Through the Eyes of an Author

Luna moth caterpillars typically hatch from eggs 8-12 days after they’re laid. After my moths failed to fulfill their dynastic obligations to the next generation, I ordered 120 luna moth eggs. And for kicks, I threw in 12 cecropia moth eggs. As a kid I heard my mother’s stories from her childhood about catching a cecropia moth. They’re even larger than lunas, with a 6″ wingspan! All my life I’ve wanted to see one. I’ve seen wild lunas and I hatched a pair in college from cocoon. But the cecropia has remained an unrequited dream. They’re harder to raise than lunas, but I couldn’t resist!

I received 130 luna eggs and 15 cecropia eggs and put them into clear plastic dishes with lids and waited. This last Saturday 104 itty bitty caterpillars were crawling around in the dishes when I got home from the farmers’ market. Birth! Lunas eat white birch leaves, and I had some branches in water waiting for the lil’ guys. So I moved the ‘pillars to 6×6x2″ plastic ziploc containers with fresh leaves. You can’t put the leaves in with the eggs or the CO2 the leaves give off will suffocate the unhatched eggs.

Through the day a few more stragglers hatched and the count stood at 109 lunas by the end of the day. On Sunday morning I found 9 tiny black cecropia caterpillars crawling around their dish. They prefer to dine on cherry leaves, and I had their branches likewise ready in water. They’re chunkier than the luna ‘pillars and they undergo wonderful color changes each time they shed their skin! They’ll grow up to 4.5″ before they spin their cocoons!

Caterpillars are extremely dependent on the moisture they get from the leaves they eat to survive. Because they eat “cut” leaves when raised indoors, which lose moisture as they dry out after being cut, the caterpillars must be kept in an airtight environment. This slows the leaves’ drying out. There’s plenty of oxygen for the ‘pillars, but it’s the humidity they need more.

So they were all supposed to hatch at the same time. No one said more might hatch the next day . . . and sure enough some did. I changed out the old leaves for fresh on Sunday and 3 lunas had died, but 13 more hatched from egg. And 2 more cecropias hatched on Monday. I changed out leaves again today (you have to change leaves at least every other day so the fragile babies get enough moisture from their food.) and found one luna ‘pillar dead (it looked like it had never begun eating), but 118 healthy ‘pillars who’d nearly tripled in length! (Now close to 1 cm long). Then I found one more tiny tiny hatchling in the egg dish. He must have come out today – 3 days after the first batch! We’ll see if he makes it!

Cecropias don’t fare well when raised indoors, so I moved my 11 (2 more hatched yesterday) into my terarium. It will provide more even humidity, good air flow, and give the bigger dudes some good crawling space. So far, so good!

The current roster is 119 luna pillars (including this very late hatchling that might not make it) and 11 cecropias. They’ll molt, or shed their outer skin, 4 times in nearly weekly intervals, before they spin their cocoon. Each molt cycle is referred to as an instar. So they hatch from egg into their first instar. Sometime around this weekend they’ll molt into their second instar, etc. The period of molting is the riskiest for raising ‘pillars. They’re extremely fragile during the molting process. And they’re at highest risk before reaching their 3rd instar. So I have no idea what to expect, but I’m keeping careful counts on each plastic tub (12 tubs to hold all the luna ‘pillars), and the 11 cecropias in the terrarium.

Eat and grow!!!