Smell from pupas

Hi!

I do not want to scare you but pupae shouldn’t really smell. Usually, when a pupae smells it is dead or has a virus.

Maybe try using a water sprayer?

Unless it's simply an earthy smell from the pupa being formed underground- they might be dead.

With a large pupa like that, it can take a long time to dry out after it dies, I weigh my cocoons and pupa, dead ones

will lose weight.

If a pupa feels cool, it's probably alive, but a warm one is probably not.

Usually, pupae will dry out. I can see them drowning, but usually too much humidity doesn’t seem that common (at least for me.) Do the pupae still move? Do they feel light?

Can you send me a photo? I can usually tell if it is dead.

Fortunately, it rarely happened to me. The pupae of a hawkmoth died and it was way too damp in the ground. The stench is really awful.

Why did the pupae die: "?".

Dead pupae usually dry up. If too wet => close your nose and take it away.

Bad smell probably means that they decay. So they are definetely dead. This could happen when pupaes are kept to wet.

Best regards, David