What Going on Here Then???? (1 Viewer)

SleepyLizard · Jun 1, 2004

I have a captive Zygaena filipendulae - (Six-Spot Burnet) which made it's coccon on Friday evening. After 3 days of inactivity, this afternoon, for about 10 minutes it was making a loud chirruping sound while going berserk wrigglig about. Can anyone tell me what is going on.

I made a wee video of it wriggling but it's a 7MB file so unless you are on broadband it's not worth looking at. Unfortnately the video did not pic up the sound either. However if you are bored you should find it here:
http://web.onetel.net.uk/~haggis63/berserk-pupa.avi

harry eales · Jun 1, 2004

SleepyLizard said:
I have a captive Zygaena filipendulae - (Six-Spot Burnet) which made it's coccon on Friday evening. After 3 days of inactivity, this afternoon, for about 10 minutes it was making a loud chirruping sound while going berserk wrigglig about. Can anyone tell me what is going on.

I made a wee video of it wriggling but it's a 7MB file so unless you are on broadband it's not worth looking at. Unfortnately the video did not pic up the sound either. However if you are bored you should find it here:
http://web.onetel.net.uk/~haggis63/berserk-pupa.avi

Hi Alan,
You must have good hearing, I think the noise is made by very small spines/hairs on the outside of the pupal case rubbing against the cocoon. These spines/hairs situated around the abdominal segments are used to push the pupal case foreward to enable the pupae to break out of the tip of the cocoon immediately prior to emergence, This is why half of the pupal case protrudes from the cocoon when the moth has emerged.

Harry

SleepyLizard · Jun 1, 2004

Interesting Harry -

One of my daughters heard it first but once you were aware of it you could hear from 10 feet away. Wonder what made it so wrestless as it's only been in there 3 days. Maybe it's claustrophobic

Do they shed there skin after making the coccoon?

harry eales · Jun 1, 2004

SleepyLizard said:
Interesting Harry -

One of my daughters heard it first but once you were aware of it you could hear from 10 feet away. Wonder what made it so wrestless as it's only been in there 3 days. Maybe it's claustrophobic Do they shed there skin after making the coccoon?

Hi again Alan,
After the larvae has finished constructing the cocoon it usually goes quiescent for two or three days before changing into a pupa. The noise you heard could have been made in the final moments of the change when the pupa tries to release the larval skin from it's tail end. If the pupae was green at the time it made the noise that was almost certainly the cause. A green colour indicates a very fresh pupa, they tend to go a very dark brown or black after a few hours.

Harry

SleepyLizard · Jun 1, 2004

Yes I think that's what has happened. This is only my third go at this but every species has been completely different. I think I'm hooked

What Going on Here Then???? (1 Viewer)

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SleepyLizard

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harry eales

Ancient Entomologist

SleepyLizard

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harry eales

Ancient Entomologist

SleepyLizard

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