Yeeeee-haaaaaw!

I have now found a sure-fire 'method' for getting Monarchs to mate. (If you can believe it!)

Paw-ty on!

what's your method...my imagination is going wild.

what do you feed your moth larvae?

WOW! Those are awesome looking moths. You should share photos :o)

Wish I could find some out here to raise...those are on my list of moths to attract to my yard...but alas, no sightings so far. Don't guess they like venturing this far south.

Congrats again!!! I'm envious!!! :o)

~ Cat

Congrats, congrats!
I can't think of a more spectacular moth than a cecropia moth - the colors are to die for!
You're not kidding about feeding them, though - they can REALLY eat!
MissSherry

These big caterpillars in the silk and some of the sphingids, do eat copious amounts of food. I'm curious about what you fed them, too. Hopefully, I will get some here one day. I have elderberry, which I have heard is a food source for them among other trees and shrubs.

Susan

For the Monarchs? Instead of releasing them after they eclose I keep them for three days in an enclosure with some Milkweed. It takes three days for them to reach sexual maturity. I thought I'd try this to see if it would help and sure enough, I just collected 100 eggs in two days after having done my 'experiment.' :)

I might try that with Monarchs when the time comes. I am still collecting PVS eggs - 11 today. They are becoming an all summer presence.

Penny

You beat me to the punch.

Last summer I raised about 50 Cecropias from eggs that came from a female I had overwintered from the previous year.

They ate so much once large, that I had to release over half of them onto my Kwazan cherry tree to fend for themselves. The other half I let pupate in my garage.

Tuesday, my dad found an adult female scrunched up against a shrub in the morning. She came from the cherry tree.

I brought her in and am hoping for another cocoon to hatch out a boy for her.

I was worried because she seems kind of early. Last year it was not until June that they eclosed. But now, since you told me all yours did, I won't be so worried.

I remember, last year it took about two nights for the male and female that I had to mate. They they stayed attached for about 24 hours. Then I got eggs.

They are awesome and beautiful creatures!

If anyone wants, I'll post some pics.

Maryann

And this morning I got three more! a female and two Males.

I guess I'll be raising cecropias again this summer!

I feed my cecropia cats buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula),but they will use many other trees and shrubs.
Moths mate more readily in captivity than butterflies,and stay joined for a much longer time.Female moths usually don't fly until after they have mated.They just hang around and wait for the males to find them by detecting the pheromones.
The cocoons hatched early this year for some reason.They sometimes don't hatch til July!
Maryann,did you raise yours indoors or out? I do both,but it's much easier keeping them in larval sleeves on the trees.
Cat,I don't think cecropias are found south of Houston.Susan,they should be found in OKC, but may not be common there.
Tdogmom,how big an enclosure did you use for the monarchs?
Missherry,yes the colors are very cool!Hard to believe such an exotic-looking creature is native to the eastern US,and not the Amazon rainforest.

Yes, I think you're right. Actually, Polyphemus, Cecropia, and Luna are the most "found" silk moths in Oklahoma (doesn't include the royal moths). We are kind of on the border where their range ends. That's why I pretty much stick with the sphinx moths because we don't get very many silks.

I have many plants, shrubs and trees which would attract a lot of the silk moths and I always check in the late fall, after the leaves have fallen to see if I can find any cocoons, but so far I haven't found any.

I hope to start looking for and possibly raising catacolas in the near future since John Nelson and his cohorts have established the presence of several different catacolas in Oklahoma (catacola meaning beautiful hing wings).

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Oklahoma Catacolas

I don't use a super large enclosure as I am not trying to get the Monarchs to mate inside it-just to 'hang out' for three days and nectar and relax until they reach their sexual maturity. :) They are in the largest Insectlore pop-up...what is called the Butterfly Pavilion which is about 3' tall.

Dan, you want some PVS eggs? My pipevines are too small to support the eggs that Mrs. PV laid on my A. clematitis. I need to send them quickly, or else I will try the OKC zoo and Myriad Gardens here in OKC to see if they want them. It's not that I don't, I just know I don't have the available food for them.

Susan

I raised mine indoors in several large aquariums. I feed them Kwazann cherry because that tree always seems to need pruning.

Maryann

Thanks for the offer,Susan.I'd love some PVS eggs or cats!

Dan, Susan has been having trouble with her computer and probably won't be on the forum for a while - hopefully, she'll get it fixed soon.
I suggested she offer those PVS eggs to you, since I knew you have pipevines and no cats, but I think it's too late - they've probably hatched by now.
MissSherry

Thanks,Sherry.I sent her an email but she probably never got it.Oh well...I'm sure there will be more eggs in the future.