Several years ago I was lucky enough to have documented the life cycle of the Red-spotted Purple at my home in NJ. One of the things I brought with me to PA was 4 potted native cherry trees that are between 2 and 3 ft. They started out as little seedlings from the tree in my yard there. A few days ago I found several eggs on 2 of the trees and within 24 hrs one of the eggs had hatched. Since, then, 2 eggs hatched yesterday so there are 3 caterpillars. It is amazing how small the eggs are as they are not even as big as a had of a pin. They are about as thin as a hair and 1/16th of an inch long.
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| 9/3 - Red-spotted Egg ready to hatch |
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| 9/3 - Red-spotted Egg |
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| 9/4 - Red-spotted caterpillar eating egg casing |
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| 9/5 - Red-spotted caterpillar eating part of leaf |
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| 9/5 - Red-spotted caterpillar eating part of leaf |
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| 9/5 - Red-spotted caterpillar ate about 1/4" of the leaf |
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| 9/6 - Red-spotted caterpillar has eaten about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the leaf |
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