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Yesterday, I found three holly blue caterpillars on ivy in the garden, one during the day and two after dark. The one I found during the day (early 4th instar I think) spent the day moving round his ivy crown, nibbling a hole in one bud after another, and by this morning he had moved to a nearby ivy crown and continued doing the same thing (if some pictures on this page don't load, reload the whole page):



The 2nd instar caterpillar found last night had remained in the same place:



The last one, a late 4th instar I think, was on the move when I found him this morning (all pictures by flash, as he is in a shady part of the garden):






(he changed his mind about going that way)









He didn't like that flowerhead, however, so went back and moved onto another, smaller but with fresh, young buds, where he then stayed:



His complete journey, over about half an hour:



His final resting place was very close to the 2nd instar caterpillar:



The characteristic, nibbled buds are a good indicator of holly blue caterpillar presence, but as the caterpillars move so readily, and evidently some distance, it's not quite the same thing as following purple emperor caterpillars!

Guy

Great work, Guy! The only individuals that I've tracked have simply moved to the underside of a nearby leaf to moult.

Cheers,

- Pete

Thanks Pete. My lot move all the time, seeking out the unopened buds.

The one I thought was 2nd instar now looks like third instar - it's very difficult to get good photos deep in the shade. If so he moulted last night, and very quickly, whether or not he moved off to a leaf in the meantime. He was on a different ivy crown this morning:



The white line seems better defined and he seems less of a hippy.

Yesterday, for comparison:



And a shot of the first one I found, perfectly camouflaged on an ivy crown some distance from where I originally spotted him:



Guy

The larger 4th instar larva had disappeared by today. Last night, under UVA, he was a dull, matt violet colour, unlike all the other cats, which show up rather bright white-green. I suspect he was undergoing pigment changes inside and preparing for pupation (according to Pete's book, there is a colour change before pupation). Today I searched all nearby ivy crowns and there was no hint of him - so I guess he has gone wandering in preparation for pupation.

After dark I found another freshly moulted 4th instar cat - very small but velvety green and without a white stripe:



I'm a complete beginner on holly blue instars, and Pete might correct me. If I've got them right, it's because his book is a good teacher!

Of the four caterpillars I've found in the last three days, three have been low down on this ivy bush, covered in flowers and in a shady part of the garden:



There are probably many more higher up, where I can't examine the flowers. I haven't found any cats or signs of feeding on ivy flowers in direct sun.

Guy