frass expulsion

[Rudy Benavides]

I just wanted to clarify my original post.  The observation that I made 
concerning the monarch frass expulsion occurred on the very first day after 
hatching from an egg in a petri-dish.  I did not see it do that after that 
first day.  But on the first day, when it was so small, the little pellets 
were ejected periodically and bounced in different directions all about it, 
within an inch of the larva....which is a sizeable distance considering its 
tiny size.  Is there anyone on the list that can confirm seeing this in a 
monarch at that time in its life?

Rudy/MD
-------------------------------------------

Rudy Benavides
Randallstown, Baltimore County
rbenavid at hotmail.com



>From: Liz Day <beebuzz at kiva.net>
>Reply-To: beebuzz at kiva.net
>To: leps-l at lists.yale.edu
>Subject: Re: frass expulsion
>Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 16:47:36 -0500
>
>
> >Since the original question dealt with projectile frass in 1st instar
> >Monarchs (if I remember correctly) could it have something to do with the
> >accumulation of toxins?  It seems to me that the first instars would be 
>at
> >greater peril from predators since they have not yet accumulated the
> >quantities of milkweed toxin that later instars have.  Has anyone any
> >information regarding the relative toxicity of various instars? 
>comparative
> >acceptability to predators of various instars?
>
>I don't know about the monarchs.  The only species I've observed doing this
>(a sulfur butterfly and a notodontid moth), in both cases the larvae shot
>their frass through the whole period from hatching to pupating.   I don't
>think either species is ever toxic (??) so perhaps the monarch has a
>different situation.
>
>Liz
>
>
>
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