Pets Of GSPS 2.2 - Plain Tiger Caterpillars

Dear friends of Class 2.2 of GSPS,

I heard from Karyn that you all are interested in keeping the caterpillars that we caught from Pasir Ris Park. Unfortunately we don't have that many to pass around, moreover some of them have already started to turn into chrysalis.

What I suggested to Karyn is that we select 2 caterpillars and put them on display in school. The two caterpillars should also turn into chrysalis by the end of the week.

Karyn will be in charge of looking after them as she has a lot of experience looking after the caterpillars. There is enough food there to last a few days. If there is not enough, Karyn will bring more. Just make sure the tissue paper at the bottom is moist. It is to keep the leaves fresh. Caterpillars who eat very dry leaves may not have enough moisture from the food to pupate properly. They may also emerge with damaged wings later. So water for them is also important as it is for us.

Remind Karyn to bring them back on Friday in case the chrysalis 'hatches' during the weekend. The butterflies won't last half a day without nectar. She will bring them back on Monday.

Hope that you all can learn something while observing the caterpillars.

These are caterpillars of the Plain Tiger butterfly. 

Pasir Ris Park has got lots of them, near the garden at the pony riding area. The caterpillars are very very beautiful but are very harmless. They are colourful because they eat the leaves of poisonous plants and the poison stays in the body of the caterpillar and the butterfly. So anyone thinking of eating them better think twice or end up with a bad tummy or maybe even die.

The eggs are laid on two types of plants. The two plants belong to the milkweed family and all parts of the plant are poisonous to man. They produce a white sap.

Indian Milkwood (Calotropis gigantea) 

Blood Flower (asclepias curassavica)

The butterflies seem to like to lay its eggs on the colourful milkweed plant. However, the caterpillars tend to eat up all the small leaves of the plant very quickly.

They can also eat the leaves of the Indian Milkwood plant. You can see the two types of leaves in the container.

We discovered something very interesting. The seeds of both plants are very similar. However, one grows into a thin plant with thin leaves. The other can grow into a shrub with thick and large leaves.

Another Plain Tiger butterfly goes free....