I grow Bryophullum ( a section within the genus Kalanchoe) in my balcony, which helps to cure kidney stones. I often spotted maggot-like larvae in the leaves, eating away the fleshy part and filling it with poop. Ughh! I plucked those leaves and chucked them away in the bushes thinking they can feed on the plentiful leaves there. I had been such an idiot! The larvae eat only specific leaves- their host plant. This spring, while I was surfing the internet for Species of butterflies found in Karnataka, I found images of these larvae. It was the Larvae of the Red Pierrot! I decided that next time I won't throw them away. In the Monsoon season this year, I spotted the red pierrots stopping by and walking on my Bryophyllum plant...Yes! It was laying eggs. Check out the video, which summarizes the life cycle visually.
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Description:
The Red Pierrot butterfly is a small but beautiful butterfly with a white, orange, and black pattern on its wings. It is found in India and other parts of South Asia and belongs to the lyncaenids or blue family. The larva feeds on Kalanchoe( host plant). In Southern India, it usually lays eggs during the monsoon season.
Scientific name:
Talicada nyseus
Egg stage:
It lays eggs on the underside of the leaves.
The eggs are white and less than a millimeter in diameter.
The larvae hatch after 3-4 days, known as the incubation period. After hatching, the larva bores into the leaf. It doesn't eat its own eggshell, unlike most butterfly larvae do.
The larva bored into the leaf near the eggshell.
Larval Stage:
The Larva bore into the leaf after hatching and feed on the mesophyll layer- the layer between the "skin" of the thick leaves.
The larva bores into the Bryophyllum leaf.
It is initially pale yellow in color. It grows rapidly and eventually turns pink. The larva has fine hair on its body with tiny black spots on the side.
The yellow larva is a few millimeters long.
It grows very rapidly over multiple instars.
It eats the leave completely, reducing it to a sack of excreta.
If it runs out of leaves, it will bore into the stem.
Larva Bores into another leaf
The Larva turns Pink in the later stages.
It searches for an ideal location to make the chrysalis.
The larval stage lasts for 16 to 18 days, after which it comes out of the leaf and sits under it or in a groove like the sides of a mud pot.
The larva stays in this position for few days and changes color.
Pupa Stage:
The larva stays in a suitable place and builds a fine silk pad and a thread to hold it in position. The Color of the larva turns from pink to yellow. The main blood vessel can be seen on the back of the larva rhythmically pumping blood. The Pupal stage lasts for a week.
In the first 2-3 days, it gets black spots on the pupa.
The pupa gets black spots.
More Pupae!
By the 4th or 5th-day, eyes can be seen.
By the 5th or 6th day, the wings become prominent.
By the 6th or 7th day, it becomes black and will hatch on the following day.
Butterfly Stage:
The butterfly hatches in the morning and pumps its wings for 5 to 10 minutes. While pumping and even after pumping fluids into its wings, it excretes few drops of excess pink fluid. It takes another 20 minutes to dry its wings. Finally, it flaps its wings for the first time and takes off.
Around 30 eggs were laid on my plant, and from the last week of August, the butterflies started hatching from the pupae. It is truly a mesmerizing moment to watch it fly away to decorate the gardens.
There are a wide variety of Jumping Spiders. One of them has black with white stripes, the patterns resembles a skunk but it looks just like other jumping spiders: flat head and multiple eyes of which 2 are very prominent. It isn't called "Skunk-Like". First thought that came to my mind when I observed it through the eyepiece was a skunk. Hence, the name.
Sorry about the annoying black arc in the right side of the photo, it is the eyepiece.
The Skunk-Like Jumping spider in early stage.
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Sides
All Jumping Spiders make an attempt to Jump at my Eyepiece, Like this one:
They have a drop of curiosity in their eyes which makes the spider- a minuscule insect- look like a playful pet; it is not, it just seems like it. The action of cleaning its legs, resembles the brown jumping spider a lot.
Jumping spider cleaning its legs
I hope you liked my short encounter with the spider. Now that you have seen it through the magical eyepiece, hopefully you have a different perception about the spiders too. Thanks for reading! Share and comment!
Today morning, while watering my plants, I spotted a bee on the periwinkle flower. It plucked a petal and took off. I was astonished! After a few minutes, it returned and this time started chopping a leaf from the butterfly pea plant, and took off with it like it was a magical carpet from Arabia. This was weird! I googled it and found out that it is the leaf-cutter bee.
Leaf-cutter bees make their nests in holes of trees or rotting wood. It is monsoon so probably it had made its nest in some rotting piece of wood. They are very crafty. The bees roll the leaves and fill the holes where they lay their eggs.
The bee visited my balcony for 3 days non stop- tearing a leaf and returning after 4-5 minutes. I was inspired by its hard-work. I must say though- it made a mess with those cuttings.
Almost every time I visit the balcony, I find something new. Today I spotted a shiny insect on my night-blooming jasmine(Raat Raani). It was a jumping spider! This time in a peculiar shade. It had had striking patterns on it- Shiny blue with black stripes and white legs. It was a bit more slender compare to other Jumping spiders I have seen. It is not called "Gemstone" Jumping spider. But because of the mixed colors and luster, it looks like a gemstone.
I put it on the floor with the leaf to observe it under the eyepiece. It was more aggressive and active than the usual jumping spiders. But all of them have one thing in common: they all move their fangs the same way and dart at my eyepiece. Of course, they would; it is so intimidating for them.
Jumping spider darts at the eyepiece
When I put it back on the night-blooming jasmine leaves, it clamped down on pests--white flies.
White flies(Trialeurodes vaporariorum)are tiny 1 mm long flies that dwell under the leaves. They feed on the sap of the leaves, draining out the nutrients. Nature takes care of itself; this time, with the spider.
