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Butterfly Garden

Tussock Moth Rearing...

15 years ago

I tried to post this before, so forgive the duplication if it shows up twice...

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My DLH ("Daddy's Little Helper") thought the tussock moth cats were really cute and wanted to take them all in. After negotiations, we settled on adopting ONE.

He ended up in a cage that was more of a menagerie: two Variagated Frit cats, 15 Monarch cats, a Spicebush Swallowtail cat, and a Black Swallowtail cat.

When the time came for pupation, he crawled over to the violets that feed the VFs, buried himself in the soil inside the quart pot, and pupated.

Now what?! I'm assuming that he won't emerge till May or June, which is when I usually see these moths. And if I keep the pot in my garage until then, it will certainly dry out. Presumably, he needs moisture to survive. But also, I imagine that too much moisture will cause him to rot.

Does anyone have experience with raising moths?

Thanks,

Jeff

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Comments (2)

butterflymomok
15 years ago
My experience with moths has been to leave the soil alone. I don't add moisture during the winter months. I've had Ios pupate, Tobacco Hornworms, Wooly Bears, and a few others that students brought to school. If you need to water the plant, I'd do so sparingly.

Sandy
jrcagle
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you. In light of your info, I'll put it in the garage and see what happens.

Jeff
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?what to do with this little guy?

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