Thinner, flexible branches like those from a climbing plant work well because you can maneuver them into the enclosure without risk of tearing the screen. I love Luna moths for that stunning green color. I could not find a reliable way of marking measurements on the screen, so keeping edges and corners lined up was key. Promethea Moth Larvae. Cecropia Moth eggs. After carefully handling each cocoon and guessing by weight which was vacant, I used small nail scissors to cut open the silk. Hit all the edges and make diagonal lines through the middle to get good coverage. They are among the largest Lepidoptera in North America with some species having a wingspan of 6″ or more. Choose branches that are no more than half the height of your aviary. My initial sketch was for a different size than the final house, but the materials and principles remained the same. 1 Weather Resistant Tarp -- inexpensive and easily found at hardware stores. Trace around the base of the frame.This addition to your tarp pattern will be the piece that serves as your roof. Find a rectangular template to trace with your rotary cutter for easy, consistent door making. If you encounter any resistance, check for tarp or screen that may be hung up on one of the elbows. LEAVE the roof piece ATTACHED to the larger tarp tracing. Remove your frame and remove the pins from your screen. 2 screen mesh walls for ample air and temperature circulation, easy cocoon attachment, and footing for the adult moths. 2 years ago, Reply The dark shell you see inside is the actual pupae casing in which the moth developed. There are some non-native species of butterfly I can not receive in California, due to the caterpillars being a pest concern. Since the male isn't out yet and our local Cecropia population is scarce (making it unlikely that she was visited by a wild suitor), my guess is that these eggs are not viable. If you're nervous about what your machine can handle, you may consider swapping out for a heavy duty needle. Draw lines of adhesive on one side and then fold over and press. Experimentation led to addiction,…. Press the resulting shape flat to the ground to ensure all connections are firm and squarely situated on the ground plain. You want these tabs to be able to slide up and down the pipe so you can adjust their placement based on your installation environment. This will leave you with a piece of screen that covers 2 sides of your moth house frame. [citation needed], First-instar caterpillar reared on post oak. The eyespots give it its name – from the Greek myth of the cyclops Polyphemus. Good evening, the moth is still alive!!! My goal is to successfully breed caterpillars that can be given to community members and classrooms for educational purposes, as well as obtain adult specimens for entomological display. An ideal outdoor location is one that will not be too windy, and one that can warm and cool naturally throughout the day (not inside a shed or other situation where heat can be trapped). Question You can set these elements aside for now. Place your finished screen piece on top, living up the corner and edges squarely. Providing just a few bare branches gives the moths a place to rest without cluttering up the space. The caterpillars are quite polyphagous, and have an appetite for most common types of deciduous trees and woodland shrubs, including but not limited to birch (Betula), oaks (Quercus), maple (Acer), willows (Salix), cherries (Prunus), hawthorn (Crataegus), walnut (Juglans), sweetgum (Liquidambar), alder (Alnus), poplar (Populus), elm (Ulmus), Sassafras sp., tulip tree (Liriodendron), … I am so sorry I didn't see this message sooner. How to Make Cement Snowman - Fun Holiday DIY. --Should a mating pair produce eggs, you want to be able to find them easily so they can be moved to a nursery container. There are approximately 100 giant silk moth species in North America with wingspans that range from 1 to 7 inches, making them the largest moths on this side of the world. Stay tuned! Velcro closures will make these doors simple to use. What should we do to help it survive? Grows to a length of about 9 cm and nearly 2.5 cm in width. Lay out your 3 way elbows, facing each other to map out a square.As mentioned previously, threaded ports will require male adapter pieces to make the elbows work with your PVC lengths. I picked up most of my costume and prop building skills through hands on experimentation with materials. Keep in mind that your anchor tabs can slide side to side on the base PVC to accommodate your location. Giant Silkmoths are spectacular insects as large, colorful caterpillars and even larger and more colorful moths. It lays flat, light-brown eggs on the leaves of a number of host plants, including: Betula (birch), Salix (willow), Quercus (oak), Acer (maple), Carya (hickory), Fagus (beech), Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust), Juglans (walnut), Pyrus (pear and quince), Prunus (plum, peach, apricot, cherry, etc. and opt for somewhere least likely to be disturbed. The caterpillars eat solid food, especially leaves. The order contains many families. The females emit pheromones, which the male can detect through his large, plumose (feathery) antennae. Very excited by this find, I housed the caterpillar in a roomy hamster cage, fed him, and kept the subsequent cocoon safe all winter. They were on ebay. The bottom will remain open for easy cleaning and so potted host plants can be slid underneath for inclusion in the habitat. These arthropods belong to the family Saturniidae. The species is widespread in continental North America, with local populations found throughout subarctic Canada and the United States. We get a ton of junk mail from Omaha Steaks and this plastic card was a great size. You don't want a very hungry caterpillar to run out of food while you're at school/ work. The resultant hybrids were displayed in his winning U.S. National Science Fair exhibit "Intergeneric hybridization among giant silk moths". The exact host plant or plants vary with each species of caterpillar. You want to end up with something that looks like the 7th photo. Color patterns can range from a reddish cinnamon to a dark brown, but are almost always a shade of brown. Pin the edge of the roof piece to the edge of the adjacent tarp side. When choosing a location, be aware of neighboring hazards. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1776. Push the PVC frame in 1 inch from the edge to give yourself some seam allowance. I had heavy duty stuff laying around, but you can use regular craft weight velcro if that's what you have handy. If all goes well she may deposit several hundred eggs a few at a time on native tr… When I was a kid we had a maple tree, so I would gather fresh leaves every day and put them in the container with the caterpillar. A responsible seller will be aware of state law and any other limitations on where they can ship. *Again, I do not recommend excess handling of the cocoons or moths, but if for some reason you are concerned the pupae may not be viable (maybe it's getting way late in the spring and you still haven't had a hatch), you can trim open that outer silk covering and take a look. Hold the cocoon vertically, from one of the tapered ends. Position the moth house at an angle so that the tarp sides shield the inhabitants from direct, prolonged daylight. I used Loc-Tite on my base anchor tabs since I feel more confident in its ability to withstand moisture. The Polyphemus moth uses defense mechanisms to protect itself from predators. While I do not recommend "playing with" your moths, they are very docile and their chubbiness makes them easy to handle. I bought a climbing species of lilac which, trained to a rod or tomato cage, will make a nice vertically formatted plant to fit inside the moth house. The largest native moth of North America, the Cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia) is a species of giant silk moths. Search eBay for cocoons and the aviary supplies can be found at any hardware store. Avoid gathering foliage from places where pesticides are likely to have ben sprayed, such as golf courses. Giant silk moths, having no gut and only vestigial mouthparts, live to reproduce, and the lipids that they store as caterpillars nourish them as adults. Haldane and his wife, entomologist Helen Spurway, the Polyphemus moth was reclassified, becoming Antheraea polyphemus. Insert your 4 long pieces of PVC in the vertical ports of your elbow joints. ), Sassafras, Citrus, and Ulmus americana (American elm).