Raising Swallowtails - Part 11 - Video of a Pupation

I thought Part 10 would be the end of this series but then I thought I'd see if I could get a video of one of my caterpillars pupating. I've missed nearly all of them doing it but one day I noticed one of them twitching and wriggling a bit, so decided to set up my makeshift studio (lots of kitchen paper and blue tack) and set my camera video running, just in case. 

Well the twitching went on for a long time so my Cybershot batteries were running low and I switched to my Powershot SX50, which just about fitted OK on the mini tripod although it sagged a bit. But it annoyingly kept turning itself off every 16 minutes, so I had an egg timer in my pocket set to 15 mins so I could keep running to check and reset it filming!

At this point a friend on facebook who has the same camera told me how to switch the auto power down setting to off, but as I went downstairs to reset the camera, guess what started happening? Luckily there was enough time before the camera turned itself off to capture the whole pupation, and then I reset it to film some more over a period of time. So with the help of my OH and his Mac software, 'we' have edited this little film to show the pupation and how the newly formed chrysalis goes about changing afterwards into the shape that it stays like until a butterfly emerges from it, about 11 to 16 days later.

So with thanks to (another) friend who mentioned that I could make the video appear bigger here rather than the automatic small size it comes in at when linking to Youtube here it is .... and if you are reading this via an email subscription, you will not see this video so you will have to come direct to the blog to view it.

I'm onto the second batch of caterpillars/chrysalises now and am glad I'm not coming across more tiny caterpillars outside, as food is getting a bit low! There are already quite a few large caterpillars outside on the dill and fennel, and we've now found three of them settled down in pre-pupation outside. Two were in completely inappropriate places so had to be brought inside and the third I am keeping an eye on outside to see what happens so more about that in a later post..... I can already see that life is tough for the outdoor ones compared to my pampered indoor pets. 

Of the two we found outside and brought in, one had decided that a nice yellow string lying flat on the ground was a good place to pupate! In an effort to try to tidy up in the aftermath of the septic tank installation, we had strung a line to try to redefine lawn and gravel drive and started edging after the ground was softened by recent rain. Thankfully that caterpillar hadn't yet made its cradle so was brought indoors where it quickly settled down and pupated! One thing I noticed by bringing it indoors is how much more green it was than my indoor raised caterpillars - and in fact of the indoor ones, the dill fed caterpillars are more green than the fennel fed ones. 

Outdoor caterpillar comes in and shows its Ringo face (butt end!) one last time before pupating.

The other one was on a woody weed stem which had to be taken out; this was at the edge of my gravel drive but the ground levels had changed since the pipework had been laid and I was waiting until after my houseleeks had flowered before having to remove them (and the weeds!). That one is now indoors too, on its weed stem.

Something that I have only recently learned is how to sex the Swallowtail butterfly. As male and female are pretty much identical in markings I hadn't realised until after some research that there is a difference.... males have claspers at the end of their abdomen which they use to grab the female whilst mating. It's not very apparent or easy to see as the claspers are usually held together, but it seems to me that the female has a more flat end to her abdomen, which seems to be fatter as well, whilst the male is slimmer and has a pointy end. So I think in the last batch there were far more males than females, which is a good thing given there are only limited food resources round here, and I don't want them laying eggs on the neighbours' carrot leaves and being considered as pests!

I shared this before but now realise this is a male, as you can clearly see the claspers
(pointy bits) at the end of the abdomen.

Lastly, and I know this is a disjointed post, but this is what comes of having shared stuff on facebook then realising I hadn't done so here, here are some pics of one of the caterpillars making its cradle. Before taking the photos I had never really thought about how they did this, but having watched for a while on a rainy afternoon they actually spend a fair amount of time repetitively making silk threads and weaving them from side to side, so the cradle is made up of many threads. It is very tough stuff as after they've eclosed I have to pull off the chrysalis shell and some of this silk from the mesh lid that they are so fond of and the threads get left behind. I still can't see exactly what is going on so I might have to make a video, although it would have to be speeded up somewhat! :-)

By the way, these shots were all taken one handed as I was having to hold up the mesh lid to get at the caterpillar. You can see what I'm talking about better in the final photo. 

It was a bit of a slow process.

