How to attract male Satuniidae (For my Female Eacles imperialis)

[billrogers]

I'm creating this thread to show how I attract male Saturniidae moths when I only have a female. I'm going to be doing it for my female Eacles imperialis who hatched today.

Background:
Saturniidae moths only live about a week as adults. They do not eat and their only purpose is to reproduce. The females climb up something tall as soon as they eclose from their pupae. The females then "broadcast" pheromones from their high location after dark. These pheromones are very powerful, and with the help of air currents and breezes can spread for a mile or more. The males hyper-sensitive antennae pick up the pheromones and guide them to the female. Their copulation usually lasts until sometime in the afternoon the following day. After they have mated, they will part that night, the male to search for another female, and the female to start laying eggs.

This is a pic of my female (Eacles imperialis) when I found her last year (on Labor Day I believe):



Here she is as a freshly emerged moth today :


What To do:
To let her "broadcast" her pheromones, but not escape or get eaten, I put her in this cage made of hardware cloth (it has to have big enough gaps for her to mate with the male through):

 

[billrogers]

I used bent paper clips to hold the top on. The cage is too small for these moths to fly around in, but since the females just sit and wait for a male they do okay in there:
View attachment 211692 View attachment 211693


I then tied the cage to a bamboo pole and placed it out off my porch (keeps it out of reach of my cat and helps get better airflow). There is about 20 feet of empty space under the cage right now:


I now have to wait for morning and then hopefully she will have attracted a male! They can mate though the gaps in the wires and I will let him go tomorrow night, but hold onto her so I can get eggs. I have had success with this in the past, so we'll see. If she successfully attracts a mate I'll show how I collect eggs/get the female to oviposit (it's really easy).

 

[billrogers]

Unfortunately, the female Eacles imperialis did not attract a male last night. I brought her inside for the day and will try putting her closer to the woods tonight.

In the mean time, I caught a female Actias luna last night so I'll show how to get eggs.


If you find a female Saturniid that came to a light, you can assume she has mated because they usually wait until they have mated to fly anywhere. Since the female Saturniids are in such a rush to lay as many eggs as possible before they die it's really easy to get eggs. I put them into a large container they can climb. I specifically have this large styrofoam box: but I have also used styrofoam minnow buckets, large paper bags, and cardboard boxes. I think the styrofoam is especially useful because they can climb it pretty easily. In captivity will lay eggs on anything really, but in the wild they only land on host plants to lay eggs.

The moth will flap around all night and can make quite a bit of noise. This morning, she had laid all these:

The eggs are pretty hard and can be pried off and placed in another container to hatch.

 

[Tenevanica]

Ah, yes. I'm just getting into breeding Saturniids myself Good luck with everything! I'm unfortunate enough that I live in an area where a few of the species I'm keeping aren't native, so I'll have to breed them myself.

 

[billrogers]

We have quit a few Saturniidae species here. The ones I have seen are:
Actias luna
Callosamia sp. (not sure which one)
Hyalophora cecropia
Eacles imperialis
Citheronia regalis
Antheraea polyphemus
Automeris io
Hemileuca sp.
And some other smaller species...

Actias luna, Eacles imperialis, and Antheraea polyphemus are the most common, I usually see them every year. I really want to find a female Cithonera regalis, but the only one I've caught was a male. The Hemileuca used to be more common, but I haven't seen as many in the last few years.

 

[billrogers]

What species are native to Colorado?

 

[Tenevanica]

What species are native to Colorado?

Antheraea polyphemus, Coloradia doris, Automeris io, Hyalophora columbia. That is every species, lol.

 

[Soccerjets]

I am hoping to try to get myself a wild adult female silkmoth soon. If they are flapping around a light, what would you say is the safest way to catch them? Just a butterfly net?

Also, I have a polyphemus moth cocoon hatching very soon (pupae shell is paper thin) and I'm hoping that it is a female so I can take her to where I found the cocoon and attract a male

 

[Venom1080]

keeping and breeding moths is a thing? wow, learn something new every day.. they are gorgeous looking btw.

 

[Tenevanica]

keeping and breeding moths is a thing? wow, learn something new every day.. they are gorgeous looking btw.

