Cecropia

[Wolfgang Siebeneich]

Charles Steer wrote:
> 
> You can keep them in an unheated shed as well. DON'T freeze them. They
> should
> emerge about the end of April or by mid-May. Just before the end of school.
> I'm in Philadelphia, PA. USA I have done this with Cecropia hyalophora as
> well
> as some others. I also keep a butterfly report on my web page as well as
> some
> links that, as a teacher you may find useful.
> 
> Chuck Steer
> 
> www.wa3iac.com



Thanks for the information.  I have a couple of remaining questions
though.  I live in Wisconsin where the winters can be very cold.  It is
not at all uncommon to have stretches of a week or more (sometimes
considerably more) in which the temperature will stay well below
freezing.  Surely the pupae out in the wild must freeze during such
weather.  Why should they not be frozen in captivity?  I am also
uncertain about when I should start to refrigerate.  The weather here
has been quite warm and remains in the eighties now.  It could be
anywhere from a couple of weeks to more than a month before the first
frost.  Should I put it in cold storage immediately or try to time it
with the cooler weather of fall?