Quite a lot of silk strands are made to form this cradle.

Photobombed!

The new cradle showing multiple strands - it is visible just behind the third true leg
(front pointy legs) and what you see to the right is old silk from a previous cradle.

Oh and one more just showing how this lot decided it would be fun to group up, and what
a nuisance it is for me with them on the mesh as I can't easily photograph anything
going on here, let alone video it! So few of them use the sticks I provide.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

These are all insects found in the veg patch during June. I think I have discovered more interesting mini things going on since I have been looking at and picking dill for the Swallowtails as I'm noticing every little speck and checking out what it is.

This first is a definite Good - our ladybirds which disappeared (seemingly to spend spring in the UK!) have reappeared. I first came across some eggs around the end of May on a small wild poppy that I was about to weed out, then the same kind of eggs on a dill leaf just close by. I didn't even know they were ladybird eggs at first; didn't really keep an eye on them and never saw any larvae, until just last week when I discovered a pupa right near where the eggs had been laid. And then I spotted a fully grown Seven-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) on my spinach, still close to this same spot. And then my pupa eclosed.....

Ladybird eggs on dill (top) and poppy (right), and the pupa on the left.

Right place right time! I discovered it just after it had eclosed. These ladybirds are so
completely different when freshly emerged. It had a little walk on my hand then went off to let
its wings dry out for a while (photo bottom left). Oh and the red colour is the poppy
which I never weeded out in the background so rather pleased that I didn't!

Some hours later with dried out wings and the spots now starting
to be visible, making ID possible. The next day it was a bit
more orange and the following day it had gone.

An adult Seven-spot Ladybird. In my excitement to take some photos I didn't notice
it was eating an aphid (top right) which I obviously made it drop, poor thing.

I don't call many insects bad, but this one is. It's pretty but it is a serious agricultural pest. I have never taken a photo of one before because it's one of the few critters that I kill immediately. If you haven't guessed by now, it's a Colorado (Potato) Beetle. I've never had a bad infestation but I do keep my eyes open and look over my spuds every couple of days to check. They also feed on tomatoes and aubergines/eggplants as they are the same family as spuds, but here when I do find them, it's on my potatoes.

Colorado Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) running around on my gardening glove.

I do feel bad calling these True Crickets ugly, but they give me the creeps as they are too much like cockroaches for my liking! I haven't got this close to a living one before as I've usually only seen them dead or semi chewed by a cat. This one was trying to get away from me, I think, as it wouldn't keep still and was cornered up in a path between wall and wood edging.

True Cricket of the family Gryllidae.

And now on to a mix of critters. The following are not doing any real harm here although I'll have to keep an eye on what these bugs are up to when I plant out my winter brassicas! I found these eggs because, again, they were on dill and at first glance slightly resembled a tiny caterpillar so I had to check them out. A bit of research and I found that they were probably Shield/Stink Bug eggs, so I waited.... and sure enough they were. 

Now I can't be 100% sure, but right next to this dill is a load of Ornate Shield Bugs (Eurydema ornata), who seemed to migrate to the young emerging plants of nasturtiums when I took out last year's winter brassicas in the early spring. Nasturtiums are a brassica and often used by us gardeners as a companion plant which attract both blackfly (aphids) and the two Cabbage White butterfly species to lay their eggs on, in an effort to keep them off our crops. You can see from the photos that they have really damaged the nasturtium leaves, and I certainly won't be letting them do that to my kale!

Bottom left are Ornate Shield Bug (Eurydema ornata) nymphs on my nasturtiums
and the rest of the photos are eggs on nearby dill and just eclosed nymphs,
and a few days later one wandering off (bottom right).

Here are a mating pair of Ornate Shield Bugs (Eurydema ornata) and below
some nymphs at various stages of development (called instars).
You can see how sucked of sap that nasturtium leaf is!

Whilst picking blackcurrants I was getting covered in black ants which was a bit annoying, but I was very pleased to see a small Vapourer Moth caterpillar drop out of the bushes! These are one of the Tussock family of moths and are really cool, but I wouldn't want to touch one with those long bristles, so I am glad it didn't actually land on me. It has a little friend too, a young earwig!

