The moth finally came out.

[Rick]

Well that pupae I found has finally came out. If you missed the original post it's still in this forum. Here are some pics. What kind of moth is it?

 

[apina]

its Cecropia Moth Hyalophora cecropia

http://images.google.fi/imgres?imgurl=http...6lr%3D%26sa%3DN

 

[Rick]

Thanks. For some reason the temps here went from 80's to a high of 55 today. So I am going to wait a couple days before I release it.

 

[jonballs]

nice find, if you find any more, could you send me some

cheers

jon

[email protected]

 

[Andrew]

Yeah, thats a male Cecropia moth. You can tell its a male because of the big bushy antennae. You dont want to wait too long to release it, they dont live much longer than a week, and during this time they do all of their breeding. You dont have to worry about feeding it, they live off of energy reserves collected when they were caterpillars.

I would be very interested in trading some mantids to you, or buying some cocoons or caterpillars of this species from you if you find any more of them.

Thanks,

Andrew

 

[Steve]

Wow! That's a suprize! I remember looking at the cocoon in the pic you posted, and it was very light in color and more rounded. Cecropias usually have a longer, more of a golden brown cocoon. Interesting. That's the largest North American moth you got there! Cool isn't it!?!

 

[Rick]

He's pretty cool but you guys didn't tell me he squirted brown stuff! He has done it a couple times already. Pretty nasty and in large amounts. Were having a chilly day here and the night will be the same. Funny because it was 85 degrees a few days ago. :roll: But it will warm up tomorrow and tomorrow night I will release him. I read up on him and it says they live two weeks or so. I will look for some caterpillars of this species this summer.

 

[Jesse]

They can/will fly at temperatures 45 degrees F or higher, so as long as temps are 45 or higher it is safe to let it go. Just in case you weren't going to, make sure you let it go at night so the birds don't pick it apart.

 

[Rick]

I had full intentions of releasing him. I actually just came back in from letting him go. He fly up into the night and into the trees.

 

[Macano]

You're nice than me. He'd make a heck of a mantid meal in my place. :lol:

 

[Ian]

he'd look nice, dried, in a glass container in my house!

 

[Rick]

Ha Ha you guys. Trust me, the mantids in the next tank really wanted him to get at him. But you don't see them often so thats why I decided to let him go.

 

[yen_saw]

Hey Rick, what a pretty moth!! wonder if i can find them in Texas :?: the moth ain't going no where if I caught one though :twisted: Hopefully i will get some pretty moths when I go out for bug hunt again this weekend.

 

[Steve]

Good job Rick!!! I'm very glad to hear that you let it go! And don't think twice about it either!!! 8) When I was young, I used to capture and preserve inverts. But I quickly decided that it's ultimately better for the bugs, AND ME, to photograph them. Better for the bugs because you're not contributing to the depletion of any given species. Better for you/me because the photographs will last a whole lot longer, and they're easier to display, and move around. Preserved insects fall apart as time goes on from decay, vibrations, and even mites that eat the corpses. They also look better and more beautiful when they are photographed alive and in a natural posture. Besides, isn't it more fun to watch them in action instead of creating a dead zoo?! :roll:

 

[FieroRumor]

Great pics - thanks for sharing them!