As if tadpoles weren't quite enough, our group is going to be studying the life cycle of moths and butterflies soon. So of course, I had to send off for cocoons! Now those of you that followed my 30-Something blog might remember the days of "Ernie" the tomato hornworm that the Monkey Man and I raised to become a five-spotted hawkmoth. It was such an amazing experience and we thought it would be nice to share that experience with the rest of our co-op. I contacted a wonderful silkworm breeder in Canada who helped me do right by Ernie the tomato hornworm. And now we have luna moth, polyphemus moth and spicebush swallowtail butterfly cocoons! The kids and I are SO excited! We received the box on Thursday and what a trip! The box felt like it was filled with Mexican jumping beans! Those little caterpillars were definitely agitated from the rough trip from New Hampshire! But they have now been passed out to their families, who are waiting eagerly, yet patiently for their transformation. You just can't rush Mother Nature, especially in such delicate matters!
Spicebush swallowtail butterfly cocoons, aren't they cool?
Luna and Polyphemus cocoons, they are as big as my thumb!
If you are interested in ordering cocoons or expanding your knowledge of Saturniidae and Sphingidae moths, please visit Bill Oehlke's site! He's a great resource!
Sounds like a fun project! And I'm glad to see the butterflies and moths already occur naturally in our area (assuming you're in central Texas). Here's a favorite online resource of mine for these insects:
ReplyDeleteButterflies and Moths of North America
And thanks for the link!
Mikael
Thanks for stopping in Mikael! Yes, we are excited about our moths and butterflies. I will certainly post pictures as they emerge. One of the reasons I like dealing with Bill in Canada is he is as concerned as I am about making sure he sends species that are native to the area. He wanted to know down to the county where we were at. So I'm confident our little buggies will do fine once released!
ReplyDeleteActually the concern goes both ways. Insects from another country might die if released here, but they also might prosper, and out-compete native species. European Starlings are an example of this in the bird world.
ReplyDeleteYes, we actually ended up with some tadpoles that are NOT native to this area and therefore when the frogs are mature, we will not be able to release them. Sincerely hoping I can find a science class that really wants a class pet!
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