The Luna Moth Chronicles: The Final Chapter

Our last cocoon hatched early, despite my hopes for it to overwinter. This time, however, I was ready!

This is Clover, who is a male Luna moth. He emerged from his cocoon after being in the pupal stage for 7 weeks. We had warm weather at the time and I wonder if he emerged too early?

Sadly, Clover's wings were deformed. The lower wings were nothing but little grey stubs, and his upper wings never fully expanded. His sister, who emerged a week ago had fully developed wings. Clover had a little spell during his 4th instar where he got sick and we thought we might lose him...I wonder if that affected his wing development?

Isn't he sweet? Okay, maybe a face only a mother could love!

Clover, crawling on my son's hand. Clover had a weird "bubble" on his wing (on the right), which burst and sprayed green blood (?) on the floor. He didn't seem to be bothered by that incident and kept right on crawling.

We had to keep him indoors since the weather turned cold again. I kept him in the bathroom with the door shut, trying to keep the humidity levels higher for him. The dry heat in the house caused his sister Corvella to dry out.

Back view

Clover was with us for 6 days. The lifespan of an adult Luna moth is a week, so even with his deformities he lived a full life! Note the difference in his wide, feathery antennae from his sister, Corvella's, which were much narrower.

Front (belly) view

Clover was buried under a rock, next to Corvella, and his other caterpillar siblings.

It's hard to believe my Luna Moth Chronicles are over after three months of caring for these guys. It was an awesome experience to watch the life cycle of this gorgeous creature, from egg to adult moth. I'm saddened by the thought that they didn't get to fly off and mate to complete their life cycle.

Considering they would have never hatched from their eggs if I hadn't rescued them from the beetles I suppose they had a good life, filled with yummy sweet gum leaves and sticks to climb!

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Hope

We have one pupa left, Clover. Over the last two weeks I have been concerned that Clover may be dead. I could not get him to respond despite my prodding. The pupal case has darkened, become dull instead of glossy, and isn't as firm as it once was. It would even leave indentations where I touched it.

Clover's back

As I debated whether to bury him alongside of Corvella, I miraculously discovered he is alive after all! He suddenly began moving again. 

Clover's underside (belly)

You can clearly see his wings through the case, which has become paper thin. Look in the broad, lighter colored area between the white marks and his face (on the right end of the case). There is a stripe running width-wise.

My fear is that Clover will hatch early also, like Corvella. Today I lined the bird cage with fine mesh screening and removed the lid to his container. I placed branches in the cage for him to hang from to dry his wings. I am prepared now, thanks to the tragedy. 

I am super paranoid now and check the cage constantly. Hopefully I won't have anything to report until spring. If he's going to emerge, it will happen soon since Clover pupated a day after Corvella. It seems they're on the same schedule, but I really really really hope not in this instance. Wish Clover luck!

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Sadness

As some of you may know from reading my previous entries, I have been documenting my experiences raising a small batch of luna moths. We started with 5 eggs which all hatched, lost 3 caterpillars at different intervals throughout the process, and as of Thanksgiving were down to 2 caterpillars which successfully pupated.

It had been 6 1/2 weeks since they cocooned and I was expecting them to overwinter, however, Saturday morning I found a terrible mess inside one of the containers.

Corvella hatched, which should have been a joyous occasion, but since she was 5 months early and inside a closed container it was a disaster.

Corvella's empty casing

It was very sad to see the destruction within the container. She tore her wings up struggling to get out, and since she could not hang to dry her wings, they dried crumpled.

I was informed my pupae were male, but as it turns out at least one is female. Her antennae are narrow, unlike a male's antennae which are wide. She even laid 3 unfertilized eggs!

We were planning to build a box for the pupae but thought we had time. One of the websites I was referring to said the pupae should hatch within 2-3 weeks; otherwise they would overwinter. Obviously that was not the case. :(

So that leaves me to wonder two scenarios:

1) Did Corvella hatch early? We had warm weather during the past several days prior to her emergence. Did that cue her that it was "spring" and time to hatch?

2) Alternatively, perhaps she never intended to overwinter. We had very warm weather (80 degrees F) during her 4th and 5th instars. I was very careful to limit her exposure to daylight, covering her container in the evenings. The length of the day is supposed to be what causes the caterpillars to produce the hormone which triggers them to overwinter, but I wonder if temperature plays a part also?

Corvella lived for 3 days, passing on to the heavenly realms early this morning. My 5 year old cried when she hatched because he realized the gravity of the situation, but did not cry at our burial proceedings. He seems to have worked through his grief.

I am saddened and a bit frustrated. All that hard work of caring for those caterpillars...

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Cocoon Update

After much debate, I decided to bust into the cocoons to see if I could determine the gender of the pupae. I researched this procedure thoroughly to be sure it was safe for my pupae to be open in their cocoons, and apparently, for Luna pupae it is fine and rather a common practice. So here we are!

Female Luna Moth Pupa

This is Corvella in all HIS glory! I've been informed by an expert that I have two male pupae. 

You can tell from the wide antennae. The females have narrower antennae.

NOTE: 11/29/10 Corvella turned out to be female. I suspect Clover is female also since they are identical.

An exoskeleton was in the cocoon along with the pupa. The caterpillars go through one more molting while cocooned, wiggling out of their old caterpillar skins and becoming legless blobs!

This is Clover, who is a bit smaller than Corvella. 

I suppose we ought to rename Corvella, since she's a he. Corvie? Corv? I'll have to consult my 5 yr old name genius. NOTE: The name genius was correct, since Corvella turned out to be female after all!

This is where they live, for now. I've got them in disposable plastic containers with holes punched in the lid, outside on my screened porch, hanging inside a birdcage. It doesn't get too terribly cold here, but I've read that you should avoid drafts under the pupae because it makes the wind chill worse for them.

My hubby is scheduled to build an exclosing box for them sometime soon (I hope!). Right now, if they were to emerge from their pupal shells the Luna moths wouldn't have enough space to hang and dry their wings. If their wings dry wrinkled they will not be able to fly. 

It's been a month since they cocooned and it looks like they're going to overwinter so I have a little bit of time to get that box built!

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!