Moths in my food cupboards
Kim
22 years ago
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22 years agostripedone
22 years agoRelated Discussions
PIc of my lunar moth
Comments (9)Luna moths (not lunar) are so beautiful, aren't they? But I'm not real certain by what you mean by 'they are good'. The moths do not act as pollinators in their very short time as adults...but at least the caterpillars, though voracious feeders of a wide assortment of deciduous trees, don't collect together in huge groups. Because of that, they aren't really considered a forest pest...and THAT'S a good thing! The fully developed caterpillar is a BIG, green monster, lol. They are found in wooded areas, which explains why Jan and Rosie see them more often than some of us do. They aren't attracted to any kind of flower (since they don't feed). Those gorgeous moths have one job and that is to mate. Once that's been accomplished, they die. Few live longer than a week or so as adults....See MoreRegal/Luna Moth food needed in the near future
Comments (9)Don't know if this will be of any help. Back when I raised these bugs (and other like feeding species) several times I lived in a place where they don't fly naturally, and their preferred larval food plants only occurred (if at all) as landscape ornamentals. Even with those the only real choices were Juglans (walnut/pecan) and the tree owners were not interested in having large amounts of foliage removed "just for bugs". The time frame was too long to establish my own large enough for larval food plant, so I found a better way. I had easy access to wild Rhus trilobata only a couple of miles from home. So I did establish them at my home easy enough from root cuttings, they grew very fast and they remained contained because I planted them with barriers so the rhizomes couldn't spread (important with Rhus if you don't want them to take over). So they stayed upright only growing to about 5'-6' high. They were very tolerant of excessive pruning (as in larval damage), and are drought tolerant so don't need much watering. You get bright yellow clusters of flowers and catkins, plenty of foliage to rear larva on that turns orange & red in the fall and red fruits that remain all fall/winter and are a great food for the other wild critters that visit your property. While this species of sumac does not grow in your area naturally and is frost tender, itÂs hardy to zone 3, and so probably could be grown there. Or maybe one of its close cousins that doesn't get rampant either. BTW, until they got some size to them (about 2-3 years) I simple used fresh cuttings from wild plants that were washed well, and borrowed a few branches of Juglans now and then. L....See MoreGreen Caterpillar that is a Brown Moth on my Dill
Comments (1)You're asking for a personal opinion, but IMHO, I would dispose of them, except maybe 1 or 2 if you're interesting in raising them. Sometimes I get that crazy idea to raise a strange moth, not knowing what it will look like when it makes a cocoon and emerges. Sometimes I don't - like right now when most of the fennel is gone! LOL! If you have lots of fennel or dill to share, it's really up to you if you want to allow them to eat. If the moth you believe it is, is a small one, they probably won't eat much. Good luck and let us know how it progresses! Susan...See Moresphinx moth hatched in my house...
Comments (6)There last time we drove through East Texas we saw lots of Catalpas. Maybe someone can ship you a box of leaves? Do you think Chitalpa leaves might work? If so, let me know and I will send the few we still have. ~ Jac...See MoreUser
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