Monarch Caterpillar Died

by Carie
(Grand Rapids, MI)

I am a toddler teacher at a daycare in Michigan. I found 2 Monarch caterpillars while by the lakeside. I took them back with me and we watched as they at lots of milkweed. About 3 days later, they both climbed to the top of our caterpillar "house". One started turning into the chrysalis, but the other just hung there. Later on, it ended up dying. The other one has been in its' chrysalis for 10 days now. I was wondering what might have caused the other one to die? The strange part (to me) was it had the thread/silk material holding it up. Any ideas?

Karen says:
It is probably a bacterial disease which can affect monarch caterpillars. Remove the dead larvae and clean your containers with a 20% bleach solution if you plan on using them again so it doesn't spread to other caterpillars you raise. I hope this helps.