Vapourer Moth (Orgyia antiqua) caterpillar and an Earwig nymph looking rather cute at this stage.

Now this is an interesting situation I have been watching over the last few weeks. This is a groundsel plant, a weed that I'd normally hoe off, but it is one of the host plants for the Cinnabar Moth so once I'd seen the moths flitting about the veg patch I had to leave some of these weeds here. Now many more groundsel is springing up and nearly all of them have at least one caterpillar on. Some seem to move off in search of fresh food, but many stay put and this plant below is now almost defoliated, but with dozens of caterpillars still on it. They are cannibalistic when there is not enough food. I have moved a few of them onto other groundsel plants and some onto ragwort which is another one of their host plants, but they curl up when you touch them so are not easy to transfer as they fall off! Can you also spot the brightly coloured bugs on the plant?

Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) supporting two species of insect.

This bug Melanocoryphus albomaculatus also likes feeding on Senecio species;
strangely enough a bug that is more at home around the Med area and is a lover of
hot dry places. Dry it can find in my garden though hot only sometimes!

I'm finding plenty of eggs so not all these Cinnabar (Tyria jacobaeae) caterpillars are going
to make it to adulthood as there is not enough food to go around.

And here are the adult Cinnabar moths, but .... I found them like this, dead.
They were obviously in the act of mating but what happened I have no idea!

Now these following bugs were found whilst picking raspberries, so technically outside of the veg patch but who cares! They are Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus) nymphs, and I was so happy to find them as I've never seen them before. They are so incredibly cute.

Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus) nymph on raspberry leaf.

More nymphs of Coreus marginatus including a younger nymph which was much darker
and sizewise seemed to be about 50% antennae, bottom left!

And now I'll finish with a few insects from my Pollinator Meadow, although the self seeded Phacelia next to it is actually occupying what will be my leek patch later on.

All kinds of bee love Phacelia but I've never yet figured out why this bumble bee on the right
has black pollen sacs, I've seen this a few times before and they look like big wax balls. ??

Coreopsis lanceolata in the Pollinator Meadow attracting all kinds of insect.
This is a N. American plant but many of the seeds in my original packet of seed
'for pollinators' included N. American species mixed with natives. Our bugs don't seem to mind!

Top left: Rose Chafer Beetle (Cetonia aurata).
Top right: Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva).
Bottom: I think the same (unknown) solitary bee, with possibly a female Oedemera nobilis.

Veg patch update - June

Just a quick note to say that if you are a subscriber by email, you will not see the videos embedded in the blog posts, not even a still to let you know that there is one there. I noticed the same thing on Feedly, although if you press the Preview button on Feedly you can then view the videos. So email subscribers you'll have to come direct to the blog to see my videos of the Swallowtail butterfly eclosing!

This is a pure gardening post; I also have tons of interesting bugs found recently in the veg patch, but I'll post that separately, otherwise this post would be way too long! But before you skip this if you are a bug rather than gardening lover, I want to let you know that the Swallowtail who fell out of its cradle whilst pupating, eclosed yesterday with no problems whatsoever and is now outside doing what Swallowtails do. Phew! 

Earlier in June when the grass was nice and green -
but since then I have nice new gravel spread on the drive!

The rest of the photos are taken in the last week of June. I was plagued by problems earlier in the year. First the various different lettuce that I sowed in March under cover nearly all failed to germinate. Annoyingly, French seed packets seem to think that lettuce seed is good for about 6 years, whilst British seed packets seem to give you about 1-2 years before their 'best before date'. I think it is actually somewhere in between.

The next two sowings after buying more seed I lost about 80% to slugs; this includes spinach which I was growing for the first time. Those that survived then got munched by sparrows so I had to cover every plant with a cloche! I was reduced to sowing seeds in pots in the cold frame which have now been planted out. Of course by the time these plants got near to maturity (and I'm still waiting on cos and batavia which need 2-3 months to heart up) the weather turned really hot and dry. I have spent so many hours watering I get so fed up by it all. I would buy lettuce but sadly in France there is very little choice and all the lettuce sold here is very floppy and I only like hearted crunchy lettuce, so I have no choice but to grow my own. 

