LAS ORUGAS!!! - pt. 2 Gulf Fritillaries

We are also raising the caterpillars of Gulf Fritillaries, which subsist on Passion Vines. It is a tropical butterfly, and the gulf coast of Texas is at the Northern end of it's range. This is not a species whose caterpillars do well in cold weather, so we fear that they may be doomed by the season. Here are some pics of the Gulf Fritillary at various points of it's development

* Oh, I almost forgot... both the caterpillars and adults of both the Gulf Fritillary and the Monarch are poisonous, due tho the poisonous plants they consume (as larvae).


Native Passionvine sp.


G.F. egg


G.F. eggs right before hatching








G.F. Chrysalis




Newly emerged butterfly with chrysalis
and caterpillar preparing to form chrysalis


Adult G.F. butterflies feed at a variety of
nectar plants.




Mating


Egg laying