Forbes Silkmoths again - woohoo!!!

Was turning in for the night around 1030 when I heard something bumping against my bedroom window which faces my backporch. Turned on the yard motion sensor lights and saw a big moth flying around. Took me about two seconds to realize it was a Forbes so I grabbed my flashlight (have those yellow bug lights on my porch so can't see a durn). Saw several moths flitting around banging themselves on the ceiling and against the windows then it dawned on me...a female must have emerged from one of the cocoons in the reptarium (sitting on my patio table). I've had those since December of 2007!!! NICE SURPRISE to find one was viable!

Anyway, long story short...I counted 8 males flying around my backporch and yard. I could even smell the female's scent. It was a very sweet and strong smell. WOW!!! I unzipped one side of the reptarium and several males found their way inside in mere minutes. One quickly mated so I unzipped the other side and shooed the rest out. :o) Within about five minutes the moths that were flying around disappeared and I could no longer smell the female.

Here's a photo of the happy couple :o) I've zipped up the reptarium and they should stay mated for about 24 hours. Will release the male when he's done his duty and will bring in a couple of potted larval host plants I have for the female to hopefully lay her eggs on. Last time I had a female laying eggs on the mesh! Might end up putting her in a paper bag instead...will think about it.

~ Cat

This photo you can see four males flitting around. I've circled them in red. yeah, yeah...my back porch is a mess :o) ROLF!!!

~ Cat

Another photo of four males. Never have time to clean the porch but always have time to grab the camera. Mind you...it's already almost 1230 at night and I'm still up posting.

~ Cat

Photo of one of the males perched on the underside of my porch beam. These are truly gorgeous moths. I'm still doing the happy dance - can't believe I counted 8 flitting around my backyard and porch tonight. Am wondering how far they traveled honing in on the females scent call.

~ Cat

How cool! Great pix, especially that last one.

WOW...neat!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Too cool, did the males come bearing gifts such as a nice bottle of wine or flowers? I would have told her to get the jewelry first before mating!

ROLF!!! The males came in like bats out of heck - their only intention was to get into the cage! It's always amusing to see butterflies or moths trying to get into a cage instead of out of one!

The only other males I've seen behaving as badly are the Gulf Fritillary males. However, on a good note...once the female got hooked up the other males left my backyard. I've seen a variety of male butterflies trying to make a threesome instead of getting the message and hitting the road :o)

Can't wait to see the bling this female oviposits :o)

Just checked on the happy couple a few minutes ago...they are still at it. Hard to believe they will stay this way for give or take 24 hours.

~ Cat

After +-24 hours, they may BOTH need a bottle of wine, LOL! Good pics Texas. And since they are already in your cage, it will make protecting the eggs so much easier.

Okay...released the male this morning. Guess they filed for divorce early this morning :o) She has already laid about 150+ eggs. Didn't realize she'd start in on a family so quickly. She'll be busy for the next couple of days...will most likely release her Monday so she can continue to lay ova in the neighborhood.

~ Cat

150+ eggs - whoa, that's crazy! How neat that you get to observe all the cycles.

Beautiful Cat, thanks for sharing the excitement. Did you name the male IKE?? LOL!

You guys are killing me...I want to do this so bad with cats but don't need another project. Keep up the great work, I love the postings.

Oh, I found a dogface yesterday, first one I have ever seen. YIPPEE! I'll take anything at this poing.

Ike would've been a good name for that bad boy! Hit at night and do the damage then split in the morning!

NatureLover...am still laughing at the need for two bottles of wine too!!!

Have a moth man in Helotes who wants to raise some and I've got a trip to San Antonio this week so this is perfect timing. I'll be taking a stash with me :o)

Also have a Texas Parks and Wildlife guy that wants to raise some too so that will help with all the babysitting duties.

Other than that I'm going to do my best to ensure a good survival rate. Last year only two made it out of about 50 I kept. As young instar caterpillars their odds of survival even in the best of circumstances is so iffy. This species has been so difficult to raise.

I know they are around here but have never seen one in the wild or in my yard...so having all those males show up was soooooooooooooo cool! Who knows...maybe they like staying way up in the highest branches of the ash trees where I'd never be able to see a caterpillar!

~ Cat

Photo of some of the ova she laid on the ash.

~ Cat

ps...I found an army worm eating the ash - as noted by the damaged leaves. It must've stowed away on the sapling when I moved it into the reptarium for the moth to lay ova on. I don't think it ate any eggs...but either way...it was Bye Bye bad worm!

This message was edited Sep 13, 2008 3:08 PM

How neat is that!!!

big congrats Cat. How wonderful. I hope you can raise all the eggs to a cocoon

Wow, that is so cool!

Yaaaaaaaaaay... Now that's a lot of eggs, You go girl!



LOL Sheila!

TexasPuddyPrint, your photos belong on a Calendar! What do the silkworm larvae moths feed on? The eggs are now in the cage, but what happens when they hatch? Do you put cuttings in for them? Really gorgeous, arnt they!

Thanks all!!!

Bedouin - the Forbes' Rothschild caterpillars eat mexican ash trees and privet in south Texas. My neighbor has an ash tree that drops seeds which sprout - so on occasion I pull them up and transplant them into pots.

I placed one of the sapling into the reptarium with the female and she laid some eggs on it. When the caterpillars hatch they will eat that. She laid other eggs on the mesh of the cage so I gently removed those and have given them to a moth man who wants to raise them. I released the female into my backyard so hopefully she continued to lay eggs on the ash trees around my neighborhood.

If the caterpillars happen to eat the sapling to the stem I still have others I can put in for them. Once they get bigger I will separate them and place each caterpillar in it's own container and take fresh cuttings from the neighbor's tree and feed them that :o)

...and yes, this is truly a gorgeous moth. The photos don't do it justice - the browns and beige contrast with the maroon coloring and the clear wing spots make it really spectacular!

~ Cat

Cat, thanks for the info. A lot of work on your part, but well worth it. The first photo is absolutly stunning!

Finally got back into town today and quickly checked on the forbes' cats. They are doing well. Growing fast and munching on the ash saplings. If they continue to eat and grow as rapidly I will soon be resorting to fresh ash cuttings from the neighbor's tree :o)

~ Cat

They are cuties!

Sweet!!