Spring Fertility

We’re having babies left and right! First the Rosy Maple Moth now not one or two but 5 Cecropia Moths.

They hatched from eggs given to me by a caterpillar friend (everyone needs one).

Caterpillars start life as tiny things and literally eat themselves out of their skin. They grow too large for their body and it splits revealing a fresh new body underneath. Each molt leads to a larger caterpillar, called an instar, The first instar was a tiny thing. The second a bit larger. The fifth and final was huge (for a caterpillar)

Yes, these are all caterpillars of the same species, the cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia).

The caterpillars kept me busy finding fresh leaves for them to eat all summer long. For their final instar I went out daily in search of delicious and tempting greens for them.

In the fall they started pupating, building a cocoon to shelter them over the winter.

In the wild their cocoons look like the one below.

The pupa itself looks like this:

I kept them in a screened in habitat in my garage over the winter. In April I brought their habitats inside so I’d see them turn into this:

I’ll keep them until the females lay eggs, then off they go into the wild.

Note: If you raise moths or butterflies only release ones that were acquired in your local area or you risk spreading disease.

Thanks for looking,
Stay well, be curious, learn things.

Kate
April 2023

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• The Beauty of Winter
• Flying Tutus
• Glaciers to Gardens
• Night Lights in June
• Happiness Practice – Day 7