Caterpillar diary entry 1

The old fish tank

I have never before kept caterpillars; I don't really think it is fair to just pick one up and place it in a small container with a few leaves.

However, I found a small caterpillar helping itself to the nasturtiums when I got back from school last Thursday. As a budding entomologist, I thought to myself 'what species is that?' (Despite loving butterflies and moths so much, I am not good at identifying their larvae.) I decided to keep him in the old fish tank, with a layer of soil, some twigs and the nasturtium plant it was on.

a small caterpillar that I found helping itself to the nasturtiums

I identified it as a small tortoiseshell. It was a shock when we found out its main food plant is stinging nettles. So after going to fetch some stinging nettles, (as you do), and then showing the caterpillar where the nettles are, the hungry caterpillar decided to barely touch them and eat the nasturtiums instead.

The main reason I didn't blog this was because after a day or two, the caterpillar stopped eating and sat at the top of the tank. We had thought for a long time that he had died and after all, a missing trail camera is way more interesting.

Today, however, when I got home it had pupated. I had been about to give up on the caterpillar so I was very surprised to find the pupa. I would really like it to reach adulthood.

It pupated! (that is a 5p coin)

It has been an interesting story to follow and I have learnt this major fact: Small tortoiseshell caterpillars eat nasturtiums, even though the books say they love stinging nettles.