Few may know that there is a Coronis-virus. Yes, that’s right, Coronis. I have studied this virus among Coronis Fritillary larvae since 2015. It seems that like the Corona-virus, social distancing of larvae is an effective way to mitigate the disease!

I discovered the devastating effects of Coronis-virus in 2015 when I tried to rear ~ 200 larvae en masse. I fed them cut violet leaves in plastic boxes with absolutely no social distancing.

From February 15 to March 15 there was very little mortality as they developed from second to sixth instar. However in the sixth instar a viral pandemic swept through the Coronis colony! All died within a week with none achieving pupation. Death was characterized by larvae going limp and expelling fluid from the mouth and anus.

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