Beiträge von Klaas

  • Papilio machaon alpica

    Hi everyone,

    I would be very interested in any information regarding the Papilio machaon subspecies/form 'alpica'.
    If it is more than only a cold-form, does anyone know if it also occurs in Valais near Martigny?

    One week ago I let a few wild females (from 2000m-2100m height) lay eggs in captivity and I released the butterflies the next day.
    These females were very pale yellow with orange eyes and they were more hairy than 'normal'. I will rear part of the caterpillars
    at alpine conditions and the the others at lowland conditions. If possible I will also use different foodplants, until now they have
    only accepted Angelica. If the characteristics from the females have a genetic basis, they should be visible in the offspring reared
    at both conditions am I right? I will post some pictures of some P. machaon specimens that I photographed soon.

    Regards, Klaas

  • Hemaris fuciformis: changing foodplants

    Hi everyone,

    I have a few L3/L4 caterpillars from H. fuciformis that I'm rearing on Lonicera. Next week I will go to Wallis
    to a place of which I know that it contains only Symphoricarpos and no Lonicera. I'm not sure if I should take the larvae
    with me or if I should leave them at home on netted Lonicera plants. Does anyone have experience with changing
    foodplants of h. fuciformis larvae?

    Best regards, Klaas

  • Raupen fressen nicht mehr

    I had the same problem with E. potatoria. I think it's best to keep the caterpillars outside because they need dew and rain drops.
    My caterpillars started to grow again when I put them on the grass in my garden, covered by a mosquito net.

    Regards, Klaas

  • G. isabellae caterpillars are dying, help!

    Thanks for your help! Unfortunately, each day I'm still losing more caterpillars. After their moult, some L4 caterpillars
    walk around continuously until they die. Other caterpillars don't continue to feed after their moult and they simply
    dry out. Strangly, part of the caterpillars show no sign of disease (yet?). It's very frustrating: I lost more than half of my
    caterpillars (25) in only 3 days! Has no-one else had this problem with G. isabellae?

    Regards, Klaas

  • G. isabellae caterpillars are dying, help!

    Hi everyone,

    Until yesterday my caterpillars from isabellae were growing very well and from the egg to L3 almost no caterpillars died,
    only 2 from 45. Suddenly, during the moult from L3-L4 (and one caterpillar from L4-L5) many died. They either stiffened
    and fell off the twig, or they completely relaxed.

    I keep them in large jars at a relatively high humidity, but I don't spray the food or caterpillars with water. I clean the jars each
    day and I refresh the food daily. I'm afraid that I will lose all of my caterpillars if I don't do something quickly. I don't think a bacterium or
    a virus is the cause, because the non-moulting caterpillars show no sign of disease and not all caterpillars died during their moult.
    All hints are more than welcome!
    :hilfe:
    Best regards, Klaas

  • Graellsia isabellae -Saturniidae - Isabellaspinner - Spanish Moon Moth

    I'm also very interested, also if there is any hard evidence about isabellae occuring there before people let
    moths loose in the area?

    Something very different: I would not advice anyone to hand-pair isabellae. I now found out for sure that of 3 paired females,
    2 laid only unfertile eggs. The 3rd female did lay some fertile eggs, but only about 13%. Hand-pairing the moths during the evening
    at low temperatures may cause them to mate longer with a possibly higher hatching rate of the eggs.

    Best regards, Klaas

  • Mimas Tiliae Freianflug

    It should be very easy! I once had a fresh female that I photographed when the wings were ready. I then put the female on a Tilia tree in my garden

    to let it fly away. The next morning I found the female back by coïncidence (it was very windy and it had fallen out of another tree).

    I put it in a jar and the next night it laid many eggs that were all fertile!

  • Graellsia isabellae -Saturniidae - Isabellaspinner - Spanish Moon Moth

    Hi everyone,
    Here is a short update of my breeding of isabellae this year. The eggs of 2 females that mated for over an hour,
    seem to be unfertile. I have no idea how this is possible, the moths were not disturbed during the mating and after
    they separated, the females almost immediately started to lay eggs.

    Fortunately the second hand-pairing was successful, the eggs that were laid on the first night have started to hatch after 15 days.
    The female that laid these eggs only mated for 15 minutes. I then hand-paired the female with the same male again and they
    continued to mate for half an hour. Next week I will know the percentage of how many eggs hatched.

    The only advice that I could give to you Amerett, is to keep the males cold (in the fridge) and try to hand-pair them. Or else
    I would just keep the males in a large flying cage or under a mosquito net outside. When it's dark, I would put the females in the
    same cage, the males should start to fly I think. Good luck!

    Regards, Klaas