Etsy Finds, A Luna Moth Theme

In honor of my cocooned Luna moths, and in memory of the three caterpillars that didn't make it, here are some gorgeous artistic renderings of this beautiful creature!

Luna Moth Jiggle Garden stake by glassyART

Float like a butterfly - Glass Domed Earrings by irenesuchocki

Fine Art Print-Luna Dreams by NatureOnPaper

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Day 27

It is with great sadness I report that our last caterpillar, Nenington has died.

As you can see from the photo he has taken on a yellowish pallor and there is a brownish color creeping toward his head from the back end. He is dehydrated from not eating and has shrunk in size. I misted him throughout the day hoping that would help but it was too late for him. :(

I have no idea what may have caused his demise. Any experts out there have an opinion? Aside from the tiny granules of excrement on Day 23, he had no other symptoms. He was thriving and we expected him to cocoon any day. Then suddenly he became lethargic and stopped eating. He was given the same food as the other caterpillars, and after losing caterpillar #4, I was sure to wash all the leaves and branches under running water.

He may have continued to decline and suffer past today, Day 27, but with great trepidation I decided to euthanize him.

I read of a couple different methods, 1) freezing him in a plastic baggie, and 2) gassing him with acetone (nail polish remover soaked on a cotton ball and placed in a sealed container with the caterpillar).

I didn't feel confident that freezing him would completely do him in, and besides, I despise the cold! I just couldn't do that to him. I would have gassed him, but didn't have any acetone. As luck would have it, my nail polish remover is NON acetone! I'm sure my husband had something in the garage, but it looks like a tornado went through there and he can't find anything out there, so scratch that idea.

I certainly couldn't bring myself to step on him! Besides, I had to have an intact body to present to my 5 year old for burial proceedings. (Plus, you're not supposed to do that if they're diseased because you could spread it too easily.)

So...the only other thing I could think of was drowning him. He seemed so weak I thought it would be a quick ordeal. Not so. I do not recommend this method, especially for a caterpillar with a bit more life left in him than Nenington. There was a small struggle which nearly broke my heart! I bawled my head off, which I know is stupid--I mean, how many bugs have I heartlessly and without remorse stepped on and swatted in my lifetime?!

He went limp and sunk after the brief struggle. After 10 minutes of being submerged I could still detect a heartbeat, so I submerged him again. You can actually see their heartbeat through their backs. See this quick little :28 second video  of a caterpillar pupating on youtube to see firsthand.

I was terrified my 5 year old would catch me drowning the caterpillar, so I hid him under a floating soapdish, which also helped me distance myself from the situation so I wouldn't have to stand there and agonize over being a caterpillar murderer.

45 minutes later he STILL had a weak heartbeat...ARRGH!!!...the agony!

I came back after 1 1/2 hours and finally, there was no detectable heartbeat. I patted him dry and laid him back in his container and my little boy was none the wiser that his mother was capable of this dastardly deed!

After dinner we buried him under a rock near caterpillar #4, who died a few weeks ago. And thus ends my story of poor little Nenington. Now we just have 2 cocoons to report on periodically.

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Day 24

The next to cocoon is...

 Clover!

Corvella's cocoon thickened and darkened overnight. Now it looks more sturdy.

I'm worried about Nenington, caterpillar #3. He stopped eating today and is just sitting on a stick. I am hopeful that he is planning to cocoon shortly, but something doesn't seem right. His excrement from last night looked really dry and grainy, instead of the usual spherical moist balls you've seen in the photos from previous updates.

Corvella and Clover will spend the night in a container with the lid slightly cracked, sitting in the open windowsill so they can begin acclimating to the cooler temperatures.

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Day 23

We have a COCOON!

Corvella is the first to cocoon

Now what the heck am I supposed to do with it??? :P

This calls for some fresh research. I found this site which is quite comprehensive regarding the care of not only the cocoons, but the development of these caterpillars.

What to expect...

Sorry, this is a bit gross! The caterpillars clear their guts right before cocooning. If you see this, and your caterpillars are in their last instar, you'll know a cocoon is in their near future! Corvella is cocooned under a leaf on the far left side of the container.

