Prometheas and Lunas
MissSherry
8 years ago
The luna moth caterpillars are nearly all in one of the later instars, and one is cocooning. The prometheas are younger, in the mid-instars. I got this picture of a group of them, and two of them had just molted - you can see their old, striped skin -
Sherry
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KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH
8 years ago
gardenfullofswallowtails
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Planning on rearing Swallowtails
Comments (58)Yes, they are small and brown. I even found one as it emerged from the ground near some shrubs. I heard this whirring noise (of the wings), and looked down and there it was climbing up a blade of grass. They are very small, which is why I often confuse them with bumbles. You usually find them around the edges of the leaves, where they blend in quite well. I, too, find them most often in the fall. Sometimes the fall crop will eclose then, but more often they will overwinter as pupae. S.B. - I think the sphinx are every bit as fascinating as the silks. But I would love to eventually get some silks, too. If you really want to see some good sphinx, get a Virginia Creeper. This plant is so versatile as a host for many of them. Also, check your elms for the Elm Sphinx, and your pecans and walnuts for the Walnut Sphinx. I also grow the red pentas for the Tersa Sphinx. These are fun as well. Nessus are a bit more complicated as they rest in the top of the vines during the day and come down to feed on the lower leaves (on the ground) at night. I just happened to find the cats very early one morning before they had climbed back up during the day. They are green at first, and in the last instar they start to turn pink and then a gorgeous mottled brown. Larvae: Adult: Susan...See MorePromethea Cats
Comments (7)Dan, I was watching as my e-mail downloaded the other day, and when it says for example, that I've got, say, 7 e-mails, only 6 will download and your saved e-mail will sort of blink briefly. I'm thinking maybe we're mostly not getting through on the "Reply" phase of the e-mails, don't know why, but the same thing is happening with the e-mails my daughter has been trying to send me. So maybe if we start completely over with each e-mail, go straight to the Garden Forum e-mail screen each time, they'll get through. The prometheas are still growing, and my HHDs are getting HUGE. Right now, as I type, one of them is apparently molting - some of its horns are reddish pink, and it's twisting around - it had been still for a while. I think HHDs are such interesting caterpillars! MissSherry...See More4 out of 5 Cecropias Prefer...
Comments (23)I previously posted here that using ash with cecropias would result in small moths. Well, I had a lot of extra cecropia eggs this spring so I ended up raising cecropias on an ash stump that refuses to die. The stump keeps sprouting new growth which sports soft leaves, much different than the leaves on the older ash trees. The cats raised on the stump ash were my first cecropias into their cocoons and produced the longest and plumpest cecropia cats I had this year. So, I'm a believer in new growth ash leaves. BTW, emerald ash borers still have not hit my neighborhood but my in-law's neighborhood has been trashed. Tried viburnum for the first time this year. I have no clue what kind it is. Sleeved 4 cats on it. Cats grew very slowly and then quit eating during 4th instar. YMMV Friend came out to my house late July and I gave her some 2nd instar cecropias off one of my mystery maples (using the mystery maples too since I had so many cecropia eggs this year). She tried to get them to eat numerous species of leaves. The one cat that lived ate sweetgum. I got to see it yesterday and it is huge compared to its siblings that are still on my maple (saw two yesterday that are still 4th instar). Started raising a bunch of cecropias on walnut last year and I'm doing it again this year. Using black walnut and English walnut. Cats do very well on it and readily switch between the two types of walnut....See MoreGiant Silk Moths!
Comments (7)If you got them from MN, you're OK but I'm betting you got them from Peg's sources. You live in a state of extreme cold and it has some unique things that need to be protected. I was surprised when I found out about how Minnesota was trying to keep out earthworms to protect the duff (was the first time I ever heard about duff). Minnesota cecropias have evolved in a way that you have at least two variations with different behaviors. Mating times is the difference I know about but there may be research that has found other differences. Plus you have the columbia moths in the mix too. Don't be bringing in cecropias that were not part of this evolution. I'd love to give you a link to something on the subject but I know of none. I was really trying to find one about a week ago because I talked to Karen Oberhauser about them during a monarch conference. She is a MN Lep expert and has raised cecropias but had no clue MN had two types. Anyway, the book to read is The Wild Silk Moths of North America by Tuskes, Tuttle, and Collins. Hopefully your library system can get you a copy because the book is bloody expensive. I was excited when I recently ordered a copy from Australia for $126. Was quickly disappointed when they told me they did not have it. I'm guessing they realized they were way below market price. I really screwed up by not buying a copy when the book was first published. National Moth Week is July 18 to 26 this year. http://nationalmothweek.org/...See MoreMissSherry
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