bugboymark
Well-known member
I was looking to find some large silk moth caterpillars (Cecropia, Luna, Polyphemus, etc.) a month or so ago. I stumbled on this website/breeder. I thought the price for caterpillars seemed a bit high, but have never ordered anything other than mantises...so what do I know. Shipments of Cecropia and Luna caterpillars arrived (2 day priority). A few looked have died recently during shipping. They have a very clear live shipment guarantee policy, which I followed. I also had some concerns about availability of the matching host plants (I'm in IL, shipper in N. FL). They responded with a bunch of questions about what I had locally, and the type of enclosures I was using. In the end, they ended up sending me a really detailed email with pictures of their setups, tips for keeping leaves fresh, and a bunch of other good information. They also sent replacements with extras (which all arrived alive). I've seen that kind of response with some mantis/feeder suppliers, but I didn't know what to expect with other bugs. They went above and beyond in my opinion.
Guessing there aren't that many butterfly/moth breeders or suppliers out there, but if you're serious about buying and raising them, I would highly recommend Shady Oak. They seem to be genuinely interested in people enjoying their inverts....not just trying to sell as many as they can. Pretty nice website with decent navigation and an easy shopping cart/checkout interface as well.
Mark
Guessing there aren't that many butterfly/moth breeders or suppliers out there, but if you're serious about buying and raising them, I would highly recommend Shady Oak. They seem to be genuinely interested in people enjoying their inverts....not just trying to sell as many as they can. Pretty nice website with decent navigation and an easy shopping cart/checkout interface as well.
Mark
