Monday, July 5, 2010

Imperial Moth Babies!


Ten days ago, I got all excited that we had an Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) hanging out on the grape arbor here at Our Little Acre.  I'd never seen one before and was really taken with her beauty.  To make a long story short (here's the longer version), I brought her in the house, she laid bunches of eggs in five different locations in our dining room, then died a few days later (what they normally do).

Since that time, we've had a small glass dish sitting on the counter of our upstairs bathroom, covered with Glad Wrap that's had small holes punctured in it.  In the dish were about 125 little yellow eggs.  I think we located all the eggs she laid, but we're not sure! I found another large cluster under a desk, a few days after she laid the other ones.  I'm sure they were laid at the same time, but we just didn't find them right away.



We couldn't be certain that her eggs had been fertilized, but we knew we'd know soon enough. Incubation period is 10-15 days and today was Day 10.  A couple of days ago, I'd noticed the eggs were darkening in color, so I suspected they might be preparing to hatch.  Either that, or they were decomposing.

Just a little while ago, I walked into the bathroom and there were caterpillars crawling all over, inside the dish!  Not all of them have hatched out at this time, but I'm sure by the end of the day, they will have emerged. Each one is about 4mm in length.



I placed them all in a larger bowl, went outside and picked a fresh Sweet Gum leaf (they like those) for their first meal.  I'd read that it's advisable to wait until they've gotten to their 2nd instar (out of five total) before releasing them outside.  So we'll feed them daily until we notice a change.



I'm so excited that we're going to have these living here at Our Little Acre!  They will eat themselves fat and they'll eventually crawl into the ground to hibernate for the winter.  Next June, they'll emerge just like the beautiful moth we first saw here... their mother.





6 July update:  I have found five more caterpillars crawling around in the dining room, where she laid the other eggs.  Obviously, she laid eggs in another location that we haven't found.  I keep checking to see if there are others, but so far, just the five wee wigglers.

Also, the caterpillars are munching on the Sweet Gum leaf and their digestive systems are working like they should.  Their frass is like powder!

20 comments:

Helen said...

What an exciting experiment. Lovely moth, too. I've never seen one so pretty. Keep us posted on your kids.

Diane said...

Baby pictures!! I'm so glad they're hatching. They're cute little buggers, aren't they? Congratulations, Grandma!

Kari Lønning said...

Just saw Helen's tweet. Amazing little creatures. I hope that you found all the eggs and won't come across a new hatch somewhere in your living room.

commonweeder said...

What a fantastic post! With great photos. Impressive.

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

OK, the Day 1 macro is just so creepy (in a good way). Fascinating!

Unknown said...

This is just so very, very cool (and yes, just a wee bit creepy). Shall we call you Nana Kylee?

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Way to go Kylee. You make a good nurse.

Darla said...

i love this!

Lynn-Sin City to Slaterville said...

What a weird, sweet event! Here's to a happy overwintering for the little guys.

Fern @ Life on the Balcony said...

I love the mental image of little renegade caterpillars crawling all over your dining room, until discovered and scooped into the bowl with the others.

garden girl said...

I've never seen an imperial moth before. How exciting being able to raise this beautiful moth's tiny offspring!

Anonymous said...

First, let me say that the photos are as beautiful as the imperialis herself - crisp, clear, natural. Do you have, by any chance, imperialis pupae? Please let me know.

Henry

Emma Rose said...

Hi, I had just caught an imperial moth for my kids, to learn the life cycle of a moth. Well it turned out she was a female and she was indeed still carrying her eggs. We then put her in a aquarium and she had eggs the first night, about 15 eggs, so we left her in there knowing it would be a couple of days before she passed, we woke up the next day and to our surprise she had about 100 more eggs, and again today she has laid more eggs total about 200 eggs.
Any tips on taking care of them and when to release them?

Gynnej said...

My husband had an imperial moth land on him at work so he brought her home and she has laid several bunches of eggs. We will be doing the same thing with them.

Anonymous said...

today i founx ine onthe deck it is big

Anonymous said...

OMG!i have chills on my spine, i would have smashed that ugly disgusting moth! and to have it lay eggs in my house! NEVER!! disgusting nasty horrible!

Unknown said...

I woke up this morning to find a large Imerial Female laying eggs inside of a glass aquarium that I had been keeping plants in on my porch this year. Its got a closed screen lid, so the caterpillar must have somehow gotten in there and overwintered and the moth emerged over night! She is alying eggs, but I am assuming they will not hatch because she's had no contact with another Moth! What should I do? Is there a chance that If I put her outside with the eggs she may find a mate?

Kylee Baumle said...

Hollie ~ That's interesting! I'm not sure what happened there if the lid is closed. I'll see what I can find out for you...

Kylee Baumle said...

Hollie ~ Unfortunately, if your moth hasn't already mated with a male, the eggs are unfertilized. :-( I'd wait though, and see if somehow she mated and then got in there.

Kylee Baumle said...

Hollie ~ As far as I can find out, the Imperial moth only lays one set of eggs and then she dies. She has no mouth so can't eat and thus can't sustain life for much more than a couple of weeks. If I find anything to the contrary in regard to them mating multiple times, I'll let you know!

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