expect them to emerge
Mike Soukup
mikayak at ix.netcom.com
Sat Nov 8 08:06:07 EST 1997
Hi Mike,
My name is Mike, I'm a Saturniid breeder on the east coast. All
of the Hylophora family is "obligatory univoltine" - meaning - no
matter WHAT you do, they will stay in thier cocoons till at least next
summer. The cocoons are in diapause now. In order to "break diapause",
they must be exposed to cold temperatures for a period of time. If they
are local to your area, I would suggest putting them in a "rodent-proof"
cage and leave them outside exposed to the weather. This will simulate
thier natural environment and allow them to emerge at the same time as
the local population. That way you can "tie out" the females when they
emerge and wild males will be "called in" to mate with them (then youll
have about 300 ova per female!).
Hope this help....enjoy
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