Sphinx ID needed.

[Joe Kunkel]

The tobacco hornworm, _Manduca sexta_, lab in our biology department is
led by Larry Schwartz who got his PhD from Jim Truman in Seattle.  They
use an interesting method of simulating the burrowing chambers of the
tobacco hornworm in their _M. sexta_ breeding factory.  They drill into
a 2x4 in the 4" direction with a large bore (ca. 1") brace and bit.  The
wandering larva is placed in this deep chamber and corked shut.  The
chamber seems to be perfect for this sphingid to pupate.

Chris Conlan wrote:
> 
> Not sure which Sphingid your larva is (many look similar and not sure of
> your location...Canada somewhere?) but you can get them to pupate without
> soil.  Just put the larva in a small plastic box (like tupperware) with some
> moist paper towels on the bottom.  For the first couple days the larva will
> race around the box and shred the towels.  Then it will become sedentary for
> a few more days (you may want to change the towels at this point if they are
> badly destroyed) before it makes the final molt to pupa.  I do all my
> Sphingid and Saturniid (those that burrow) larvae this way.  If I have a
> large number I will have two boxes.  One for larvae still wandering and then
> another to transfer them to when they become sedentary.  This prevents an
> active larva from running over a newly molted pupa.
> 
> Chris
> ----------
> >From: gwang <gwang at mb.sympatico.ca>
> >To: leps-l at lists.yale.edu
> >Subject: Sphinx ID needed.
> >Date: Sat, Aug 14, 1999, 6:41 PM
> >
> 
> >Hi y'all,
> >
> >I found this really huge caterpillar in my backyard today but my
> >resources for IDing hawkmoth caterpillars is....well, pathetic.
> >

-- 
--------------------
Joseph G. Kunkel, Professor
Biology Department             joe at bio.umass.edu
University of Massachusetts    http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel
Amherst MA 01003