Polydamus butterflies

[Semjase]

>>Hi,
>>
>>I'm asking this for a friend who lives in Florida (Orlando area). She has
>>some Polydamus chrysalides that are either dead or are overwintering, but
>>she can't tell which. Is it possible that they are overwintering?
>
>Heft them in your palm. If they're almost weightless, as if hollow, then
>they're dead. If they feel like they could be solid still, with a gooey
>center, then they may just be in diapause. Once one gets the hang of this,
>it can be trivially easy to separate definitely dead from possibly live
>pupae.
>
>Peace,
>
>Doug Yanega    Depto. de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas,

In addition if they are stiff they are dead.  Also dead dried up pupae transmit
sunlight differently so if placed at the correct angle from the sun they will
appear traslucent with a dark opaque area on one side.  Beware of the black
squishy ones (GOOP)  as those are not only dead but carry disease most often
and can infect livestock

S.