Luna Moth Eggs

This offer is only for the Regular active members of the Butterfly Forum

If you want eggs when/if they lay any please ask here. Make sure to D-mail me your correct shipping address as they will have to be shipped immediately(next morning) after being laid by priority mail for the 1 lb rate which is 4 something. List of host plants can be found here http://www3.islandtelecom.com/~oehlkew/xlunlarv.htm
I used Sweet Gum with no problems

I am going to go out on a limb here and trust everyone to get postage back to me since there will be no time to wait for payment first.

This message was edited Jul 13, 2007 12:24 AM

raising info
Mine ate for 22 days then started cocooning. They ate unbelievable amount of leaves the last week before cocooning. 1 eclosed in 14 days then another almost 2 weeks later will edit with correct info later, waiting for more to eclose

I wonder if they would eat Laurel Oak leaves? Nothing on their host list I can find in my neighborhood. Does this mean that I need to buy a tree????? LOL! Sweet Gum, huh? Hmmmmmmmmmm ....... I would SOOOOO love to raise some of those beauties. Without a doubt!! :-) Let me see what I can find at the native nursery. ;-) Put me tentatively on your list Donna!

Becky ..

Becky don't buy a Sweet Gum!!!!! They are as invasive as Popcorn Trees. You cut them down and they grow from all over the roots everywhere. We cut some down and they regrew. Re cut and spray brush killer and they still are regrowing grrrrrrrrr

Which plant/tree do you all recommend?

That's a hard one, Becky. I have a Black Walnut, and they can get quite messy when the nuts fall off the trees. :( Then you have the horrible Walnut Caterpillars http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/l-1835.html that can really do a number on the tree. I'd go with birch, but that's because I find the bark to be so interesting.

Donna, I'm so tempted (if I qualify) to jump in on this, because it would be such a great experience for my daughter and I, but I'm so deathly afraid I'd fail.

Persimmon looks like a good tree too and can be grown in a container! It is said to grow about 15' in 10 years. Hmmmmm .... And Birch is a lovely tree, too! My problem is my yard is just that ... a yard. If I had more property, I would be less limited.

Birch is out here. Can't tolerate the heat.

Here's what is said about Persimmon Trees:
The American persimmon develops very strong, deep tap roots and a few lateral and fibrous roots. Wild trees often sucker vigorously.

The persimmon is easy to grow with fast growth until fruiting commences. It will grow to a height of about 15ft in the first 10 years. It prefers a deep, loamy, well-drained soil, but will tolerate any soil that is not waterlogged and dislikes exposed sites. The tree is drought resistant. For fruit production, plants of both sexes are required and a reasonably warm summer is need to ripen the fruits.

The tree is difficult to transplant and so should be grown in containers. The roots are naturally black and therefor not be interpreted as dead. These trees are ideal for interplanting because of their deep roots allowing more shallow rooting trees to be planted nearby.

The persimmon naturally drops fruit in the summer as does other fruit trees. Thinning by hand of the fruit can be undertaken to reduce overbearing, which can lead the tree to become biennial.

Good fruiting trees can be grown from the seeds of good fruiting seeds. Fruiting begins in year six and continues for fifty years or more.

There ya go, Becky! And, you can eat the persimmon to boot!

Yeppers! Sounds like THE one to get! :-)

How does the alder, willow, wild cherry or the sumac rank, for ya (in Florida), Becky -?-

- Magpye

Magpye - ROTFL!!! Guess what???? The vacant lot right next to me has several nice sized Willow Tree (bush size) and they must be a host plant for more than just Luna Moths! They get so big they hang over on my side of the fence and the leaves are always chewed up! LOL! Never even thought about it until you listed it!

Is it actually a host for Lunas?

Becky Willow is also host for the Red-spotted Purple and what I raised mine on when I found them on it

Yes ma'am .. the info I've posted above, has come from several books (my own & the Library), and a few reputable web sites.

Also .. just read on another website, that Weeping Willow, Box Elder, Maples, Elderberry, Lilac, Apple, Plum and Elm are host plants! From, Insect Adventures. It's a document about the care, hatching and rearing directions for Luna Moths > http://www.insectadventures.com/care%20sheets/Luna%20Instructions.pdf

Another interesting and very disappointing but still amazing tidbit: the American Chestnut had long been the caterpillars' favored food source! Hmmm, you got any of ^ those 'round there?!?

- Magpye

I have never seen one of those kinds of willows Salix caprea Goat Willow. When i googled it doesn't even look like a willow. Becky surely you have some Oak trees around that you could get leaves from everyday??? White or Red Oak?? or even the Smooth Sumac possible??

Do they like any kind of Oak trees? I have a Live Oak and a Laurel Oak in my yard. (I don't know what white or red Oak are.) Maybe what I can do is offer a variety and see what the cats go to?

The vacant lot Willow looks like this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:PICT3750small.jpg

Here is info about Smooth Sumac:
Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) is a similar and more common Sumac often seen along highways. Poison Sumac (Rhus vernix) is a toxic cousin which usually grows in swamps, bogs, and low moist areas, often in the shade of taller trees. It is not as common as Poison Ivy, but the oil is stronger and produces a more painful irritation.