Oh, it's a huge thing! Bigger in Europe than in the states, but I'd argue it's just as large as tarantula keeping.

 

[Venom1080]

Oh, it's a huge thing! Bigger in Europe than in the states, but I'd argue it's just as large as tarantula keeping.

really? how does one keep moths? dont they live only for a short time depending on the species?

 

[Tenevanica]

@Venom1080 The adults usually live less than a week, but depending on the species the larvae (caterpillars) take up to a year or more to pupate. The larvae are very pretty in some species, and it's very rewarding to see the adults emerge after spending several months in a cocoon. The larvae require a diet of live leaves of very specific food-plants. You can raise them indoors in net cages, or outdoors by putting a little net cage called a rearing sleeve over a tree branch or shrub. The larvae eat (A ton!) as they molt 5 times before pupating. (Becoming a cocoon.) For tropical species you can leave the pupae alone, but many of the North America natives have to be overwintered in a refrigerator. After a few months, the adults emerge and they can be bred. Unlike many arthropods, moths are high maintenance, but they aren't difficult to rear if you know what you're doing.

 

[Esherman81]

@Venom1080 The adults usually live less than a week, but depending on the species the larvae (caterpillars) take up to a year or more to pupate. The larvae are very pretty in some species, and it's very rewarding to see the adults emerge after spending several months in a cocoon. The larvae require a diet of live leaves of very specific food-plants. You can raise them indoors in net cages, or outdoors by putting a little net cage called a rearing sleeve over a tree branch or shrub. The larvae eat (A ton!) as they molt 5 times before pupating. (Becoming a cocoon.) For tropical species you can leave the pupae alone, but many of the North America natives have to be overwintered in a refrigerator. After a few months, the adults emerge and they can be bred. Unlike many arthropods, moths are high maintenance, but they aren't difficult to rear if you know what you're doing.

I raised painted ladies and horn months ..this spring ..my kids loved them and ..I was crying when we let the painted ladies go ..the horn months we didn't let go thro ..

 

[billrogers]

I am hoping to try to get myself a wild adult female silkmoth soon. If they are flapping around a light, what would you say is the safest way to catch them? Just a butterfly net?

Also, I have a polyphemus moth cocoon hatching very soon (pupae shell is paper thin) and I'm hoping that it is a female so I can take her to where I found the cocoon and attract a male

A net works fine, once you get it in the net though, it helps to CAREFULLY grasp the moths wings closed over their backs to prevent them from flying, and that way you have a firm hold on them and you can move them around easier.

***ONE WARNING*** saturniids can spray a waste liquid at you if you disturb them, especially if it just hatched from the cocoon. This liquid is harmless and dries a tan or light brown color and you can wipe it off.

 

[billrogers]

Although if you are moving saturniids, they are usually pretty chill and will let you carry them just on your hand. Carrying them how I mentioned above can mess up the scales on their wings, but like I said, it can be useful sometimes.

 

[Tenevanica]

Although if you are moving saturniids, they are usually pretty chill and will let you carry them just on your hand. Carrying them how I mentioned above can mess up the scales on their wings, but like I said, it can be useful sometimes.

Use latex gloves and grip their wings between your index and middle finger. The wings should be gripped so that they are over its back like a butterfly. I do this all the time without damaging them. You just have to be gentle.

 

[Venom1080]

@Venom1080 The adults usually live less than a week, but depending on the species the larvae (caterpillars) take up to a year or more to pupate. The larvae are very pretty in some species, and it's very rewarding to see the adults emerge after spending several months in a cocoon. The larvae require a diet of live leaves of very specific food-plants. You can raise them indoors in net cages, or outdoors by putting a little net cage called a rearing sleeve over a tree branch or shrub. The larvae eat (A ton!) as they molt 5 times before pupating. (Becoming a cocoon.) For tropical species you can leave the pupae alone, but many of the North America natives have to be overwintered in a refrigerator. After a few months, the adults emerge and they can be bred. Unlike many arthropods, moths are high maintenance, but they aren't difficult to rear if you know what you're doing.

aww, only a few weeks.. i was hoping for a few months at least.. thank you for the info!