What a cool lookin cat, Cat!!
Your Forbes are amazing, Thanks for giving the good closeups!
(I'll post the DF in the Daily BF thread, trois, lol.)
debnes
Woohoo!!! A Rothschildia lebeau forbesi - Forbes' Silkmoth
Still growing very slowly...
~ Cat
What a great pic Cat!!
Cute little polka-dot outfit..
debnes
...sigh...still growing very slowly. This one is now five weeks old. It's only 1.25 inches long. Was trying out a new macro lens...works quite well ey?!
~ Cat
This message was edited Nov 26, 2007 10:59 PM
Wow, that is one cool looking cat, it's so psychedelic!
Amazing pic Cat!
My daughter Val, has taken up raising moths... They are incredibly slow as cats. Right now she has a Leopard cat. She had a tussock, but when it made the cocoon, she discovered a parasitic larvae on it... :-)
The Leopard looks very healthy though.
Val is such a trooper, lol! Next year she will have a butterfly garden from seeds I've saved to sow in her back yard.. :-)
debnes
Nice lens Cat!!! What kind is it? The color is beautiful!!
Adrienne
Adrienne...the lens or the cat? :o)
The lens is a 10x for my Sony DSC-H9
The cat is a Forbes' Silkmoth - it's only about 1.25 inches long - it just looks much bigger thanks to the 10x macro lens.
~ Cat
it's beautiful Cat
Do you suppose the slow growth coincides with winter or cooler temps?
Not quite sure RJ...we've had some really nice temps...but then we've had a few days of cool nights. Perhaps their growth is slower during the winter season.
Finally saw one molt. :o)
~ Cat
Looks kinda of nekid :o) without it's coloring.
~ Cat
Mabe they'll start accellerating after a certain period of time
Just checking in to see how your baby is doing these past weeks, Cats?
Kim
Two are doing well...couldn't find the smallest one though. Not sure if it got eaten by one of the biggers ones or I tossed it out with the old leaves and cuttings. I checked over the privet bush where I always toss out the old leaves...just in case but didn't see it. Bummer...
Haven't taken a recent photo...will do so later this week during daylight hours.
~ Cat
How many are there?
Only two...but so far they are growing and appear healthy - I think they are in the 4th instar stage.
I gave away about two hundred eggs to a couple of local moth-men and they said they hatched well enough but the cats all died within a couple of weeks. We thought this was going to be an easy species to raise but we're finding out differently. I'm the only one with live caterpillars left....and I've only got two.
Am hoping the female I released laid eggs in the neighbor's ash tree. I did find some hatched eggs on a privet bush I have in my back yard...but never did find any caterpillars on it.
Still have a couple of cocoons that haven't emerged...am hoping those are still viable. I read they overwinter...so time will tell.
~ Cat
oh that's too bad about the other ones. I spose the guys knew what they were doing too.
I found a couple of cocoons in my oak tree. They are big moths, and I can't recall exactly what they are, but I looked them up a while ago. The cats are large green - from what I read they like the china berry trees, which there is another name for..that I have in the back of the garden. I put the cocoons in the green house. Not sure if they are good either but they feel solid..the cocoons are pretty tough. I didn't feel any wiggling though.
Rj
Here's one that hatched 10/19/07.
A day short of seven weeks old.
~ Cat
Great measurement shot Cat!! Looks like it's doing very well too!
:-)
debnes
Looks healthy!
Okay...the cats are nine weeks old and have really grown :o) I thought they were going to pupate last week but no such luck...they are still eating voraciously :o) A good sign!!!
Here's some current photos.
~ Cat
another...
~ Cat
...and another...
~ Cat
...an eating machine :o)
~ Cat
My goodness those things have grown. They look so healthy, too. Look at those tiny hairs on their feet. (I guess you would call those feet, lol) You are doing a great job with them. : )
~Lucy
He is a beaut! Love those little feet, looks like he has socks on!
They have gotten big.
It's too bad they don' live longer after they have wings...
Thanks ya'll!!!
Yes, their feet are so cute. Look like little furry booties :o) They can really stick to things with them too. One of them did not want to let go of my hand. I had to hold my hand next to the privet cutting until it got a whiff of the plant and mosied over to chow down on it again.
So true RJ...but what a lovely sight they are. The photos of the moths do not do them justice. The coloring is awesome. Am thinking if these ever get around to pupating they will overwinter and not eclose until late March or April.
Long time to babysit a moth that will only live a few days...
Ah, the joys of moth-erhood :o)
~ Cat
I was reading about the over winter, and the conditions etc that will help them do that. Very interesting.
they have a good Mom!
Woohoo!!! One of the caterpillars pupated :o) It formed a cocoon yesterday. From an egg laid 10/13/07 to a caterpillar that hatched 10/19/07 to a cocoon on 12/27/07!!! That is a long time to babysit a caterpillar :o) You can still see the green caterpillar inside the silk too.
The other one is still chomping away. I keep putting fresh privet cuttings and it continues to eat and poop!!!
~ Cat
Awesome!!! Congrats Cat~
Kim
Ahhh, Cat, he's soooo cute all bundled up. : )
~Lucy
Fantastic Cat! That is just so neat, and what a great picture of the cocoon.
Cathy
Big congrats Cat. I know you are thrilled
That's a great shot ..still seeing the cat inside...
Cat, once the cat stopped eating, how long did the cat roam around before it made its cocoon?
Cathy
Thanks ya'll...
Cathy...don't know when it stopped eating. Both were eating the day before. When I woke up for work and checked on them around 630am. Noticed the liquid cat poo in the cage and one had started to lay down strands of silk. When I got home around 6pm it was already in the cocoon stage you see in the photo.
~ Cat
Whooooowhooooo! Cat! Sweet little bundle!
debnes
Moth # 1
Egg laid 10/13/07
Caterpillar hatched 10/19/07
Caterpillar pupated 12/26/07
Moth eclosed 01/31/08
The caterpillar that pupated on 12/26/08 eclosed today while I was at work!!!
A lovely Forbes Silkmoth has emerged :o) I don't know if this is male or female. Have sent email to a moth-man in San Antonio.
Our temperature is 55 outside right now and anticipated to go down to 41 but warm up tomorrow. Since these have no mouth parts I am going to keep it inside until I find out if it's male or female. If it's female will breed her and collect some more eggs to continue the cycle...then will release her after a couple of egg laying days...if male will release him as soon as possible.
Woohoo!!! It feels so good to have monitored the complete life cycle of this gorgeous moth. Am still bummed out that of all the eggs laid in captivity only two caterpillars made it to adulthood. Am hoping I'll have better luck next time around.
This message was edited Feb 4, 2008 10:26 AM
