# Atlas moths anyone?



## PseudoDave

Howdy, just wondering if anyone here had experience with the various large atlas's? Just ordered 5 cocoons and have only kept two before and it was years ago, any tips on keeping them nice and healthy please?

Cheers,

Dave


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## Jesse

Do you want to know about larval or adult care?


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## PseudoDave

A bit of both where poss


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## Ian

I had some atlas moths, bought some cocoons at the AES. However, only 1 out of 6 hatched, and when it did hatch, it failed to spread its wings  

Thats Joe Rogers for you  

Cheers,

Ian


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## Samzo

I bought 2 of Joe and both hatched although I pinned 1 up wrong so it couldnt get out very easily and screwed its wings but the other 1 did great. Heres a few pics:


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## infinity

cool pics! Shame things of beauty always end up being pinned  

Best one (in my opinion) is the moon moth - actias selene... the COOLEST caterpillars! - plus the boths are quite pretty and large too


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## Samzo

I like moon moths too, I reckon the exotic moths are prettier than any butterfly!


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## hortus

what domoths eat??


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## Mantis Keeper

Moon moths? I like Luna moths, the pandora sphynx looks cool too.


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## Jesse

> what domoths eat??


Adult Saturniid moths such as the ones mentioned above do not eat as adults and live 1-2 weeks.


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## Obie

I rear a lot of different species of Saturniid moths. As Jesse mentioned, they don't eat as adults. Different species eat different plants as larvae. A few, like Attacus atlas, will eat many different things. Good winter food plants are Peppertree (Schinus spp.) and Privet (Ligustrum spp.). Here's some pics of what I have going right now:

Top to bottom - Argema mittrei, Opodipthera eucalypti, Rothschildia forbesi





Closeup of O. eucalypti





Group of R. forbesi larvae on pieces of twig while I clean and give them fresh leaves





A. mittrei sitting while I clean their container





Plastic sweater boxes for rearing





Cocoons of tropical species waiting to hatch





Cocoons of temperate species overwintering in my fridge





O. eucalypti adult





Epiphora bauhinae adult





Antherina suraka adult


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## Ian

yeah, moon moths are the coolest  Also got some of those at the AES...free!!! They mated tho, and then wouldnt stop :/ then the male died, still hanging on to the female.











so furry and cuddley  

Cheers,

Ian


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## PseudoDave

Hi, Those pics and the information are exactly what I needed. Obie, how long from hatching from the ova to a full grown lavae ready to go onto next stage? The species i've ordered is Attacus atlas. I have both the food plants you mentioned for it in adundance so that's a good thing, looking forward to it now and also recieving a large 'mixed lot' of stick insect eggs today so it's all go right now  

Thanks again!!

Dave


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## Obie

It varies quite a bit Dave, both between species and with temperature. Attacus atlas takes around 2 months to go from egg to cocoon at 80 F. Most species take around 1 and a half to 2 months. Argema mittrei take around 3 months (the larvae get over 6 inches long and 2 in diameter :shock: and A. atlas larvae can reach nearly the same size). Keep A. atlas warm and humid in all stages. The timing of their emergence from the cocoons is very unpredictable...I have had siblings emerge 6 months apart. One way to get matings of that species if you get lucky and have a pair out at the same time (you can put them in the fridge for up to a month to keep them alive when waiting for a mate to hatch), is to hang sheets on the walls of a bathroom and place the pair on the sheets, then once they settle down and stop being active - run the shower for a few minutes to get the room steamy....kill the lights and by the next morning you may have a connected pair.


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## nickyp0

I was just woundering wair do you buy them ? I am looking for silkmoths


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## ibanez_freak

Wow,

I never realised that they can get so big after looking at these pics. DO they fly or is it just for show? Noob question I know but just checking :lol: .

Cheers, Cameron.


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## Jwonni

what do you keep the atlas in when adult i presume they need a nice amount of flying space


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## Samzo

I kee them in my room, free range lol


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## ibanez_freak

Ok,

that was a stupid question of mine earliwer but it's just I can't believe that such a big insect can fly. looks like the weight of the wings would pull it down.

Cheers and apologies for being a retard  , Cameron.