Strawbs, lettuce, the cucumber frame, spinach already bolting and a strip of flowers near the
fence. I have taken out the borage now and planted annuals which are attractive to pollinators.
Oh, and those are mulot traps, a burrowing mouse which is a complete and utter pest
which tunnels under all my strawberries.

This is the weird disease which is affecting my dill plants.
I don't sow dill, it self seeds everywhere but as it's an important
food source for Swallowtail caterpillars I'm a bit concerned.

I'm getting more and more into having flowers in the veg patch and some I plant, and some
appear all of their own accord. In the background where you see the yellow flowers,
that is my Pollinator Meadow Year 3 and still doing its job of looking great
and attracting tons of bees, hoverflies and butterflies.

My early potatoes (Belle de Fontenay) have taken longer to mature this year and I had to set up seep hoses along the ridges of the potatoes because it's impossible to water them when they are earthed up.

Potato flowers are attractive too!

Behind the spuds I planted sunflowers which I grew from seed,
but in the middle there's one that self seeded from last year
(they were whoppers) and the opium poppies are self seeded.
There are also two potimarrons (a French pumpkin) in this area.

Opium poppies again. These are the ones that produce the seeds
that you buy for culinary purposes so I'll be collecting seed
from them later on. Never done it before but
I'm 99% sure I've got the right variety!

Harry and some tomatoes.

Annoyingly this year I could not buy a barquette of six of my favourite tomato variety and buying individually was too expensive, so I only have three plants, although I've propagated three more from side shoots. This variety (Fournaise) is really early to form fruit as you can see here. Even my cherry toms have only a few toms actually forming yet and the six Premio variety which I did buy in a barquette are very slow to form fruit.

Fournaise, my favourite, best producing tomato.

Looking from the lettuce/spinach bed towards the pea and bean bed with another strip of flowers for pollinators on the right by the perimeter fence. The empty gaps on the left foreground are spring onions which have been sown, these are taking forever to germinate and I am getting maybe one for every 20 seed sown even with brand new seed. I have found over the years that some years they just will not germinate, and other times they germinate no problem at all. And it's got nothing to do with the weather. A mystery.

Lettuce and spinach bed looking towards peas and beans
with my large Greengage tree in the background.

Another disappointment this year were the sugar snap peas which I had to buy in England as they don't exist in France. Big mistake. Not only were there ordinary peas which had got into the packet too but apart from the first few pickings, they are really stringy and tough even when I pick them young before they swell up (which they do really quickly) so they are all being composted now. What a waste. I'll stick to French mange tout in future which are miles better. Of course it may have been because the weather turned hot and sunny and I just couldn't water enough, but a veg like that has no place in my dry garden.

Sugar Snaps.

Rust is very prevalent here and my garlic always has rust (leeks always have it too to a lesser degree, and sometimes spring onions, and one year even the plums succumbed to it!), but this year it was even worse and the heads have not swelled up as much as normal; having said that I never get through all the garlic that I grow so not a probem. And they still store fine.

Rusty garlic lifted.

The Pollintor Meadow Year 3.
The Phacelia in the foreground I allowed to grow because it is short lived;
my leeks will be transplanted into this area later.
And in the distance many more self seeded flowers growing around the peas!

An older photo when the sugar snaps were still tender, with spinach and a courgette.
The courgettes are doing really well!

Another disappoinment are my aubergines. I've only tried once before here in Brittany, growing them in pots and I had not a single fruit. This year they are in the ground and the leaves just yellowed and they refused to grow at all. I have given them a supplementary feed specific to this kind of veg so will wait and see if anything happens. I'm annoyed because one neighbour nearby grew them really successfully last year! I used to grow them easy peasy when I lived the other side of France too. 

And now fruit - soft fruit is always good and reliable here but the fruit on the trees not so. But things are looking good - we have the most amazing crop of cherries which have not split nor have they been munched by birds! Also the three plum trees which are near the veg patch are absolutely loaded with fruit. One tree has more fruit in three foot of branch than it's ever produced in the previous nine years! However..... I won't know until they are ripe if they are any good as brown rot attacks them four out of five years and it gets them just before they are ready to pick.

But raspberries, strawberries, black and red currants are doing well and I can hardly keep up with the harvesting!

Cherries, greengage top right and unknown dessert plum bottom left.