Digger
Well-known member
After weeks of hand-wringing (and past months of neglect) - against formidable odds - Keket (The Magnificent) [ Blepharopsis mendica ] molted this morning to a healthy, active adult!!
I moved her into the sun, hand-holding her large deli cup for proper sunbathing and drying. She was so proud and happy - commencing to wiggle her
abdomen to catch breeze and rays and manipulating her beautiful green-white mottled wings for a drying and setting session.
It's been a year since her birth and I frankly never thought she'd ever make it to adulthood. But she persevered and hung on through some very cold and
hungry times. For the last 2 months, her fortunes turned and she was fed lots of plump, delectable moths (hand-picked by standing by a porch light for long
intervals) and kept in a proper hot environment.
No pictures just yet -- she says she's exhausted from the molt and asks for no activity until tomorrow. I told her a new home was built for her this afternoon, with plenty
of climbing screens, a cushy Karastan paper towel carpet, climbing pole (more for prey than her) and piped music (she loves Beegie Adair at the piano). I'm commissioning
a neighbors kid to net some Cabbage Whites for Keket;s first sumptuous dinner. Maybe she'll decide on a cocktail party instead.
) on making a looooong yet successful journey to adulthood! May she spend many months enjoying her new wings, maybe put her on record for her lifespan, lol. Does she have a suitor in mind to continue her legacy after her well-deserved molting break?
