4 of 40 eggs hatched tonight. Keep your fingers crossed they survive under my care
Luna Moths
WOW Donna...that was quick!!! Will be waiting and watching for updates!!!
Got my four paws crossed =^..^=
~ Cat
wow Cat a bunch of them have hatched when I rechecked a little while ago
Aren't they cute? What is the Luna's host plant? We have lots of Luna Moths but I've never seen cats (that I know of).
Debra
here is a link to their host plants. I am using Sweet Gum because i have a never ending supply of it. http://www3.pei.sympatico.ca/~oehlkew/xlunlarv.htm
Thanks! After posting the question I did what I should have done first....found another thread with the answers! LOL! We have many luna moths but I didn't know anything about their life cycle. Your link will be helpful. Best of luck with your little 'family'!
Sweet Gum...isn't that the tree with those spiky balls? Used to have one of those in my backyard when I lived in Memphis, TN...sure wish I would have known all about butterflies and moths back then!
Keep us updated!
~ Cat
Your Luna cats look great, Donna. Where do you keep them? Good luck raising them!
Cat, that would be the gum tree :)
Way to go Donna!!
Best of blessing to all your cats!!
Deb o/~
I have them all in one big plastic Zip lock container for now. When they get bigger I plant to cut small limbs and keep them in the Butterfly cage since there will be plenty of room. I have had a couple of escapees through the air holes I put in lol. They are tiny
Good luck Donna! I hope they make it for you and all of us to see! Fingers crossed! XXXXXX
Keep up the good work Donna! They sure are cute....and cuddly looking...unlike the vicious Io moth cats I have.
A friend is going up to Georgia to teach at the law enforcement academy for a three month stint. Am going to have him send back Sweet Gum tree seeds (there were trees all over the compound last time I was there)...as well as make him go to the forest and maybe dig up a small sapling!!! Heh! Heh! Men...gotta love 'em...they'll do the strangest things to keep women happy!
Still keeping my four paws crossed for quadruple the luck!!!
("") x ("")
("") x ("")
How's that crossed cat paws?! ~ Cat =^..^=
to cute Cat
day 4
Pretty big for day four...getting cute!!!
~ Cat
Donna,
How are you raising yours? What was your hatch rate?
I bought one half grown locally, a dozen eggs by mail order (5 of 12 hatched), and received 50 as part of an experiment. Maria also got some from the FL project. She followed the instructions to the tee and hers did not survive. I did not, partly because I received cats in mult stages whereas she received eggs and partly because I'm lazy and busy, and partly because the cups seemed unnatural. I've toured a butterfly farm and they raise the b'flies in boxes with flat food and very small Luna cats in flat boxes. So far, mine from the project are doing well. I keep losing count as I move them to fresh bouquets of vertical foliage in bottles. I think this allows the most air circulation, moves frass away from the food and just generally feels more natural to the cats. I keep the bottles in a large pop-up flight cage but am going to have hubby build me something else wider, less tall.
Thanks,
Maggie
Maggie right now I have them all in a big container and you are right the frass is everywhere on their food. When they get big enough I am going to put them in my net cage I made and feed them vertically as well. I ordered 30 eggs and recieved almost 40. I haven't counted them but believe i got at least 50% hatch rate because there are a bunch of them. Will try to think to count them when I clean the cage this evening
counted tonight and I have 30, 31 hatched out of 40 eggs. I ripped one in half tonight when i tore the leaf to close to it. Made my heart sink
Oh Donna, I know exactly how you feel- have done it myself. They have the most incredible grip! No other cat I've seen is so tenacious. What I freq. have to do is to trim the old leaf with scissors and just lay it on the new food. I come back later and pull off the old food scraps from the bouquet.
I think it's so cool that several of us are raising them and others are asking for sources. wouldn't it be cool if more people did this? They wouldn't be so rare. I shared a couple of mine with a friend who has a daughter. I think these are especially good for kids to raise because they are so durable and easy to handle.