Business as usual for Clover, chowing down and pooping!

Nenington, scrunched up, probably in fear

of the five giant "caterpillars" staring him down!

When you disturb the caterpillars, they tuck their heads under. His full length is much more impressive when he's stretched out comfortably.

Stay tuned to find out which of the two remaining 'pillars cocoons next!

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Day 20

Wow, it's been 20 days and I've managed to keep these caterpillars alive!
Kudos to me, heh heh!

"Clover"

"Corvella"

"Nenington"

Nothing much to report. They are eating up a storm, especially at night. A word to the wise...once they start getting large like this be sure to stock them with enough leaves to last through the night, unless you plan to get up periodically and check on them! Four large leaves seem to be about the right amount for mine, and they also like climbing so be sure to include the branch too.

Autumn Splendor

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Day 17

Day 17: Growing! They are closing in on 2". In fact, they may well be 2" long but they rarely stretch out their full length. When disturbed they tuck their heads under and scrunch up so it's hard to get an accurate measurement.

"Corvella"

We gave them branches in their containers and they seem to really enjoy clinging to them.

"Clover" 

You can see how his skin looks stretched tight, especially near the back end, like he's about to burst at the seams! Surely he's going to molt soon.

"Nenington"

Now is a crucial period for the larvae regarding lighting. They are light sensitive and take their cues from the length of daylight hours. I need these guys to produce the hormone that makes them overwinter in their cocoons, otherwise I'll have Luna Moths flying around the house! And if they mate and lay eggs I will have no food for the hatchlings since it will be late autumn. So I'm being careful to cover their containers with a towel to be sure they get no more than 14 hours of light each day. 

Listen to me, ha ha! I sound like I know what I'm talking about! (I knew nothing about this a month ago!)

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Day 14

The Luna moth larvae are now in their 4th Instar. The two largest caterpillars molted overnight on Day 14. I found this discarded skin and a little "skull cap" from the caterpillar's face in the container. Sometimes they eat their molted skin but this time Corvella did not. Clover ate her skin but not the little cap. (Sounds gross!)

The caterpillars spin a bit of silk to anchor themselves prior to molting. You can see the silk threads in this photo, attaching the skin to the leaf. I took the picture on my journal page where I make notes about their progress.

Nenington, the runt of the litter, was preparing to molt on day 14. He seems to be one day behind the others.

Since the death of caterpillar #4 I've been paranoid about sickness among the remaining caterpillars. When they stopped eating I thought surely I was going to lose the rest of them, but it turns out they do this when they get ready to molt. I never observed this before because they were all together in one container. One out of the four was always eating and pooping so I assumed it was coming from all four. I wish I'd separated them sooner, it's been very enlightening!

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Day 12

I have a sad tragedy to report. Luna larvae #4 died on day 11. I have no idea what happened to cause his demise. I found him that morning in a pool of fluids. I removed all the caterpillars to individual containers in case it was catching. So far the remaining three are doing well. 

Here is Corvella, the largest of the three.

My son decided to name them now that they're in separate containers and we can tell them apart. Don't ask me where he got these names from!

This is Nenington, the smallest of the bunch

Here is Clover.

Clover has a bit of silk hanging off his backside. He is preparing to molt again.

Etsy Finds

I found these gorgeous garden photos on Etsy...

CONTENTMENT Fine Art Photograph by bbrunophotography

Dragon Tail Fern by UrbanDesign

Lovely (Mums) by Eyeful

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Day 10

The larvae enjoyed a weekend at Grandma's while we were out of town. Grandma managed to not kill any of them and they continue to thrive!

The larvae are now in their 3rd Instar, having molted again on day 9.

The Luna moth larvae are close to an inch long now. Their ...uh... excrement is getting larger too. It used to look like ground black pepper. Now it looks more like small peppercorns!

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Day 5

Here they are growing bigger! This is day 5 and they are about 1/2" long.

One is going off to explore.

One large leaf will last the four caterpillars at least 24 hours.

Wordless Wednesday

One of my porch buddies. 

Let's hope he isn't brought in with the plants for the winter like last year.

Lizard in the house, yikes!