Nothing new from yesterday. Hubert is still in the same position as before, and there is still a good portion of him at the top. I was told to provide a new cage for him once this stage is complete, though I admit there really isn’t that great of a space in my room for him. However, I am determined. Hubert will be happy and comfy once he becomes a butterfly!

Hubert is in the same position as last time. Not much has changed as far as the chrysalis goes, but I know the process takes a while. The posts will probably look like this (with not much activity) for the next week or so. Still, it’s important to check on Hubert daily, so there will still be daily updates. Please stay tuned – Hubert may be a butterfly soon!

BIG NEWS UPDATE! Hubert is beginning his chrysalis phase! His body towards the bottom is fattening up while the top is still his normal size. I’m honestly shocked at how much his body has changed since yesterday. I knew he was getting ready to transform, but when I saw him yesterday, there weren’t any changes at all. Now suddenly, over half of his body looks different from before! I’m very excited for Hubert to become a butterfly, and I’m going to need a bigger containment for him! (Because let’s face it: that cup would be far too small for a butterfly.)

Starting February off with some action! Today, Hubert has decided to hang from the ceiling. It doesn’t look like he’s transforming quite yet, but I suppose it’s good to get the practice in when you can. No growth seems to have occurred still, so I think he’s done with that for good. Since there isn’t much else happening besides him hanging from the ceiling, this will be a shorter post today. Here’s to what comes next!

Hubert has been hanging out on the ceiling lately. He’ll come down occasionally to eat more food and walk around a bit, but I’ve been seeing him gravitate more towards the ceiling. Nothing has been happening to his body that would suggest he’s ready to become a chrysalis yet, but I’m imagining it will take more than a couple of weeks for that. I’ve contemplated revising his cage a little bit, just to give him some more space. However, I also know you aren’t allowed to remove the lid to the cup, so moving him would prove to be difficult. I just feel bad for him because he seems a little cramped in there. I will have to think more about this subject. Perhaps some further research will do…

Hubert hasn’t been doing much today. He’s just been resting on the walls towards the top of his cup. He has been moving around a bit yesterday, though, so my guess is that he’s just tired again today. He’s been using the silk he created a lot. It makes me wonder what he would be doing had I not accidentally removed some of the silk from his cup earlier. He does seem to have changed in size, though not by length, but by width. I’m taking this as a very good sign, as he does need to prepare himself for becoming a chrysalis.

Regarding the weird substance I found yesterday, I stumbled across this link, https://www.insectlore.com/pages/butterfly-questions , and my question was answered through this section here.

That brown stuff is grass, which is caterpillar waste. According to this site, I have nothing to fear as Hubert is VERY healthy! I’m so happy for him and excited to see what he does next!

The first picture is a strange occurrence that I have started seeing this yesterday evening. I haven’t had the time to research what it is yet, but in tomorrow’s post, I will have researched it and will confirm what it is. The second picture is a comparison between Hubert and my thumb. It appears that he has, in fact, stopped growing, as the article I read yesterday about the silk would suggest. This is very exciting! But I still don’t quite know what that new substance is. I’m guessing it has to do with preparing for the chrysalis phase, but I will know for sure tomorrow.

This picture was taken last night before I went to bed, but it also applies to today because this same phenomenon is occurring. A weird “webby” substance has formed inside the cup! I thought it was a cobweb, so while feeling scared for Hubert, I took some of it out. I then researched it to see what it was. I couldn’t find anything for cobwebs, but I found a picture of that same webby substance coming out of a chrysalis.

If you look in the red circle that I created on this photo, you will see that substance I was referring to. In EDU 327 today, I was told that this substance is, in fact, silk. According to this link, https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/cass/Life%20Cycle%20Miracle.pdf , this silk serves as a resting place for when the caterpillar has stopped growing.

So in other words, I (accidentally) destroyed Hubert’s bed.

I feel really bad about that, and I guess the lesson learned here is that you should research something BEFORE you act. At the same time, I am excited. Soon, Hubert will enter the next phase of his life! I just hope Hubert is able to rebuild and forgives me for my sins.

Hubert is back to crawling along the walls of his cup. He seems to have grown A LOT more from when I had taken his picture last. He extends past my first knuckle now. My guess is by next week – maybe sooner? – he will be the size of my thumb. I’m considering getting him a bigger container! (I don’t think that’s allowed for this project though.) I’m also noticing more of those black spots around his cup. I’m starting to think this is probably just caterpillar waste of some sort. But can waste really be THAT big in size, coming from a small specimen? It just astounds me that that could be the case, but I can’t really think of anything else.

Hubert appears to be sleeping right now. I don’t blame him one bit because yesterday, he was VERY active, so he’s probably resting from his busy day yesterday. Either that or, because he is dangling from the ceiling, he might be getting ready for his big change! I just hope he isn’t dead. I’ll probably know for certain later. Size wise, Hubert has been growing much bigger. He is now longer than my thumbnail and in fact, he almost reaches my first knuckle on my thumb! I’m so proud of his growth!