Subject: Re: Cecropia moth laying eggs

From: Christopher Conlan <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 11:01:06 -0700

The eggs should be brought inside and placed in some sort of a
container that will not allow the larvae to escape once they hatch.
I usually use petri dishes.  They will hatch in about 12-14 days.  They
do not overwinter.  You may want to mist the lid of the container housing
the eggs with water every couple days, but it's not really necessary for
cecropia.  Upon hatching the larvae can be offered a number of
foodplants.  Some that have worked well for me are: Liquidambar (Sweet
Gum), Plum, Cherry and Maple.  They will accept many other deciduous
trees though.  You can raise the larvae outside in sleeves or bring cut
host inside for them every couple days.  The cut host can be kept fresh
for a time by keeping the stems in water.  Be very careful to block all
access to the water or the larvae will walk in and drown!  When the
larvae are done growing later in the summer they will spin a large cocoon
among the twigs of the hostplant.  The cocoons will overwinter until next
year.  You can place them in a sheltered spot somewhere in your yard
(protected from predators!) and they should emerge when the native
population is flying.  This way you have the option of calling in wild
males to any females you might raise so you can start over again next
year if you enjoyed raising them.  I realize this is rather basic so feel
free to email me direct for more details.
Chris
[email-masked]  or
[email-masked]

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From: Chuck Vaughn <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 13:51:37 -0800

I had a single female polyphemus moth emerge a week ago so I put her in a
large holed screen cage which I hung 2 meters off the ground in hopes of
attracting a local male. Based on my friend's experience, they would mate
through the large holes in the screen.

The following morning there were about 6 sets of polyphemus wings, no bodies,
scattered around the yard. Some predator ate them all as they arrived in my
yard. It was windy that morning so it was hard to tell just how many there
were.

The next evening I hung the cage in my garage hoping to give any arriving
males some protection. The following morning there were 3 sets of wings in the
yard. But that morning was calm and each set of wings were together in the
grass. It appeared that the predator had caught them and ate them on the
ground.

Any ideas who the predator was? I live in the San Francisco Bay area about
a mile from a large undeveloped area. We do have the usual array of small
animals and night flying birds and of course cats. I have never seen a bat
around my house.

This story is not without a happy ending. On the third night I left the
cage door open, hoping the female would not get out and a male could get
in. A male did indeed find his way in that night - wings and body intact.

Chuck Vaughn   <[email-masked]>

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From: [email-masked] (DTDerekson)
Date: 25 Jun 1996 21:07:06 -0400

Be prepared to have LOTS of foodplant. Fifth instar larvae are veritable
eating machines!!!!!!

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From: [email-masked] (DTDerekson)
Date: 25 Jun 1996 21:09:19 -0400

Do you have blue jays and were diurnal birds up at all before you checked
the cage? I know blue jays will eat them if you don't protect them.

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From: Richard Felger <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 08:53:18 -0700

I was doing some blacklighting in the mountains north of Santa Cruz
(California, U.S.A.) some years ago.  Hyalophora euryalis and Antheraea
polyphemus were fairly common.  Or I should say that their wings were
common --as I would check the lights at 5:00 Am to just find carnage.  I
endured this for several nights but I could never catch the predator in
the act.  Unlike your area, this place was rather natural with skunks,
raccoons, opossums, weasels, etc.  So, of course, I didn't know exactly
what to expect. It "couldn't" be cats, friends said, because the bodies
were eaten so cleanly from the wings.  It was definitely a nocturnal
predator.  Tired and desperate I set out a live trap and baited it with a
captive Hyalophora.  I was awakened at 4:00 Am by the plaintive mews of
the neighbors cat...

Oh, and the "bait" Hyalophora was still in the trap
sitting on the cat's shoulders...

--MFW