Acherontia Prepupa question.

Hello Sotiris,
when I was breeding A. atropos, pupation was very easy. Once they are raedy for that step (after changing colour and emptying the guts) they leave the foodplant and start wandering around on the bottom. That´s the moment when you transfer them (single) to a container with substrate. I used cut open 10 l plastic kanisters filled with a mix of garden-soil and sand, semi humid (not wet!). Probably smaller containers will also do, but they should have a certain hight. With my finger I drilled some vertical holes in the substrate, which I think made it easier for them to enter. None of them needed more than one hour to disappear. After two weeks at room temperature I "harvested" the pupae, all were perfect.
Good luck
Thomas

Atropos will also pupate perfectly well in artificial conditions, without any soil. In fact, it can be safer and avoids damage from collapsed pupal cells where larvae have burrowed into each other's territories.

The method I used recently:
Once they develop the orange stripe along their back, place them singly into plastic take-away containers with a few sheets of dry tissue. No need to add moisture.
Place the container in a dark place where it will be undisturbed. The larva will move the tissue around for a while, and might make am attempt at a pupal chamber, but then will settle and begin pupation.
Once the larva becomes immobile, place the pre-pupal larvae on damp tissue with perhaps three larvae to each container. At this point, darkness is no longer needed (it just helped to subdue the larvae). It can help to form a vague cup shape in the tissue, to stop them rolling into each other.
The larva will lay on its front, and will develop two dark shoulder patches in the day before pupation.
When it pupates, it will flip onto its back in the few minutes before shedding its skin, and should not be disturbed.

Pupating in soil does feel more 'natural', but it can introduce a few risks (collapsed cells, pupae dug out too early)

I use the plastic tubs which take-away food is delivered in. 5cm tall. 15cm long. 10cm wide.
But I use these because they are free/cheap. They would pupate in anything smaller as long as it is large enough for them to lay flat.
The tissue just gives them something to do. It helps them to settle. Just a few sheets of tissue is enough. They just push it around and bite it and spread saliva/silk on it and destroy it. After two or three days, they start to shrink and can no longer walk. They pupate well if they are then placed onto tissue that has a 'rounded' cocoon shape for them to lay in. This is because it helps them to flip upside down properly when they begin to shed their skin, and stops them rolling around.

Polystyrene box 30*30*50 cm fill with 20cm garden substrate is enough for 20-40 cats . after 10 days you can digup them from soil
regards
David

this is not in high concentration because plant will died to, I use dont worry just look for ph neutral garden soil

Hello Sotiris

I know this Is late and you would have already done the methods above but something I do for most of my hawkmoth larvae is when they start looking for a place to pupate I place each one in a takeaway container full of old porridge oats and as long as these are not wet they will not produce mold, often the larvae will bury down within a couple of hours and then I leave them a week and collect them which reassures that they have hardened (this method is very much like the soil method but much cheaper )

Sam