So, I just finished reading a wonderful book by Bernd Heinrich:
Summer World: A Season of Bounty
(although, not everyone agrees with my view of the book)
It had a nice bit about cecropia moths, although the news was not too encouraging. The bottom line is that very, very, very few cecropia moths ever manage to complete their entire lifecycle.
He mentions that each female cecropia moth lays from 200 to 400 eggs but that most of the larvae that do manage to hatch die. The ratio given in the book for live moths to live larvae was one moth per 100 larvae.
According to Heinrich, parasitic flies and wasps account for the bulk of the larvae deaths. Interestingly, those predators are then often parasitised themselves and then those are parasitised (referred to as a hyper-hyper-parasitoid wasp). Which makes me think of:
(As a side note, I was curious about the link to “turtles all the way down” and now want to get a t-shirt with that on it….possibly a job for Endangered Ugly Things?)
Anyway, Heinrich’s book gave a lot of good information on cecropia moths and I would highly advise reading that part if you are planning on rearing these moths. (His moths emerged at the very start of June, but I am still waiting on mine to emerge….stay tuned!)
I hope I get moths and not parasitic wasps/flies…
How bad! I want to find or buy cocoons and rear cecropia and luna moths because I love them and there’s not really enough of them I think.
You’ve confirmed this.
So beautiful! Sigh!
Oops! The beautiful comment actually belonged to the freshly beautiful cecropia above this entry. How nice to have a big ole moth in your box o cocoons.
Adult cecropia found in my garden at 4pm (Minnesota); fully formed, not worn or ragged, fairly new? Can’t fly; vibrates wings fast but can’t fly, ends up walking around. At 7pm I thought it was dead, no movement for 30 minutes; then it starts vibrating wings again and walking around. Now (8pm, central) clinging to violet in front yard…no flight.
My question ~ parasitized? Senescence after mating (may be a male, smaller than others I’ve seen). Or, victim of some suburban idiot who thought s/he had to “fog” yard for 4th of July celebration? At first I thought it was neurologic damage due to pesticides, but it is taking a very long time for it to die (4 hours now).
Fran
Well, I’m no expert but those are some pretty good thoughts about why it isn’t flying. It might also be that it has mated and completed it’s lifecycle?
Once they are done mating/laying that’s it for them.