Imperial Moth

bugman

July 2nd, 2008 at 12:00 am

Categories

moth
Hi Bugman,
This moth was rescued from a bucket of water in our backyard. We live in west central Illinois. We didn’t know how long she would be with us. So she stayed with us for 3 days, laying eggs each night. We released her so my 6 yr old,Madelynn, would have to perform a moth funeral. We left for 4 days to attend my Grandma’s funeral. Ok, so here is the next dilemma. Momma moth laid all these eggs, which have now started hatching (less than 2 weeks from momma’s arrival). I wasn’t really expecting hatchlings before we got home, if at all. Since we’ve gotten this far what should we do? Thought it might be fun to witness the complete cycle for a few, and release some too. Last summer it was 5 swallowtail butterflies. Madelynn swears her butterflies come back to play each year, because she has seen them and they know where we live! So hopefully you can understand this dilemma. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank You,
Sandy in Illinois

Hi Sandy,
Raising some of these Imperial Moth caterpillars, Eacles imperialis, to adulthood is something neither Madelynn nor you will ever forget. BugGuide includes the following as caterpillar food plants: “Larvae feed on leaves of Bald Cypress, basswood, birch, cedar, elm, hickory, Honeylocust, maple, oak, pine, Sassafras (Sassafras albidum ), Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua ), sycamore, walnut. ” The caterpillars will feed on many deciduous and coniferous tree leaves, and you can search the internet for other lists that will include a tree that is available to you. Thanks for your wonderful letter.