I probably will start another thread - had enough luna threads? - once I get settled in with this batch. I've been running around like a chicken with my head off trying to figure out the best way to feed them, making cuttings of sweetgum, first laying the cuttings down for them to feed on, then putting them in water picks and propping them up where the hatchlings can get on them. The pieces of sweetgum that I laid down without water don't look good, they're wilting a bit. Would you believe we're scheduled to have a freeze tonight? It's supposed to get down to exactly 32F degrees in my area! :( I've brought in everything I had on the front porch, chrysalids, cocoons and all, and put them in my guest room. I opened the vent and the door to warm it up since it was previously my UNheated guest room, now that I've got these hatchlings plus one early instar red-spotted purple caterpillar. I don't know what I'm going to do if it gets cold enough to zap all the new growth on the trees outside! Where's global warming when you need it? Sherry

I'm sure your moths are no longer coupled but for future reference, cecropias will disengage when it gets dark. If for some reason, I need them apart sooner than when the sun goes down, I'll put them in a dark room, set a timer for 15 minutes and then go back in to figure out where the male has flown (since he was on the outside of the cage) so I can let him go. Males can mate multiple times. I put the females in paper bags as soon as I realize they have disengaged. Most tend to start laying eggs soon after disengaging and will continue to lay eggs for a few days. OTOH, I have run into a few that do not like bags. I had one this year that sat for two days before laying eggs. Normally when this happens, I let the girl go and move on to another but this year wild males have been few and far between so I waited her out. Anyway, periodically check on her progress until you have enough eggs and then let her go. If for some reason, you want to lengthen the time you're raising cecropia cats (I do it for teaching purposes), there are two things you can do (that I know about): 1) Experiments show you can keep the eggs in the frig for up to 10 days without affecting the developing cats. Put a few in the frig and you can stagger when the cats are coming out. 2) Raise some on box elder maple (Acer negundo). Some people call it the "poison ivy tree" because young trees resemble poison ivy. Cecropias cats still reach full size but they can take up to 3.5 months to get there. WARNINGS: 1) Heat and high humidity are the enemy when raising cecropias. If they get too much of both, the cats can start dropping like flies, especially if conditions are crowded. If you raise them outside, make sure you have good air circulation. 2) Cecropia cats love to drown themselves so if you are raising them on branches placed in water, do what you can to make it difficult for the cats to reach the water. You mentioned raising them on multiple plants. While the eggs are developing, I suggest taking cuttings from each plant you are considering and making sure each holds up in water for at least 3 or 4 days. Some leaves (including most maples I've tried) wither in nothing flat so they are pretty useless unless you are using rearing bags on the trees. My latest cecropia story: Went to an outside wedding reception yesterday. It was on the west side of town, the area where I release my male moths. So, I took 3 cecropia and 4 polyphemus with me, the plan being my kids would release them somewhere in the area. The kids ended up making a bee line for the pool (this was a very laid back reception) so I took the two containers over to the side of the yard for later. The moths, especially the cecropias, ended up being the hit of the party. I gave many moth talks, lots of people took moth pics and the bride absolutely loved that I brought the moths. Some drunk women apparently did not believe that I planned on releasing the moths and took it upon herself to set them free, greatly disappointing the bride's sister who had not seen them yet. KC

This little sphinx reminds me of Amphion floridensis or the Nessus Sphinx, MissSherry! The Nessus has the white stripe also, usually two, but many times just one. They are similar in size as well. But, a different tribe..... Nessus belongs to the Macroglossini in the subfamily Macroglossinae, while Aellopos titan belongs to the Dilophonotini tribe in the same subfamily. The Erynnis obscura, or Obscure sphinx that I found last year is in the same tribe as the Titan sphinx and so are the Hemaris species that includes the Hummingbird, Snowberry Clearwing, and others. I looked at numerous websites with images of the Titan sphinx and the best ones I could find that actually show the 3 white spots, are at Bug Guide. I didn't look too long, but I checked Dan Jantzen's website, Bill Oehlke's, and a couple other image sites. It look like Titan sphinx to me, but my eye is not as educated as many others. It is a diurnal moth, and all sites I read mentioned the main nectar source as Lantana. They have been sited as far North as Canada. Do check your Buttonbush for eggs. If they are anything like the Obscure sphinx, in the same tribe, they will be easy to raise, with a high success rate. Right after my Obscure sphinx moths emerged from their cocoons last year, I put them in the fridge for a short time, which was enough to allow me to photograph them before I put them in some shrubs to aestivate during the day. The Obscure is a nocturnal moth, so I didn't want to leave them in bright light for the remainder of the day. Oh, and their flight time is around August, so that would be the best time to find them. What a gorgeous little specimen! Wish I had some! Susan

Besides tobacco hornworms, you need USDA permits to ship across state lines. Even then, you are not allowed to release whatever you imported. Takes the joy out of raising those Leps. I got to raise Pandorus sphinx for the first time ever this year. Gorgeous cats. I'm currently raising my 2nd ever batch of waved and 1st ever batch of blinded. Caught both moms at gas station lights. I have no idea how to sex them so I put them in bags and hoped. Got lucky. I was surprised how much color variation the waved sphinxes have since books don't show it. These are ones I was raising earlier this year.