Sample information

The caterpillar has a black head, 3 segments behind the head are part of the thorax, with each segment bearing two legs. The remaining ~10 segments appear to be part of the abdomen. It has 6 thoracic legs and 10 prolegs. It features no wings, fuzzy white hair across the body, and a black stripe down the middle of the body.

Methods

We used a DNA extraction protocol based on the insect adaptation of New England Biolabs’ Monarch Spin gDNA Extraction kit (Product # T3010). The specimen was incubated for 60 minutes in a hot water bath at 56 degrees C.

Our first PCR reaction was set up on 10/21/26 and was a duplex reaction because we used both the Arthropod CO1 and Wolbachia 16S primers together.

Used an annealing temperature of 49 degrees Celsius

Used this Taq polymerase: New England Biolabs OneTaq Hot Start Quick-Load 2X Master Mix with Standard Buffer (#M0488S)

Results