Moths

[BurrowDweller]

I worked at a shrimp research facility that was next to a nice chunk of woods and a wetland. The building was painted a light pink color and had a extremely bright security light on one end near the door. Every morning from spring until frost the building would be covered with all types of moths, beetles, walking sticks, etc. There would even be toads and skinks out there eating all the bugs. We always seemed to have a couple lunas or royal walnuts out there, it was great. The coolest thing though was when we had to go in at midnight, the sky around that light would be swarming with insects. On a good night you could find 5-10 species of moths and an unbelieveable number of beetles.

 

[Peter_Parker]

Wow, nothing like that around here. I guess it's too close to the city or something, but all we get is little tiny insects that you wouldn't really bother taking a closer look at. Once in a while a stag beetle, katydid, or cicada will come, but other than that I haven't seen much of interest. I plan on going camping in a month or so to a more wooded area where I KNOW they have all sorts of great stuff and I'm gonna try the light and white sheet thing and see if anything appears.

 

[BrentlySnow]

Theres a butterfly conservitory by.... hiway 50, when i used to drive out of brampton ontario on hiway 7 i used to see the signs, my sister has been there a dozen times, i think this would be an excellent place to start, il try and get some better directions.

 

[Galapoheros]

The biggest killer of the large moths in my area (Austin tx area) is the parasitic fly larvae. Some one mentioned the scientific name for the fly to me but I forgotten it. It looks allot like the common house fly. I had way too many caterpillars that spring and summer. I put about 20 Polyphemus caterpillars on a small Live oak in my backyard. The next day, I went outside to look at them and there were a couple of flies harassing the caterpillars. I've seen the larvae of the fly in infected caterpillars but I hadn't seen the fly infecting a caterpillar with the larvae before then. The caterpillars would whip back and forth trying to get the fly off of them. The fly actually stick the larvae under the skin of the caterpillar. I didn't know that was what was going on at the time, but I was suspicious of it. NONE of the 20 caterpillars made it that I put outside. I probably put 50 giant silk caterpillars outside on small trees that spring and summer so I could go and watch them every once in a while. They were all eventually killed by that fly sp. Seems like I read that particular fly was introduced. I don't like those flies . I think it's another reason the moths fly around laying eggs thinly from tree to tree so the flies won't find them all. I put my caterpillars in a terrerium with about an inch of coarse, wet gravel. I stuck the host plant twigs with leaves on them in the gravel. When I changed their branches, I just worked the caterpillars off the old branches and on to the new ones. They seemed to get used to it. They got used to being picked up and would immediatly start eating the new leaves. And man!, do they eat!

 

[Scolopendra55]

I recomend buying luna cocoons (I've done lunas before and their the way to go) then hatching them out yourself. Once you have hatched out a male and female let them harden for 3 days or so then place them both in a large paper bag so they can mate. After about 5 days of keeping them in the bag together take out the male and leave the female in the bag. She will start laying eggs on the walls of the paper bag within a couple of days. Check on her every couple of days till she dies. Remove her from the bag and tear off the sections of paper with eggs on them and place them in deli cups with a piece of damp paper towel on one side. When the eggs hatch you can place them on fresh oak leaves and let the feast begin (and I do mean FEAST). They eat ravenously and grow quickly and before you know it you have more cocoons.

 

[BrentlySnow]

http://www.gardencentre.com/location.asp

The humber butterfly conservitory (spelling may be off)

i got the hiway wrong but i would recommend going there or atleast checking out there site if you want to start keeping moths and whatnot.

 

[PINK1081]

We always put our catipilers in a fine netting sleeve, pulled over a branch on the host tree. The bags, depending on the number of cats. in the bag would have to be moved as they would strip the leaves. The biggest problem was explaining to the neighbors that the net was there to keep the "BUGS" on the trees.
Jim

 

[Peter_Parker]

annoying birds

I heard some birds figure out how to get under the net and get at the caterpillars, has this happened to anyone before?

 

[Galapoheros]

I think they are talking about a sleeve you slip over a branch and tie the open end so nothing can get to the caterpillars. They are much better and tighter than bird netting which you might have read about. Bill Oehkle(?) sells them. I have some but never used them. They keep birds and parasitic flies from getting your caterpillars. They go around the whole branch, no open spots for birds to go under. Sorry, I feel like I repeated someone elses post.