Maggie
This message was edited May 31, 2007 7:10 AM
I would like to correct some inaccurate info I posted. Lunas are silk spinners not earth pupators. Thus, they make their cocoons out of leaves in the branches. In areas with 3 flights, the last one may did down into the weeds and leaf litter to pupate. It would be this flight that might end up in the landfill when leaves are raked. So it seems we are back to loss of habitat as the primary reason for decreased numbers.
It takes several days for them to harden off completely in their cocoon. Until they do, they are a legless blob- sort of like the monarchs after they shed but before the chrysalis hardens I imagine. Thus, moving them from the bouquet of leaves will be a delicate operation. I fear I may have harmed some of mine by cutting the leaf nests free and dropping them in a bucket.
When transferring, or trying to transfer cats, I have found they prefer to grab the stem/petiole rather than the leaf.
Maggie
Hey, where are the week old photos? Come one show us the growing kittens :o)
~ Cat
going to take pics tonight Cat when I move them to the butterfly rearing cage. They are getting big enough now and it will be more natural for them to be able to climb up a stem. Washed cage with hot soapy water and a little bleach last night in hopes of not causing any disease. So far I haven't had any losses I can see except for the one I ripped in half ;-( The Antheraea are growing much slower than the Luna, the Cecropia haven't hatched yet and the Polyphemus haven't come in yet
Oooh cecropia too?! I wanna see!!! Oh, I'd love to raise those. I keep hoping to find a stray out here :o)
~ Cat
I did some more reading up on the Cecropia after I ordered them. They won't hatch until next year from cocooning. Bummer!!!! Says just one brood a year. Well I have 13 eggs so hope enough hatch and survive that I can get a breeding male and female.
8 days and just put into the hanging Butterfly rearing cage. They seem content. I took a small pot without holes. I cut 2" thick styrofoam to fit tight and made 5 small slits in it to stick branches in. I filled the pot with water. Hope it helps keep them fresh. We have been up to 90 already
Oh WOW, Donna! They look great! :-) Got my fingers crossed that they make it to adulthood.
if they do and mate Becky I will be happy to share eggs with you all for the priority postage it takes to send to you.
Donna - You're on!!! Just one question .... tell me again what they eat! LOL! I will definitely add the plant to my garden and get a second one for the cage! :-) I just think that the Luna moths are the MOST BEAUTIFUL moths ever!!! :-)
I am feeding them Sweet Gum since I have such an abundance of it but they eat other plants as well
http://www3.islandtelecom.com/~oehlkew/xlunlarv.htm
Thank you! I may stick with what you are using as a host. I like the look of the Sweet Gum. Awesome!!
Wonderful photo!!! They are looking good!!! Bummer on the year wait for the cecropias...but they will be worth it with their beauty.
Just curious...have you ever tried using wet floral foam? I buy that all the time from Walmart...I just cut it into the size or shape I want then let it soak up water. Most times I just set a block on a lid or piece of foil...or press a metal can onto a slab so it will fit perfectly...and stick cuttings into it. I don't have to worry about cats falling into water and it provides moisture for the air if they need it. It also keep the cuttings fresh longer.
~ Cat
I thought about it Cat but didn't have any and it is 25 miles each way to town lol
WOW Donna!!! That's only a little more than what I drive to work one way :o)
I always buy several packages of the stuff and keep some in my car too...along with numerous cat cages just in case I find something when I'm driving around.
~ Cat
17 days old little piggies. They are eating 6, 20" branches of sweet gum in 24 hours
pic 2
pic 3
pic 4 25 are still alive
Looking great Donna! They are outstanding!!
Oh wow Donna! They look great!
You and Maria will have to compare notes to see what was different between your methods of raising them. It's often helpful to do that. I made SOOOO MANY mistakes when I first started hand-raising cats. I've learned from my mistakes and have much more success now. I hope Maria will try again and even try her hand at raising other cats as well!:-)
Thanks Becky. For now, I just enjoy watching Donna's thread and I am happy to see that her cats are doing so well. Keep up the good work, Donna.
Maggie, what happened with your cats?