A few questions for reares

[Xi Wang]

Hi Jon, long time no see eh?  Well, I don't know about question 1) as I have
never raised caterpillars using the sleeve method.  But about the best food
plant for Hyalophora columbia gloveri as given in "the wild silk moths of north
america" by Tuskes et al. include Prunus demissa, P. emarginata, Purshia
tridentata, Salix exigua, Ceanothus velutinus, and C. fendleri.  But you should
take care not to let any of them escape as they can interbreed with H. c.
columbia, and not are native to Quebec.  And as for switching host plants on
caterpillars, well I've never tried it with Saturniidae, but when raising
Papilio polyxenes asterius, I've found that most larva will have no trouble
adapting to the new food source.  Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Xi Wang



 
 ------------------------------------------------------------ 

   For subscription and related information about LEPS-L visit:

   http://www.peabody.yale.edu/other/lepsl