I knocked off a chrysalis. What shall I put it back up with?

[crispini]

It's a swallowtail chrysalis, and I think it needs to be hanging upside down so that when the butterfly comes out the fluids will go into its wings. I was thinking about very gently attaching it back onto a stick. Do you think that glue or rubber cement or something like that would be non-toxic enough for it? I don't want to kill the little guy. I think it's ready to come out soon. I can see where the horns will be.

[XemaSab]

1. You don't need to put it back up

Just put it in a safe place.

The wings fill with air after the butterfly hatches.

[crispini]

2. Doesn't it need to hang upside down from a stick?

I raised some last year and they always hung upside down to let the fluids drain into their wings. I suppose I could put it near a stick.

[mike_c]

3. no, they actively pump hemolymph into the veins to inflate them....

Insect wings are living tissue, just two cell layers thick, and the veins provide both structural support and access to the body cavity for circulation and gas exchange. They have muscles at the bases of the veins called accessory pulsatile organs that force hemolymph into the veins-- this distributes nutrients and carries away metabolic wastes. Anyway, they do NOT need gravity to expand their wings.

The position of the pupa won't affect it's development, but if you like it hanging, just use a touch of crazy glue or something similar to rehang it-- it'll shed that bit of integument when it emerges anyway.

My work here is done.

[crispini]

4. cool thx!

He's twitching. Very close to being fully baked, this one is. ;)

[mike_c]

6. that's what we call a "pharate adult...."

More or less finished with pupal development, but not yet emerged from the pupal integument. One thing it will appreciate is a sheltered place to crawl out to expand its wings and inflate its adult body. One of the best places to finish pupae is inside closed paper grocery bags. The paper texture is perfect for them to crawl on, and they'll elevate themselves for completing wing development once they emerge from the chrysalis. Just check the bag every day, LOL-- I can't tell you how many times I've forgotten and found dried butterflies months later....

[annabanana]

11. DAMN!

DU has experts on every damn thing!

[liberalhistorian]

13. Mike is a biology professor

at a California state University and his specialty is entomology (insects). He's one of those weird people who aren't bothered in the least by bugs and who actually like them! (sorry, Mike, couldn't resist!)

[Xipe Totec]

7. I envy you!

I have never seen a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis.

Plenty of cicadas, but never a butterfly. :(

[crispini]

9. I kept them all last year and never saw it.

They seem to like to come out at night or when I'm out doing other things.

They're really easy to keep, just plant butterfly-friendly plants in your yard and when you see caterpillars, take 'em inside and keep 'em in an aquarium! And feed them, of course.

[steely]

10. We visited the butterfly museum near Niagara in Canada last year.

On edit: actually the Butterfly conservatory

It was awesome - you'd walk in among these plants, and many different types of butterflies were flying or doing what they do. And on the side they had a pass-thru in the wall where they hung all of the chrysalises (had to do a spell check). We didn't witness it, but you could see 1 or 2 butterflies that had already emerged, and were waiting to go flying.

I think the chrysalises were harvested elsewhere, and then brought to one place to be monitored - I am sure they did what mike_c said to do, as they were all hanging in rows - pretty cool.

[rug]

8. Hemolymph?

:applause:

[billyskank]

5. Duct tape

You can fix everything with duct tape. ;)

[meisje]

12. A Nail Gun is not a good choice