u/Digitalbird06

I lost half of my caterpillars due to poisoned leaves a few days ago. I live near an orchard and they must have sprayed pesticide that drifted into my tomato plants. I put down the ones that were were suffering and isolated the ones I wasn't sure about. They're now in the process of molting but I'm wondering if this liquid around them in normal? I don't recall seeing this much liquid around the non poisoned ones. Could they still be suffering from the poison but are just unable to move due to the tight skin?

These guys were outside but I brought them in yesterday since they had nearly devoured the whole plant. I gave them fresh leaves (from a different tomato plant) and noticed they weren't eating them.

I came home from work to find them lying on their sides, curled up and only move if I touch them. Some may be molting but its very strange to see basically all of them on their sides. There's also some green liquid on the bottom.

Do you think they've been poisoned somehow? I fed the same leaves to my other batch of worms and they seem fine. But maybe because these ones were only on one type of the tomato they can't handle a different type?

Is there any coming back from this or should I put them down? I don't want them to suffer.

One of my moths injured its wings and could no longer fly and feed. It was still fairly young so I didn't want to put it down. Another redditor suggested awhile back to use a cotton ball and after a little trial and error, I got it to eat.

I wanted to share a picture of string bean, my tiniest caterpillars to pupate. I honestly didn't think he'd make it this far but I dug him up and he's still twitching. It's gotta be either today or tomorrow. Swipe left to see him as a caterpillar. His dorsal aorta was so tiny!

I was checking on my tobacco hornworm babies today and noticed some of them have darker heads. They look q bit wrinkly too. I had left these guys on some tomato leaves in water for several days so maybe the leaves have gone bad and they're sick now?

Any advice on what this is and what i can do to help them?

I'm having trouble getting the right consistency for my newly hatched hornworms. I keep ending up with this rubbery texture that just doesn't look right to me. I'm using Oregon Silkworm hornworm chow mix and the instructions are unclear if I should be mixing while it's boiling or just add boiling water to a separate bowl? I only have 1/2 cup left of the powder, how much water should I use for that?

I'm so happy I was able to catch this on camera! I had a feeling it was going to come out tonight so I pointed the security camera at it. I got a lot of my phone too which I'll be posting too. It only took her around 25 minutes to inflate her wings.

I took out the tomato plant since I couldn't get that and their favorite flowers in together. With all the egg laying I figured a hardy meal was more important. I'm still not sure the best flowers to give them so I've been making my own nectar (honey water) and dripping it in the flowers with an eye dropper.

I was checking my security camera (which is currently a nanny moth cam) and noticed something peculiar. Went to get a closer look and well....looks like I'm going to be a grandma soon. Any tips for raising little baby tobacco hornworms?

Finally got a good video of one of my moths feeding.

Just wanted to share a picture of my newest moth on a piece of bark. Their camouflage is amazing

Hey so ive got these two little tobacco hornworms that aren't growing. Ive had this happen before where they don't pupate. I put these guys outside on a tomato plant so they can live out whatever time they have left in their natural habitat. I checked on them today and noticed they had brown frass stuck in their butts. I read online that dehydration can cause this and it has been very hot out. Its also really cold at night so i don't think they were eating to get rehydrated.

I was able to get the poop out with a little warm water and now they seem to be pooping on their own now. However they're not eating and they look sunken in. I was going to wait to see of they start eating tonight but I was just wondering if anyone else has had caterpillars recover from being this dehydrated. Is there anything in addition I could do to help them?

Decided to bring my kids outside to enjoy the fresh air. They've never been on a fresh plant before.

Hey I'm wondering if anyone has seen this happen with their moths? When Jodie came 5 days ago her wings were perfect, but since then they've been getting smaller. I think it may be due to the enclosure she was kept in. Its one of those repti breeze, so it has window screens on all sizes. I had seen other people kept them in there but considering how much she was banging into the walls i think it may be from that. Has anyone else had a similar issue?

I'm not sure if they're all this manic when they fly, but Jodie (Manduca Sexta) flies like those wirlygig maple seeds in the fall. Its as if her wings have a mind of their own and she's just along for the bouncy chaotic ride.

I got these blue babies yesterday and gave them tomato leaves from my garden. Some are already starting to turn green!

I have a huge colony of ants and aphids right outside my front door. They're so interesting to watch.

Jody 2 emerged tonight! She's the first moth that can fly and boy is she fast. She got spooked when I was trying to transfer her to a bigger enclosure and I had to chase her around the room. She's all settled now. ❤️🦋

My first eclosed moth arrived last Friday. Unfortunately her wings or proboscis didn't form right, but I'm doing all i can to make sure she has a good life. I got her to eat by herself last night so I have high hopes for her. I'm hoping another will eclose soon so she can have a friend.

I'm not sure if this falls in this sub or the moths one, but I cracked open my dead pupa and found dried bugs inside. Has anyone seen anything like this? This caterpillar was store bought so I don't know how it could have gotten parasitized. I can't recall if it was near the wild ones that were parasitized. I had one of the wild pupas crack and a lot of tiny flies were crawling around on it. I'm assuming they came from inside. I took the whole container out immediately but I suppose there's a chance some of them stuck around. Has anyone seen anything like this before?