chrysalis adaptive colouration

[Andria & James Wood]

In article <199808190519_MC2-5683-9A2F at compuserve.com>,
s_k_hall at COMPUSERVE.COM wrote:

Thanks very much for that well-rounded reply, and it does shed some light
on what we are observing.  I would tend to think that factors would be
limited in a tank environment if the stimulus affecting chrysalis color
were immediately prior to its formation (e.g., humidity) and thus, the
resulting pupae would be of a similar color and design. This is a novice
talking here, but it looks to me that external factors throughout the
growing stage of the caterpillar affect the eventual outcome.  In our
case, the first two caterpillars (bark-like chrysalis) were well past the
first instar when collected and therefore a majority of the
feeding/growing period was spent outdoors.  The third (greenish chrysalis)
was just a runt when it was collected, so it spent the majority of its'
growing/feeding period inside the tank environment (and thus at room
temperature).

Thanks very much for your help and it sounds like the suggested reading
would be good to get our hands on!

James

-- 
    Andria & James Wood
     Birmingham, AL  USA
archilochus at mindspring.com