Caterpillar Chronicles, pt.4
Our 5 caterpillars are now 10 caterpillars. How did this happen??? We apparently had 7 caterpillars the whole weekend and we didn't even know it. I went to the crown flower bush today to get some more grub for the hungry little buggers and I found 2 more! When I got home I found out that I had 3, not 2. I might have even more tomorrow, who knows? I'm not looking for them, but they stow away on the leaves and end up at home. I have the need to protect them from the birds, so I keep them (plus I have no where to dump them in the yard, we have nothing they'll eat).
There are now too many and I can't keep track of who the smaller ones are. Don, Shiny & Tiny are still the biggest, so we have no problem identifying them (except we still can't tell Shiny & Tiny apart). The little ones keep getting in the way of the monsters so we needed to relocate the 3 bigger caterpillars to their own container. I guess it's like older dogs and puppies. The puppies wanna make trouble and the older ones just want to be left alone.
I have made 5 observations over the last few days:
1. I have come to find watching caterpillars eat just fascinating. People might think it's about as exciting as watching paint dry, but I am just mesmerized by it. I find myself stopping by the containers (to make sure no one's escaped) and I end up staring at them for quite a bit of time.
2. Caterpillars poop A LOT! I have to empty out the poop 3-5 times a day. They're worse than panda bears. Fortunately caterpillar poop is much smaller and less smelly (I assume).
3. Caterpillars eat a lot (which would account for the excessive poopage).
4. Caterpillars move around a lot. Tiny Mrs. Pteranodon tried to escape the other day, I found her lurking around the top of the container. I think I need to keep them outside during the day so that I make sure that if someone escapes they won't be inside the house and possibly squished.
5. Being a caterpillar rancher is hard work.
This is the picture of the original Fab 5 (before it doubled to 10)
We bought a terrarium this weekend, but needed to add a separate cottage for the "seniors." I put in a stick just in case anyone felt like crysalissing.
My mood: headachy, I think I might be getting sick again (oh, no!)