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Photo#37314
Columbia Silkmoth - Hyalophora columbia - female

Columbia Silkmoth - Hyalophora columbia - Female
Town of Baileys Harbor, Hidden Corners Sanctuary, Door County, Wisconsin, USA
June 14, 2001
Adult came to night light. Captured and placed her in a brown paper bag to see if she'd lay eggs, which she did. Eggs hatched on June 26, 2001. Reared larvae, fed them Tamarack (Larix laricina), All instars of larvae are on the MGP Website: http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/Files/Live/Living39.5.shtml Scroll to end of plate, #7768. Larvae started pupating on July 28, 2001. Overwintered in fruit cellar. Two females eclosed May 19, 2002; placed them in a cage outside to lure males, but the weather was too cold. They laid eggs, but they were not fertile.

Moved
Moved from Columbia Silkmoth.

Columbia Silkmoth
image moved from Cecropia Moth page (where someone at BugGuide had mistakenly put it) to new species page

Very nice!
I've learned something here, nibbling away at my moth ignorance!! In just over a month a hatchling caterpillar can eat enough and grow enough to pupate. That's amazing, especially for a decent-sized moth.

Question: Did you mean they eclosed the *following* May?

 
Columbia Silkmoth
Janice J. Stiefel Hi Jim, Sometimes I'm amazed myself. You will notice from other submissions of mine that some larvae eat for three months or more and they're much smaller than the large Columbia. We'll never understand it all, but it's fun trying. Keeping a data base, where I've recorded notes and observations over the years, makes it much easier to keep track of all that takes place in the world of insects, flora, animals, etc. What did we ever do without computers?

 
I followed your link
to MPG and enjoyed the larval images there - not just yours but some taken by other familiar names to BugGuide - very nice.
As a big fan of caterpillars, I want to thank you for all your recent beautiful and educational postings. Keep them coming!

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