sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Here's an image of an Imperial Moth Pupa that was gifted to me by Bill. It is about the size of my thumb so it's quite large compared to my other subjects that I've posted.

I composed the shot by placing the pupa on a twig with a dab of glue and held the twig in position with a third-hand clamp. I took a piece of green tissue paper and placed it in the back of white styrofoam cooler and put the specimen in there toward the rear of the cooler also. I shined the three LED lights into the white cooler with two pointing at 45 degrees left and right and one shining downward about 45 degrees to illuminate the inside of the cooler and the scene without any shadows. In effect, the white cooler served as a "light box" for this session.

Because the pupa was quite large, I needed a wider focal length so I used a 50mm with extension tubes to get it all in view.

Thanks in advance for viewing and comments, suggestions and critique are highly appreciated.

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tinusbum Loc: east texas

nice,i want to see the moth

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Unfortunately my desire to create an artistic macro image surpassed my knowledge of the life cycle of the Imperial Moth which burrows into the earth to pupate...they do not hang from foliage as I depicted. Since composing this image, I watched a video of the Imperial Moth's complete life cycle which I found to be quite fascinating.

My apologies to those who know this and I have learned an interesting lesson about a very lovely moth.

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

I have hatched imperial moths, raised from caterpillars. My success rate for getting the pupae to eclose is low, but my method is:
1. Bury them in loose, damp soil, and keep this in a cool dark area all winter. Check periodically to make sure the soil is damp. But not soaking. It has to breathe down there.
2. In the spring, in April, transfer them to a shallower container of loose damp soil and put that into a screened bug cage.
3. Spray the soil with water. Try to do this every day. Its important, I think, to prevent the soil from seriously drying out. The pupae can't survive otherwise (or so I think). Make sure the arrangement is so that the newly emerged moth can crawl out of the soil and get up the screen cage. Important that it is able to hang and expand its wings.
4. The moth may eventually eclose. Mine came out in May.

Given my low success rate I must allow that there could be a better method. But that is what I did. Don't overwinter it in the refridgerator, which is what is done with more northerly Saturniids. I am quite certain that this more southern species like this one can't tolerate that much cold.

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

The pupa Gary has was one of mine from a couple years ago.my success rate is over 75% with this one once pupated. Larva not so good. I refrigerate to time them. Until I did that they emerged erratically. No food available. You can force mate these by opening the male claspers open and allow them to grip female, but if no food, oh well.
Some beautiful hybrids are produced that way. With your permission, I can explain how I do it, or post anew.
Bill

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

The pupa, given by me is dead. One of the other 25%. No moth forthcoming.
Bill
By the way, I turn excess loose.😀

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

This is the adult. Somewhat smaller than in nature.
Bill

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Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

newtoyou: Please see my other comment in your other thread about this moth.

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

The Royal Walnut moth is the hardest I have reared. They DO NOT like company. Fresh, misted Walnut(or other Juglans) are preferred. I used J. nigra. Screens for cages were scrounged from a window and glass shop. The Royals had a large cage, 30x30x30 inches or so. One to a cage. Did not refrigerate, eclosed (four of them) in April. Another time had about two dozen in vented buckets of peat in my parents' basement. In the spring the basement flooded. End of that batch. If you can find it, dried ,natural peat is best. Correct about water retention. Moisten once, forget it. Back to larva. A small fan to keep the air moving helps prevent molds by keeping things dry. I had an unused bedroom that had maybe a couple dozen cages at the height of all this. Was recovering from menengitis summer of 78. My sons and neighborhood kids collected food for the various cats and helped with cleaning. Two sheets were hung on a wall and used to eclose Luna, Polyphemous, Cecropia and others. Sometimes shooed fifty or more Luna moths(easiest to rear,three generations a year) out the window into the night.
When grown as I described, I had a Hickory Horned Devil(the Royal Walnut Moth larva) almost six inches and nearly a full ounce in weight. Huge. The color change before pupation has to be seen. Unfortunately, this one was a flood victim after pupation.
Your Maui series was appreciated. The ghost crab a favorite. Another species is here on the east coast, have some up close shots of some somewhere(ten, twelve years ago). And thanks for the pic. of yourself. A general, easy going look, similar to the biologists I worked around and knew.
Bill

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Bill, that is a very impressive collection of beautiful moths you have there. I can see why they were given the name, "Imperial" for they look quite regal.

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

Look up the Regal, more so, and larger. The caterpillar looks like something out of science fiction. Harmless, tho.
Bill