Wild Utah Butterfly photos, Small Wood-Nymph

Small Wood-Nymph, Larva - Cercyonis oetus charon

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ADULT      EMERGENCE     PUPA

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Larva Development

Lateral view of First Instar on September 11, 2007.
Just after bringing out of the refrigerator where it was in diapause for three weeks.

Dorsal view of First Instar on September 11, 2007.
Just after bringing out of the refrigerator where it was in diapause for three weeks.

Dorsal view of First Instar on September 13, 2007, when it began to feed on grass and turn green.
September 13, 2007 - Dorsal

First Instar
Lateral view of larva on September 13, 2007, when it began to feed on grass -
Notice the unusual feeding pattern and it's color changing to green.
September 13, 2007 - lateral

Dorsal view of larva #1 on September 21, 2007. This larva molted to second instar on September 19, 2007
2nd instar

Second Instar
Lateral view of larva #1 on September 21, 2007. This larva molted to second instar on September 19, 2007
2nd instar

Dorsal view of larva #1 on September 26, 2007. This larva molted to third instar on September 24, 2007
dorsal view of 3rd instar on 09-26-07

Third Instar
Lateral view of larva #1 on September 26, 2007. This larva molted to third instar on September 24, 2007
3rd instar on 09-26-07

Fourth Instar - Dorsal View

4th instar dorsal view

Fourth instar - Lateral View
lateral view of 4th instar

Fifth Instar - #1 molted to 5th instar October 4, 2007
Photo on October 5th

#1 larva molted to 5th on Oct. 4th - Photo on Oct. 5th.

#1 - Fifth Instar - Photos taken on October 10th 2007

Photo Details - ©Nicky Davis
Female collected by Todd Stout - August 1, 2007, 9000 feet, Francis Peak Road, 1 mile South Southeast of Francis Peak, Davis County, Utah. Of 6 eggs, 6 hatched and all of them fed on grasses and matured.

Ova
Ova on August 7, 2007. Ova hatch in about 17 days.

Larva
After larvae hatched they were placed into the refrigerator for three weeks for diapause then moved to Bluegrass.
These larvae fed for about 35 days.

1. Larva #1 molted to 5th instar on October 04, 2007 - Photo on October 5th
2., 3. Larva #1 on October 10, 2007
4., 5. Larva #1 molted to 4th instar on September 29, 2007. Photos taken September 30, 2007
6., 7. Larva #1 molted to 3rd instar on September 24, 2007. Photos taken September 26, 2007. Note how well the dorsal surface is camouflaged on the grass.
8., 9. Larva #1 molted to 2nd instar on September 19, 2007. Photos taken September 21, 2007
10.,11. Larva on September 13, 2007. This larva began eating on the 13th or three days after being brought out of the refrigerator. Note the feeding pattern shown in the first photo.
12., 13. Larva on September 11, 2007 after being in diapause in the refrigerator from August 18, 2007 until September 10, 2007, or about three weeks.

Characteristics
Green body and head after first instar. Whitish lateral stripe. Dark dorsal stripe. Two dark subdorsal stripes on each side. Light colored hairs on head and body. Two short reddish/orange rear horns.

Host Plant
Grasses

This caterpillar was started on blades of Bluegrass

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