This message was edited Jul 13, 2007 1:56 PM

looks like weeping willow good for the Red-spotted Purple but not the right one for the Luna

Red or White Oak but it's worth a try. I interchanged the oaks on the Antheraea as I couldn't reach limbs

What info are you guys basing the 'willow' upon .. as to [it] being the right or wrong species -?-

- Magpye

This message was edited Jul 13, 2007 3:15 PM

Hi all,

I have used Paper Birch for Lunas before, and have actually find wild ones growing on it also. I believe Beech trees may also work. (Of course, I've always found Sweetgum and Walnut to be their favorites, but they are both pretty messy).

God bless,
Jeff

Magpye based on the info available to me. If you have something that says The weeping willow can be used then Becky can get some Luna eggs from me ;-)

Donna - I would only take eggs IF I can provide a host plant or leaves for them. I would never consider offering to raise ANY critter unless I could responsibly care for them. (Which is why I said to put me "tentatively" on your list to receive eggs. :-) And I would hope that others would feel the same way.

This is one of the reasons it bothers me about the Painted Lady or Monarch kits. Many teachers get them for their classroom and do not do the research first and have total failure raising them. I admit that I have made many a mistake and sometimes the cats still get sick/die even with the best of care. But I like to think that I do my research and try to provide a good habitat or captive environment for them. My ultimate goal is to successfully raise and release them to add to the the butterfly population.

Donna - I know you would not give them to someone who can not provide their basic needs. And I appreciate your offer to share any eggs with others that can provide for them! The more raised and released the better for that species. :-)

Amen Becky!!!

This is the statement, of which I don't quite understand how such was derived:

Donna. You said they ate for like 22 days. About how many leave s a day do they eat? I about 50 Weeping Willow tree seedlings that about 2 feet high. About ten Black Walnut seedlings the same height. Got Huge ful grown Oaks and Hickories all over and a couple of wild cherry trees.

I am wondering how much one Luna will eat. I get the occasional oen that wil come and then hang on my front door for days. Going in and out doesn't seem to bothe r them.

I glad you poste d that about the mmaking their cocoons in the leaf litter. I didn't know that and usually clean up all the leaf litter around a s I get to it. Gues s I will just leave the leaves around thos e trees lay on the ground.

Becky is ther e anybody aroudn you with any Oak or Hickory trees that woudl let ya get some fresh leave s for them to eat everyday? I had thought about tryign to se e if I could send soem leave s everyday, but that would cost a fortune in postage.

If Donna know s about how many leave s they need, I could probably send ya a couple of Willow seedlings bareroot, for you to feed a few so you could try and hatch and rais e them and have the experience.

Becky... forgot.. You got white oaks. : )

Here are some photos of the Willow trees right next to my backyard.

And here's a close-up of some the leaves. As you can see they are chewed up. Everytime there are new leaves, something eats them!

check for Red-spotted Purple cats. Those look like what we call sandbar willows. I have a couple around my pond and find cats on them.

they eat a ton by the time they are finished. especially the last week

I don't see anywhere that willows are mentioned as a host. It's not mentioned on this site:http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=3292&chosen_state=12*Florida

Donna - I have no idea what is eating the willows. Every time I look, there is nothing there. I haven't seen any unusual butterflies around either. What else eats the willows? I walked back behind my fence area today. It's bog area back there and we haven't had that much rain. Some but not every day. Standing water back there. So I wouldn't be surprised if they are "Sandbar Willows".

Becky,

I have willow I got for red spotted purple. I've got Luna cats right now from 2 sources- one is a result of what I mated from the eggs I got a while back and I just got eggs from Bill Oehlke. I'll ask him about the willow. If he says it's possible, I'll try them on it. The trick is to switch food right after molting. If that works, it may be too late or it may not be for you to buy a tree and get eggs. I'd just order a tree from http://butterfliesetc.com/butterflyhostplants.php?PHPSESSID=266eb2db3ad77fee247247a7f3c9803b
That's where I got mine and buying from her you know there are no pesticides on it. Edith is a great butterfly person and she sells fat healthy plants. That will also give you time to wander out to more rural areas to try and locate some. I'm fortunate that on my morning walk, I see the stuff growing wild. Somehow we will get you the food and the eggs by the end of the season. there are 3 flights in Forida per year.

Maggie

This message was edited Jul 14, 2007 6:38 AM

OK, I got a response from Bill Oehlke (expert Saturnid wrangler). He says they do very well on willow, will occasionally reject it but not often. When I find a post-molt cat, I'll try it on the (native to Florida) willow I got from Edith and let you know the results.

maggie

Oh that's good news, Maggie! Should I assume any willow would do such as what is growing in the lot next to me? Maybe I should trying raising just a 3-4 eggs/cats. I don't want to get too many in case the food source is not what they eat. But I'd sure love to try it if there is a strong possibility that I could use the willows as a host. :-) Thanks for checking into this for me, Maggie! :-)

I'm sure it was an oversight > http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=3732012

Seems the vacuum cleaner isn't broken after all ...
I'm off to more constructive bisniss!

- Magpye

I have the florida willow. I can experiment on mine a since I have a gracious plenty comparatively. I should know by the time Donna has eggs. I'm actually hoping to hold over some cocoons I get from the batch I have that is about 1-2 weeks ahead of the ones I got from Bill. I'm trying to get some biodiversity since the cats I got last time all came from the same bunch.
I'm not sure you should just try 2-3 because they are teensy and the mortality is quite high at that point. My 2 cents.

Maggie