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## PseudoDave

Thanks for all the info everyone, i've been looking at various suppliers and can soon see the moth collection becoming equal to the other various creatures in number...


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## Samzo

Cool Dave,

Hey cam the wings are like paper, the body is the only heavy bit.


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## Mantis Keeper

Your moon moth pics look exaclty like the luna moths I see. Are they the same species? Just wondering.


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## worldofmantis

I never knew moths got so dang big they look like birds! lol i probably also sound like a noob lolz


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## Obie

> Your moon moth pics look exaclty like the luna moths I see. Are they the same species? Just wondering.


Same genus. The luna moth is Actias luna and lives in eastern North America. The "moon moth" is Actias selene and lives in southern Asia. There are many beautiful species in the genus Actias. They are closely related to Argema and Graellsia which also come in nice colors and have tails.


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## Mantis Keeper

Thanks for clearing that up.


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## PseudoDave

Can anybody recommend some good suppliers, preferably suppliers of ova but cocoons are good to. I'm in the UK so somewhere that can ship here would be good. I've found a few but i'm looking for a wide range of possibilities first, building quite a large setup to keep these guys in. Cheers for any info, Dave.


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## nickyp0

ya me too but in the usa


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## Obie

Tom Tewksbury is a good US source of livestock. His email is saturnid[email protected] He has Caligula simla ova and some cocoons of the very rare Graellsia isabellae available now.

You can also check the Lepidoptera classifieds at Insectnet.com http://www.insectnet.com/cgi/classifieds/c...ormat=headlines

In the spring there are a lot of folks selling eggs of the common US species and some good guys in Europe selling eggs as well. This time of year there are usually a few cocoons for sale.

Obie


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## PseudoDave

Cheers Obie.


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## Chris Dickie

world wide butterflies - www.wwb.co.uk

in the uk and sell lepidoptera, phasmids &amp; the odd mantid


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## Mike

hmm so these things only live for 1-2 weeks whats the point of keeping them then 0_o :?


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## Obie

> hmm so these things only live for 1-2 weeks whats the point of keeping them then 0_o :?


Well, I can only speak for myself...but I don't think I've ever held something in my hand that impressed me as much as some Giant Silkmoths. And I've kept a lot of critters over the years. I've never held an adult I. diabolica, but I imagine it would be a similar feeling.

Also, they generally live as long as, or longer than mantids. But they spend the majority of that time in stages other than adult, which I also find interesting...but others may not.





















If you want to see great pics of some of the most beautiful creatures in the world, scroll down on this link and click on the first few species! The photographer is a long time friend.

http://www.insectcompany.com/silkmoth/kirbywolfe.htm :shock:

Obie


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## Mike

hmm so all of this species of moth only lives 1-2 weeks right?


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## Obie

A lot of them live for a year.

But they are only ADULT moths for 1-2 weeks...the rest is spent as eggs, larvae and cocoons. The cocoons are spectacular silk constructions, and the caterpillars are often bigger than a mouse. The adults have no mouth...so they can't eat. They live on stored fat just long enough to breed and lay eggs.


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## nickyp0

I think they are fun to keep i have right now Cecropia silkmoth (Hyalophora cecropia [Linnaeus]) and going to be getting in Luna moth (Actias luna [Linnaeus]) i think it is cool the way the cat's change there color as they grow.


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## Mike

Man thoes moths look like good mantis food lols


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## Ian

I'm still waiting on a few cocoons to hatch out. Some attacus and some Liqu something or other? I kinda lost the latin names...got these about 3 months ago now, any ideas when they should hatch out obie?


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## Obie

> I'm still waiting on a few cocoons to hatch out. Some attacus and some Liqu something or other? I kinda lost the latin names...got these about 3 months ago now, any ideas when they should hatch out obie?


Sounds like the Attacus are dormant, so its hard to say, it could be awhile. I've had dormant cocoons of A. atlas sit for 6 months to a year. If they aren't dormant they usually emerge in a couple of months. You could try keeping them cool (maybe 15-20C) and dry for a couple of weeks, then increasing the temp and spraying them. Not sure what the other species might be.


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## Ian

6 months?! Good grief that a fair while. Thanks for the info.


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