The Luna Moth Chronicles: Day 27

It is with great sadness I report that our last caterpillar, Nenington has died.

As you can see from the photo he has taken on a yellowish pallor and there is a brownish color creeping toward his head from the back end. He is dehydrated from not eating and has shrunk in size. I misted him throughout the day hoping that would help but it was too late for him. :(

I have no idea what may have caused his demise. Any experts out there have an opinion? Aside from the tiny granules of excrement on Day 23, he had no other symptoms. He was thriving and we expected him to cocoon any day. Then suddenly he became lethargic and stopped eating. He was given the same food as the other caterpillars, and after losing caterpillar #4, I was sure to wash all the leaves and branches under running water.

He may have continued to decline and suffer past today, Day 27, but with great trepidation I decided to euthanize him.

I read of a couple different methods, 1) freezing him in a plastic baggie, and 2) gassing him with acetone (nail polish remover soaked on a cotton ball and placed in a sealed container with the caterpillar).

I didn't feel confident that freezing him would completely do him in, and besides, I despise the cold! I just couldn't do that to him. I would have gassed him, but didn't have any acetone. As luck would have it, my nail polish remover is NON acetone! I'm sure my husband had something in the garage, but it looks like a tornado went through there and he can't find anything out there, so scratch that idea.

I certainly couldn't bring myself to step on him! Besides, I had to have an intact body to present to my 5 year old for burial proceedings. (Plus, you're not supposed to do that if they're diseased because you could spread it too easily.)

So...the only other thing I could think of was drowning him. He seemed so weak I thought it would be a quick ordeal. Not so. I do not recommend this method, especially for a caterpillar with a bit more life left in him than Nenington. There was a small struggle which nearly broke my heart! I bawled my head off, which I know is stupid--I mean, how many bugs have I heartlessly and without remorse stepped on and swatted in my lifetime?!

He went limp and sunk after the brief struggle. After 10 minutes of being submerged I could still detect a heartbeat, so I submerged him again. You can actually see their heartbeat through their backs. See this quick little :28 second video  of a caterpillar pupating on youtube to see firsthand.

I was terrified my 5 year old would catch me drowning the caterpillar, so I hid him under a floating soapdish, which also helped me distance myself from the situation so I wouldn't have to stand there and agonize over being a caterpillar murderer.

45 minutes later he STILL had a weak heartbeat...ARRGH!!!...the agony!

I came back after 1 1/2 hours and finally, there was no detectable heartbeat. I patted him dry and laid him back in his container and my little boy was none the wiser that his mother was capable of this dastardly deed!

After dinner we buried him under a rock near caterpillar #4, who died a few weeks ago. And thus ends my story of poor little Nenington. Now we just have 2 cocoons to report on periodically.