Anfänger-Fragen zur Überwinterung Actias Luna

#1 no, although I personally, with many years of breeding behind me opt for oxygen. It has been determined by other reliable

persons that air exchange is not needed for cocoons or pupa

#2 good question, I wait until the weather outdoors turns cool for our natives, otherwise, I give it at least 2 weeks after the

pupa would be fully hardened, and even then, a gradual cool down, like putting your stock out in the night air can't hurt.

I try and give the animals as close to nature as possible, rather than just popping them in the fridge.

Most larva need about 10 days to fully form a pupa after beginning to spin- so you need to consider that as well.

#3 everyone likes a soft bed

#4 debatable, I use a wet sponge in a container to provide humidity in the vegetable crisper where I keep livestock.

Some people mist, some people don't. I don't think it really matters, but then, again, I try for close to nature as possible,

if you use moisture, beware of mold, once your stock molds, it's probably going to expire.

The refrigerator is a controlled environment with no predators. I use plastic containers, usually repurposed food containers.

I have, with certain species had to store cocoons outdoors, in my instance where I live on the Pacific Coast in Oregon,

the stock was a Saturnia species which originated from southern California and needed a warmer diapause. I have also

found that there are some species which require colder temperatures than I like to keep the milk- only by keeping the

stock directly below the cooling unit in the coldest part of the fridge did I feel it was cold enough-

On the whole, 3 to 6 c seems to work for most everything. Knowing your stock and it's origin is always helpful.

I use a digital thermometer to see how cold different spots are, there is a difference between the top and bottom,

and the veggie crisper.