silk moth mating troubles

13 years ago

I have luna, polyphemus, promethea, and cecropia moths this spring, which is a big step up as I only had cecropias last spring 0.o. So far luna and polyphemus moths have emerged. I have 1 male and 5 female lunas. My one male is more or less at the end of his life. There were two separate matings but oddly both lasted only a couple hours. Has anyone had this happen and what was the outcome? I know they usually stay connected the entire following day. So will some of the eggs be fertile from a short mating? Or is it basically just wait and see lol.

I also have 5 polyphemus moths emerged, 3 males and 2 females. Hopefully with a few more on the way. So far none of them have mated and I am worried the females are going to start laying unfertilized eggs soon. Any guess what I am doing wrong? They are all in a collapsible clothes hamper in the same room as the lunas, who have their separate hamper. I'm sure keeping them indoors isn't ideal but I'm in an apartment and it is what it is. I open the window at night and use a box fan to push as much fresh air into the room as I can. Do they need to be outside? Am I confusing them or something lol?

The cecropia and promethea have not emerged yet.

So any advice, suggestions, or criticism would be helpful ;)

Thanks,
CuriosityKat

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Comments (4)

bananasinohio
13 years ago
KC is the best person to answer this but I have one thought. Are the males and females brood mates? They are not supposed to mate if they are from the same brood (they do but they shouldn't). KC has some good info on this. Hopefully he will answer soon.
-Elisabetj
curiositykat
Original Author
13 years ago
Some are, some are not, and some I don't know lol. For the lunas they are all brood mates. I know its not ideal if they mate with brood mates, but due to my location I usually allow this every other year. Then either order or trade some for different stock every other generation. The polyphemus I got as cocoons during a trade with another local hobbyist, so I don't know about those ones. For both the cecropia and promethea I do have cocoons from different sources and they are marked/identifiable from each other.

I guess I could try placing the cage between the fan and window and pushing the air out. I've tried calling wild males in before but have never been successful. This is a new location for me this year and it is only a couple minuets from down town St. Paul, so not its not very friendly to large moths.
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alch21
13 years ago
i raised all of these as well. the polyphemus are the most picky about mating. Try separate them for a while before reintroducing them at night. It usually help. Temperature is always a factor too (can't be too cold ). I do well with a mating cage outside mating with brood mates. You might be able to set your cages a bit further and check on them in the evening. Good luck with everything !
Ace003
13 years ago
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This post was edited by Ace003 on Fri, May 24, 13 at 3:03