Happy New Year all!
Same thread as before but a whole year of moth hunting ahead of us. You don't need lots of expensive equipement to set up light traps, a budget of around £20 should be enough, have a look on the old thread HERE or ask again, there is always (almost) someone who knows. Wendy is our surrogate mum & has a house & shed full of caterpillars & pupas & breeding adults!
The moths are still coming to feed on the rope in the garden. All you need is to dissolve 0,5Kg of sugar in 0,5 litres of wine, by gently heating up & stirring. Then pour the mixture into an old pan & put in a natural fibre rope or cord. (Don't put the ends in as it gets messy). Leave to soak a day & hang in the garden from a tree or bush or between posts. Then go back just after dark & see who's feeding. I tend to pop out about every half hour until bedtime. Then the fun starts as you try to get the camera settings right for the photos. The rope tends to work for about 3 days & then needs redipping during the day before the 4th night. Here are some "library pictures"
My rope is now a lot shorter as I only have 1 tree & just loop it from one low branch, it needs to be about 4ft from the ground. Here is one from 30 December, a Chestnut
Everone is welcome!
Best wishes
Hazel in Southwest France
Some pics of my Indian Silkmoths
1st Feb ... largest one is 30mm
today already 35mm
Have split them out 6 to a box now ... they grow to 70-75mm before pupating!!!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
oooh Wendy, what fabulous and exotic looking creatures, can't wait to see their progress :) been reading up on them and says this is the instar development stage - amazing what you can google lol Looking forward to next update :)
_________________________________________________________________________
Regards, Hazel
Were you on the wormspit page aitch?
They look whiter than white Wendy, did you put them in the wash? LOL
WendyBartter said: Were you on the wormspit page aitch?
If you google Samia ricini, the eri silkworm & choose wormspit option it takes you to a really good account ... can't do direct link as page out of date now!
WendyBartter said: If you google Samia ricini, the eri silkworm & choose wormspit option it takes you to a really good account ... can't do direct link as page out of date now!
That's the one aitch, many thanks ... there is another section too regarding silk production which is sooo interesting!
WendyBartter said: Great surprise when I checked assorted eggs & pupae overwintering in shed ... very early emergence of one of the two Toadflax Brocade but sad because it has very badly malformed wings, obviously didn't inflate fully even though there was height available for climbing up ... poor little thing was desperately trying to fly after I bought her into house, currently residing in butterfly house with some sugar water, can only keep her safe! Will get a better pic tomorrow, didn't want to disturb her any more today!
Great surprise when I checked assorted eggs & pupae overwintering in shed ... very early emergence of one of the two Toadflax Brocade but sad because it has very badly malformed wings, obviously didn't inflate fully even though there was height available for climbing up ... poor little thing was desperately trying to fly after I bought her into house, currently residing in butterfly house with some sugar water, can only keep her safe!
Will get a better pic tomorrow, didn't want to disturb her any more today!
Update on my fast growing Indian Silkies ... all together again in a large pot where I can stand stems of privet upright so that they can feed & rest away from their even huger poos, also gives them room to walk out of their skins, which process has just taken place again ... couple of pics before & after the clean-up today
Just got back from Secret Garden nursery with another new privet plant in a pot!