2025 lepidoptera highlights!

Next year will be 2025 and here are going to be highlights for our fairy museum. Or butterfly museum....

First we are going to raise tiger swallowtails. Specifically Eastern tiger swallowtails. Their diet as caterpillars consists of tulip trees and lilac leaves which we have scattered everywhere during summer to spring. This is our first time raising these beautiful butterflies and its honestly my dream to raise these magical beings come to our museum. So wish us luck!

Final we have three more polyphemus moth cocoons that are hibernating for next year spring. I'm pretty sure they will hatched in April. Anyways we might raise the polyphemus moth from scratch by going egg hunting in our garden. You see polyphemus moths required oak, maple, and hickory trees as host plants. Which is what we have in our property.  So to look for eggs we look underneath the leaves of each tree. Let's hope we can collect eggs to raise. 

Thats all for now will post updates on the polyphemus moth cocoons. Have a magical night everyone!

Collage time!

 

This week we did a hand craft collage of the butterfly fairy books. It's created with illustrations from the butterfly fairy tales and flutter of the butterfly fairy. Completed with a rainbow background. Hope you guys love it!

Raising polyphemus moths

 

This is prince mitch. He's a male staying with us until the weather gets warmer. Will send updates. Polyphemus moths are very easy to raise when it comes to their caterpillar diet. Their host plants includes  oak, maple, birch, and hickory trees. The caterpillar stage can take about 4 to 6 weeks before they transform as a cocoon. Now beware if they transform into cocoons during the beginning of fall like mitch did, they will likely hatch in spring or even in fall. So it's best to keep them in a cold porch, shed, or other cold place for them. After when they hatched as adults, you must release them like I'm supposed to do with mitch. Because they're lifespan is extremely shorter then the luna moth. Like the luna moth, they have no mouth parts so they can't eat at all but their purpose is to mate for life. And the circle of life of the polyphemus moth continues.

Polyphemus moth hatched in fall?

 Apparently in November 3rd morning, a male polyphemus moth hatched in the middle of fall. We're trying to release the elegant prince but will give you updates by pictures.