Arctia caja - crippled moth hatched

    Hello!


    I grew couple of Arctia caja (yellow ssp, not sure which one, maybe wiscotti) caterpillars at this autumn, most of them decided to overwinter as they should, but couple grew to L5 and pupated (they were not very large if that's important).
    One moth emerged ok with only hind wings a bit crumpled, but second one is very crippled.


    I wanted to ask, what is that yellow thing (I am not good in moth anatomy, unfortunately) visible? is it coremata, one of its internal organs prolapsed, or it is some sort of mutation? moth was unable to spread its wings - they remained same size as when it has emerged from pupae. pupae itself took about a month to hatch


    sorry for bad quality pictures, I don't have a good camera.
    I tried to google but didn't found anything about that

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    Dobri den, Maria,
    I am pretty sure that the 'appendices' visible are internal structures of the moth which are not easily determinable - maybe parts of the gut. The fact that the moths are not able to spread their wings properly (I assume they had a suitable possibility to climb up and to sit in an upright position??) may be attributed to the unusual development of the larvae. As you reported, they were fairly 'weak', or small, when pupating. This, along with an unusual circadian rhythm, may seriously influence the moths' hormonal system which results in an impaired development. Furtheron, it is crucial to offer sufficient humidity to the emerging moths (e.g., by spraying the pupae with water).
    In conclusion, it is almost always somewhat 'tricky' if moths decide to not follow the normal biological cycle but to pupate and emerge in the wrong time; high losses are often the outcome, and many different species over all families are affected.
    I am sorry for being unable to give you a more optimistic response, but I'm afraid that the actual losses may continue!
    Best regards & much success,
    Hans

    thank you for your reply!
    yes, of course, pupae were kept in a netting cage and moths can climb up easily to spread wings. cage was humid - pupae were kept on damp peat moss pillow, and I spray it with water from time to time for extra humidity. it was found on cage wall, looks like it tried to spread its wings, but didn't succeed.
    Caterpillars were very small to pupate, I was actually very surprised they did, because of I thought they are L4 or less, but, apparently, they were already adult, just very very small.


    I was curious what is this yellow organ visible, it is the first time I see such a thing, and I failed to find any information, I guess it is something very unusual

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