Caterpillars Hatched Finally!

[Mikaila31]

For those that don't remember I raise moths and butterflies in the summer. My cecropia moth caterpillars finally started hatching last night so I decided I would make a thread. I am pretty sure all the adult moths are done emerging from their cocoons. The last male moth died yesterday. So now the cycle starts anew! I will update this thread as they grow. I also raise other species depending how busy I am and what I find. I have currently over a dozen monarch chrysalises that should be emerging soon. I am also planning on trying some luna moths this year. For those not familiar with silk moths it takes 40 days or so from hatching to forming a cocoon. The pupa then overwinter 8-9 months. The adult moths emerge in mid-late spring, they do not have the ability to eat and have 7-10 days to mate and lay eggs before they die.

Here is a video of one of the adult moths. The cecropia is often one of the largest moths in north america
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex-YE1rQ6FQ

Eggs that started hatching last night

Then the first batch of monarchs about a week ago. Monarchs I collect from the wild as eggs usually, then release. I raise them intermittently when I have time, so usually in the late spring/early summer before the moth caterpillars require more care.
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-peUYbNsIw

 

[wayne the pain]

Beautiful sp, good luck with them.

 

[BlueDragon]

I love Moths, I think they're just as pretty as Butterflies : 3

Your Cecropia male there is a stunner : 3

Love to see the Monarchs as they grow too.

Must feel good to see them all fly away knowing that it was you who raised them?

 

[Mikaila31]

Around 11 days old now and already starting to reach the 3rd instar/molting today. I have over 200 of the cecropias currently. Which is way too many lol. At least half of them are probably going to have to brave the great outdoors on their own soon.


On the 17th they started reaching the 2nd instar

Then these are from today. 3rd instar

 

[BlueDragon]

Aww, spikey ones : 3

They look like little aliens! Do you have to be carful to handle them with those spines?

 

[Mikaila31]

No the spines are harmless. Even if you touch them they can't hurt you. It gives them a rough feeling. But I assume the spines are unpleasant for things trying to eat them.

This is biggest one so far but it still got a lot of growing to do . They start outgrowing their spines/tubercles when they get big. They are currently around 21 days old.

I have not updated this as much as I thought I would. I got some luna caterpillars weeks ago and they have grown fast. They are very similar the the cecropia caterpillars. Both are a type of silk moth. The lunas cats are a bit ugly IMO and don't do all the cool color changes like the cecropias. The luna always look like they are plotting to do evil. Its there defensive pose. Luna moths are much more commonly seen then cecropias around here.

 

[wayne the pain]

Great pictures, would really love to try this one day. Love the Luna moths too

 

[chigwellhammer]

This is such an amazing thread, Please do keep it up! Finding it really interesting lol

 

[FishFanatic04]

Wow. I was stunned looking at all the pictures. They are beautiful and captivating!

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

I love this! It never occured to me that you could keep them rolleyes: ), how fun!

 

[Mikaila31]

These are all caterpillar bins lol. I live in an apartment so I do keep them inside, if I had a house they would be outside. They don't care much either way. They won't leave their host plant until they are ready to cocoon so no lids or netting on the bins till then. If they were outside they would need netting to keep parasitic wasps and flys away from them.

The Lunas are growing fast and most have reached their last instar. I would say a week before the first ones start cocooning.

Here is a video of a luna caterpillar shedding. If you like nature it its pretty fascinating. I will probably get a video of a cecropia shedding as well. The process takes at least a full day where the caterpillars stop eating and spin silk to attack themselves firmly to the branch. The actual shedding takes about 10 minuets max. If a caterpillar fails to shed properly its pretty much a death sentence. They have to do it 6 times in their life and they can mess up at anyone and a few always do.

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Way cool!

 

[FishFanatic04]

Really neat! I don't feel silly about letting the house geckos live in the house anymore either if yours is full of moths and caterpillars.

 

[Mikaila31]

Really neat! I don't feel silly about letting the house geckos live in the house anymore either if yours is full of moths and caterpillars.

HAHA lets not forget the fish either! Luckily my room mates cool with it, we hardly use that room anyway unless we are playing Xbox. She has a tarantula and some mice as well. Theres a no pet policy too lol... we found and kept a cat for the first month we were here before we felt we had to give him to the shelter. Though now that I have lived here for a year I've seen at least 4 cats in other apartments >.<

Good thing with the caterpillars is they are only there for 3-4 weeks then they are done. These 40 days are the only time they need care, which is just lots of branches in a jar of water. Once they cocoon they are done eating for the rest of their lives. They all go into a cardboard box and hibernate 9-10 months in my parents garage.

 

[BlueDragon]

No the spines are harmless. Even if you touch them they can't hurt you. It gives them a rough feeling. But I assume the spines are unpleasant for things trying to eat them.

This is biggest one so far but it still got a lot of growing to do . They start outgrowing their spines/tubercles when they get big. They are currently around 21 days old.

Aww, they've turned into Christmas decorations : 3