Chrysalis vs. Chalcid Wasp

Back on August 17th my granddaughter and I were out in the front yard trying to get a photograph of a hummingbird that was feeding on some turk's caps.  All of a sudden I hear her cry out "paw paw look!"  I turn to see the chrysalis of a spicebush butterfly attached to a metal birdhouse we have hanging in one of our flower gardens under a camphor tree which, by the way, is one of this butterfly's  host plants.  I had been standing right next to it and  never noticed.  I'm constantly amazed how she has become adapted at observing things, most times before I do.

We decided to keep an eye on it day to day to see if we might be lucky enough to be around when the butterfly emerged.  That was to never be.  What I should have done was placed it in a jar protecting it from its natural enemies.

Today we found that it had a tiny hole in it.  And when I saw this I knew it meant trouble.  This is the workings of a chalcid wasp.  These tiny wasps lay eggs into the chrysalis during the time that it is formed when the tissue is soft.  The eggs hatch and the resulting larva consume the insides of the chrysalis and eventually develop into wasps which then bore a hole, as seen above, to escape.

Note in the first photo how the back end of the chrysalis is relatively straight.  In the second photo it is bent.   This is one of the signs of chalcid infestation.  Once the eggs of the wasp develops inside and begins to consume the developing butterfly within, the chrysalis dies and the muscles that once held it straight relax causing the bend to form. 

Check out this cool video showing how this wasp develops:


References and Suggested Reading:

1) Spicebush Butterfly Post
2) Chalcid Wasp Links  (a), (b)
3) Caterpillars of Eastern North America

Hackberry Emperor Butterfly Eggs

Granddaughter and I went to check on the turtle eggs we witnessed being laid back on July 2 near a hackberry tree, to see if they had begun to hatch.  So far there's no evidence that they have dug their way out just yet.  While we were looking we discovered a leaf on the hackberry tree that had seven tiny jewels upon its surface.  These were the eggs of the hackberry emperor butterfly.  This tree is the host plant for this particular species of butterfly.  When butterfly eggs are laid the female attaches them using a naturally produced glue-like substance to keep them in place.  The eggs are laid either singularly, in small clusters, or in a mass.

If you were able to look at these eggs under a microscope you would notice a spot known as a "micropyle", which is a "little door" where the spermatozoa of the male enter to fertilize the egg.  The micropyle also allows water and air to enter the egg as it develops.  Just like a chicken egg, there is yolk inside which nourishes the growing caterpillar.

As the caterpillar reaches maturity it frees itself by eating its way out of the egg and then feeds upon the host plant's leaves until its ready to transform by metamorphosis into a chrysalis or pupa and then eventually into a new butterfly.  What a nice find!