How exciting to have a mystery cocoon! Keep us posted.

Sandy

Wow Sherry, I can't help feeling a little jealous since we don't have any of those moths out here. But it doesn't look anything like the promethea moth cocoons I used to go out looking for when I was a kid. They were long and comparatively narrower and hung attached to the stem with only one leaf wrapped around the pupa. It does though look a lot like the poly moth cocoons. Let us know if you find out what it is. Murray

I'll keep y'all posted.
I know it's not a promethea moth/callosamia promethea, Murray, but it might be a sweetbay moth/c. securifera. I agree, though, that it's most likely a polyphemus moth.
Sherry

Looks somewhat like a Cecropia (Hyalaphora Cecropia) cocoon to me, or what you said... hmm
SB

Wow, a very pretty butterfly.. Keeping a mystery cocoon and waiting for it to sprout looks very fun. Hope there will be a mystery cocoon in our garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: landscapers utah

I was just wondering if anyone would be able to tell me what to do if my moth hatches in early april and not in may?

I think it might still be too cold for him here is the type of moth i have it just hatched this morning
----------------->Polyphemus Moth
please i need help on what to do with this little guy please e-mail me at animalsrbestfriends@gmail.com

Kaiti- the answer to that question depends on where you live. If you post that information, someone might be able to help you.
-Jmcat

I know someone who keeps giant silkmoths alive for extended periods by keeping them in envelopes in the frig. You could try that until it gets warm enough to let it go.

My first polyphemus came out in December. Taught me a quick lesson that multi-brood lepidoptera pupas need to experience a climate at least similar to the outside world.

KC

The moth emerged around ?11:00 this morning. I had previously cut off the little branch with the cocoon on it and put it in a cage with a lot of cocoons - I moved her to a cage with just two luna cocoons where she could have more privacy. She's a sweetbay silkmoth/Callosamia securifera, so this shows this type of silkmoth does indeed make a cocoon that looks like a polyphemus cocoon.
Here's one picture -
{{gwi:450518}}
And here's a side view that shows her enormous abdomen - 'must be loaded with eggs!
{{gwi:453503}}
I read in my moth book that these moths call and mate in the day, and just as I was reading this, I looked out the window and saw two moths flying around the cage. I went outside, unzipped the cage, and one of the males flew in, but he was flying around blindly, like he didn't know where he was, and he flew out of the cage into a corner of the porch. He looked to be stuck and really seemed disoriented. So I picked him up by the wings, put him in the cage with the female, zipped it up, and in no time they were coupled. They're still joined, and I would make a picture of them, but I don't want to stick a camera in their face and maybe cause them to disengage prematurely. I made a short video of the two males flying around the cage, although you only get a brief glimpse of one of them -
if you want to see it, just click on the picture.

{{gwi:453504}}

I'm really busy now, but I'm going to put her in a paper bag briefly and see if she'll lay me a few eggs. I don't want too many, since I'm busy with 15 and still findin' 'em giant swallowtails/Papilio cresphontes, a good many red admirals/Vanessa atalanta, and I'm preparing for my zebra swallowtail/Eurytides marcellus eggs to hatch - 'can't wait for that!
Sherry

Beautiful moth! I watched the clip and that was incredible to see the two males flying around. I loved all the bird sounds in the background. You can tell it is springtime in your neck of the woods.

That is great. Make sure to buy a lottery ticket cuz your day is going well.

Sure wish I'd find a mystery cocoon that turned into a female Tulip Tree moth.

KC

Thanks, Sandy! Spring is indeed wonderful here in the country/woods!
And I wish you could find a female tulip tree moth, too, KC!
My couple disengaged about an hour ago. I put the female in a paper bag, but she didn't lay any eggs. I've been reading as much as I can find about this species, but can't find much. On the Bill Oehlke site, he has a page about tulip tree silkmoths - he says that they lay their eggs at dusk "the following evening" and if my closely related sweetbay moths behave the same, I would assume he means tomorrow at dusk. I put her back in the cage with the male, unzipped the door, and the last time I looked, they were both still in the cage. If she leaves and lays all her eggs on trees outside, that'll be okay, too.
Stephen in NJ posts off and on, and he's asked several times about sweetbay/Magnolia virginiana as a host plant. I told him that I'd never found a caterpillar on sweetbay, which is true, but since there are apparently so many of them here, and since I even found a cocoon on a sweetbay tree, they're eating sweetbay leaves somewhere. The trees get tall here like oaks, sometimes about ?60'-70' or more - maybe C. securifera lays their eggs at the upper levels of the trees.
Sherry

What a beautiful moth!!! Where did you get those butterfly houses? Those are the best I have seen.

I ordered my first ones from Educational Science, which, as I remember, is located outside of Houston. I found them for a better price at LLLReptile in the PNW, but they don't carry the same Apogee brand they used to - now they're carrying some very expensive ones. You can buy them online from PetSmart, sometimes in the store, but their prices are usually higher. I'm going to have to Google Apogee Reptariums and compare prices if I buy another one, which I probably will.
Both moths left the cage last night, which I had left open at the top right - she left me 18 little gifts on the top right bar of the cage -
{{gwi:453505}}
I've been working outside most of the day, but I spent a good bit of time cleaning cages and preparing one for the sweetbay moth caterpillars. I've read that they have 3 generations in my area, so, assuming all goes well, they should emerge in the summer and not overwinter.
Sherry

YAY! Congrats on the new babies! I myself am just getting started. I had my first monarch release a few weeks ago. Now I have three very small cats. The monarchs are going crazy at my house. I must have about 50 eggs on my plants. I love the look of your houses. I will have to check something like that out. Right now I am using a fishtank with a screen on top. I electrical tied some branches on the top for them. I am keeping it indoors because I am worried about the tank getting too much humidity outside.

Sherry,you are the lepidoptera queen!It's so cool that the giant silkmoths are thriving in your area...with a little help from you,of course.
Incidentally,my book lists a number of reported alternate hosts for securifera: tulip tree,sassafras,sweet gum,southern magnolia,camphor tree and loblolly bay.

Thanks, Dan, that's good to know. Tulip tree, sassafras, sweet gum, and southern magnolia are plentiful in my woods, so I shouldn't lack for food to feed the cats.
Sherry

Very glad to see you are doing so well!

Wonderful pictures and video.

Thanks, Kenneth!
Hearing from you reminds me of those beautiful luna moths! All that I've released so far this year have been males, but I've still got two more cocoons, so that's two more chances for luna eggs.
Sherry

The eggs finally hatched this morning, and I've put lots of very tender sweetbay leaves in their container. They're SO much bigger than the zebra swallowtail hatchlings were!
Sherry

Here's some of the babies in their first picture - they're groupies. :)
{{gwi:453506}}
Sherry

They're eating and growing good and starting to get that promethea/cecropia moth cat look -
{{gwi:453507}}
Sherry

Your images are incredible! Look at those little shed skins in that last picture.

Thanks!
Sherry

WOW! They are incredible! The eggs look like miniature chicken eggs. The cat's change so drastically and are really beautiful.

Love the pictures and the all of info you share!

I'm fixing to go out and get more sweetbay leaves for the still eating sweetbay cats [I know that "fixing" isn't the proper word here, but sometimes I like to type like I talk :)] even though they look big enough to pupate to me!
Here's one of them -
{{gwi:453508}}
Sherry