmegabyte]

Usually they hatch about the same time the following year, but sometimes they can wait for several years until the conditions are right. Thanks for watching!

[goldenzelon]

this is really koolaid. Im totaly ceral.

[jcmegabyte]

Yer making my hungry! XD

[awkwardthingshappen]

where does the silk come from, its mouth or something?

my friends are telling me tht its from the mouth

[jcmegabyte]

yes that's true - the silk -spinning glands are right near the caterpillars mouth (but not the mouth itself). I guess this helps it to "see" where it's making silk, although their eyesight isn't very good. :-)

[nomad97211]

just watched a bunch of your videos with my 5 year-old son. very cool. thanks for all the work you've put into it and for sharing.

[jcmegabyte]

So happy to hear that you and your son enjoy my work... and I'm glad I keep my channel G- rated so the kids can watch, too! :-)

[Raffaeledl]

tiny beings hugely fascinating

[jcmegabyte]

Indeed - thanks for watching! :-)

[KASPLARFO]

AMAZING Creatures of the Earth.

Worth Protecting.

Cheers,

~Kasp£arfo

[jcmegabyte]

I agree - if we could just keep the bulldozers from wiping out their habitat, they (along with all the other threatened wildlife) might stand a chance. Thanks for watching/commenting!

[inlovewithbusted]

if a small piece of that breaks off will it still survive??! please tell me!

[jcmegabyte]

I wrote you a detailed response on the other video. :D

[TFWC88]

That's so cool! Awesome vid :)

When the silkworms are put in the boiling water, what exactly happens to cause them to make the silk? This is the one thing I still haven't understood, if you could help me understand what happens at that moment, I'd really appreciate it! btw, the music was super suitable for the vid, I felt it really added to the video!

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks for the nice comment :-) Since I write the music too, it's especially cool to hear!

While this "giant silk moth" comes from a huge family of 1500+ species, it isn't the one used for making silk.

Silkworms spin silk solely to make their cocoons. When they're done, boiling water softens and unglues the silk so it can be unravelled and used as thread.

Unfortunately it also kills the bug inside. I haven't raised any true "silkworms" but there are lotsa videos online. :D

[finazen]

if you extract the silk from those larvas will they die? (just wondering)

[jcmegabyte]

Caterpillars are very much like spiders in that they "manufacture" silk as needed from special glands (called "spinnerettes") by mixing separately made enzyme/protein cocktails together.

All the ingredients to make silk are inside the caterpillar but the silk is only created as the ingredients are mixed together and exit the caterpillar - no silk is stored inside the caterpillar itself.

Scientists are still trying to duplicate this miracle of chemistry. Thanks for watching! :D

[cedarbeam]

Very nice! Thanks. I found a pair of Ceanothes Silk moths mating in a neighbor's garden a few weeks ago.

[jcmegabyte]

Cool - that's very unusual to see in nature! :)

[sockglue]

Wow, this is really cool :) What is the cocoon made out of? (I'm guessing silk or something? :P)

[jcmegabyte]

Yes - it is silk. This moth is from the same family as the famous Chinese Silk Moth, which spins the silk used in clothing. Many other insects spin silk too - spiders are probably the most famous - by mixing protiens in special glands.

[tetabiakti]

The Yaqui and Mayo Indians of northwestern Mexico use these cocoons to make ankle rattles for their ceremonies. They put very small pebbles in the cocoons.

[jcmegabyte]

I've heard that H. euryalus, gloveri, and E. calletta cocoons were also used as rattles. Sometimes, the pupa dies in the cocoon and dries-up to a hard ball, making them ready-to-use! :-)

[animunki]

how come they die in the cocoon? @(/..\)@

[jcmegabyte]

Sometimes they die if they're sick or the conditions are too harsh.

[gama46]

cool

[instrumentalist08]

you do know that a caterpillar spins a chrysalis?

[jcmegabyte]

Actually, there is a difference between butterfly and moth pupae. Butterfly caterpillars "pupate" into a chrysalis, which is exposed to the elements while metamorphosis takes place. Moth caterpillars usually spin a protective cocoon, in which they pupate. The resulting moth pupa could be called a chrysalis, but is generally referred to as a "pupa". There are tons of photos and info about stuff like this on my site at JCMDI dot COM Enjoy!

[instrumentalist08]

sorry I put the worng comment here I was also looking at the monarch one too...

[jcmegabyte]

No problem - I think the info might be useful for anyone who actually reads these comments, so it's a good thing! :-)

[leeastar]

cool

[LawrenceofArabia]

Hey good video!!!!!!!!!!

Put the second part with the film of the butterfly come out of the cocoon!!!!!!

[xSilentHillLoverx]

thats very interesting!

[Beholded]

interesting!!!???? Ill tell you whats interesting, me catching it on fire